Actor and life coach teaches teens about self worth, and resisting bullying
From acting in international blockbusters, to coaching our youth about bullying and self-worth, Sven Ruygrok is making a difference, one teen at a time.
When he is not part of an all star cast, fit for the silver screen, you can find Sven Ruygrok delivering engaging, motivational, and informative talks to children across various schools in our city.
Much like on June 13, when he was at King David Victory Park, speaking to Grades 6 and 7 learners on bullying.
He starts his talks through one of the many things he is really good at, the performing arts. “I open with a performance piece that grabs attention, then guides them through some of the most important questions of their young lives: Who am I? Why do I matter? What is my responsibility to others? It’s not a lecture; it’s a challenge to think deeply, to see differently, and to act wisely in a world that often rewards the opposite, because when kids think clearly about who they are, they change what they do.”
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Ruygrok sees people in the world as being more digitally connected, but with the young suffering an epidemic of isolation. For over a decade, he has spoken at schools across the country and abroad, with bullying being constant, growing more hidden and more harmful as technology seeps into every corner of life. “When I was young, schoolyard cruelty ended when the final bell rang. Now, it follows these kids home. It’s on their phones, in their rooms, where they are living quiet lives of desperation.”
The life coach explained he had teenage clients who stayed awake past the early mornings, refreshing their screens, waiting to see if they’re being torn apart online, or to watch a WhatsApp group blow up in a feud between friends. “My goal, in these talks, is to open their eyes. To show them their own moral agency, their power, their freedom to choose.” In so doing, he gets them to ask themselves questions, such as: What is the true cost of my words? What kind of person am I becoming?
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As he sees it, bullying is not just a behaviour; it’s the outward symptom of a much deeper crisis: The crisis of identity. Ruygrok said teenagers today are spiritually starved. Taught to chase applause, beauty, status, followers, everything except the hard, quiet work of becoming a person of moral substance.
“When the inner life is empty, power over others becomes intoxicating.” He recalled how he too lived the effects of public cruelty, when a viral UK commercial he appeared in unleashed a storm of hate mail, death threats, and ridicule, seeing firsthand how quickly human beings can dehumanise another when they feel safe behind a screen. “These children are playing with the same fire every day. If we don’t teach them to guard their words and know their worth, they may grow into adults who destroy others and themselves.”
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To its victim, bullying poisons the soul in silence. It whispers lies that can shape a person’s self-belief for years: ‘You’re worthless’. ‘You’re alone’. ‘You deserve this.’ When these lies take root, they warp confidence, relationships, and even future choices. Though the damage may not show on the surface, inside, something essential is lost: The belief that you matter. That you are loved. That you are seen. “The tragedy is that this harm lingers long after the bully moves on. Many adults I coach today are still fighting the lies that were echoed in the school corridors.”
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