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 inaugural Eradicate Hate Summit was a truly impressive gathering of leaders dedicated to finding lasting and effective solutions to violent extremism. I was particularly moved by the prominence given to survivors and family members of victims of hate and violence throughout the event. Their stories and those of so many others must be at the center of what we do and why we do it.
