John Hyland

John Hyland is a consultant, storyteller and community leader whose work centres on helping organisations and communities engage with LGBTQ+ people in a more human way.

He co-chaired Liverpool Pride and co-founded the LCR Pride Foundation, shaping Pride activity across the Liverpool City Region alongside partners, volunteers and local communities. In Northern Ireland, he was elected as a councillor in Ballymena, becoming the town’s first openly gay representative. That role placed him in an environment where visibility carried real weight, gave him first-hand experience of building consensus across deeply held and often opposing views, and exposed him to targeted homophobic abuse online.

John began creating content in 2010, documenting queer life in Liverpool long before it was commonplace. Today he is the creator of Proudly Said, an LGBTQ+ platform which highlights people whose stories might otherwise go unheard. Since launching in 2025, the show has published more than 70 episodes (as of November 2026), generated nearly four million organic views across Instagram and TikTok, and been shortlisted for Gaydio’s LGBTQ+ Podcast of the Year 2026. Alongside the podcast, John works as an LGBTQ+ engagement consultant, advising organisations on how to connect meaningfully with LGBTQ+ communities.

His current focus is Bring The Vivienne Home, a campaign he is leading with Cassie Williams to create a lifesize statue of her son James Lee Williams, The Vivienne, in Liverpool’s Pride Quarter. Believed to be the first statue of its kind for a drag artist, the campaign aims to create a lasting tribute, a place for the community to gather and reflect, greater awareness for people on similar journeys, and new footfall and investment for the Pride Quarter. John has been taking the campaign to business and civic audiences, including a Liverpool Chamber of Commerce event, to build support for the project.

John’s talks draw on this breadth of experience across politics, community leadership, media and campaigning. Audiences can expect honest, story-led sessions on visibility and its cost, inclusion under pressure, navigating conflicting perspectives, and how organisations can turn good intentions into meaningful action.