Arno Michaelis
Author and Speaker
2023
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Arno Michaelis was a neo-Nazi skinhead, a reverend of a self-declared Racial Holy War, and lead singer of the hate-metal band Centurion, which sold 20,000 CDs and is still popular with racists today. Single parenthood, love for his daughter, and the forgiveness shown by people he once hated all helped to turn Arno’s life around, bringing him to embrace diversity and practice gratitude for all life. After spending over a decade as a successful information technology entrepreneur, Arno is now a speaker, filmmaker, author of My Life After Hate, and co-author of The Gift of Our Wounds. His storytelling stems from an intention to inspire people to see themselves in others, and see others in themselves. Arno also works as an interventionist at Parents 4 Peace, helping to lead people away from all violent extremist ideologies, and to support their families. Refuge, his latest film project, is now available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu.
At the Summit
The Summit unites the public and private sectors, domestic and international, against hate and extremism. Researchers, activists, lawyers, technology experts, political leaders, and more come together, each bringing their unique tools to the fight. Important relationships that were established at the Summit in 2021 have carried forward into working groups with concrete deliverables for 2022 and beyond.
