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Dean Grey is an American success story, rising from extreme poverty and an off-grid upbringing to proving himself across multiple industries in 30 countries.

Dean Grey (formerly Dean Kosage) had an unconventional upbringing that shaped his independent spirit. He spent much of his childhood “off the grid,” raised on boats in Florida by his mother and stepfather, living on the outskirts of traditional society.

As teenagers, Dean and his brother struck out on their own moving away from their parents and opening a restaurant while still in their teens. This early venture taught Dean self-reliance and sparked his entrepreneurial journey. He attended Friday Harbor High School in Washington, where he developed interests in music and business. After briefly studying at Western Carolina University, he dove full time into business and personal development.

By age 18, Dean had already laid the foundation for a career centered on entrepreneurship and personal growth through hands-on experience running a restaurant and other small ventures.

**Rise in Network Marketing and Motivational Speaking**

In his early twenties, Dean Kosage entered multi-level marketing, joining Amway. He quickly proved to be a prodigy. By age 23, he was speaking to crowds of 20,000–30,000 people at company conferences.

He became one of the fastest and youngest distributors to reach the “Pearl” level in Amway, ranking in the top 0.002% of all MLM leaders worldwide.

His dynamic stage presence and relatable story made him a sought-after motivational speaker within Amway and beyond. Kosage achieved even higher milestones: Emerald distributor in 1992, Diamond in 2000, and Executive Diamond by 2004. These ranks placed him among Amway’s top leadership. By age 25, he was a self-made millionaire through network marketing.

During this period, Kosage founded Kosage Motivation, Inc., offering life coaching and motivational speaking. He specialized in teaching others how to “exit survival mode and enter success mode,” drawing from his own comeback story.

Kosage’s early adult years brought challenges. He married in 1993 but went through a difficult divorce in 1997. Suddenly a single father to his young daughter, Teagan, he faced financial and emotional strain. However, he channeled these difficulties into motivation within a year, he was back on stage in front of 30,000 people, receiving recognition for breaking business records, with his daughter by his side.

This remarkable comeback story—balancing single parenthood and business achievement became a cornerstone of his motivational message. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Dean Kosage gained renown as a motivational speaker and life coach, sharing the stage with industry leaders and inspiring thousands across multiple countries.

He produced a series of seven leadership training CDs that went multi-platinum in sales.

By leveraging his success and experiences, Kosage built a worldwide following and was credited with “building one of the largest social networks across 18 countries” through his training and coaching systems.

His ability to connect with audiences through personal stories of growth, resilience, and entrepreneurial thinking solidified his reputation in the self-development world.

**Founding Freestyle and Life Coaching Ventures**

After rising to the top in Amway’s Worldwide Dream Builders (WWDB) network, Kosage decided to forge his own path. In 2010, he departed WWDB/Amway, seeking more creative freedom and control over his training business. He felt the traditional MLM system was too controlling and “old school” for his taste, given his upbringing that valued freedom and flexibility. He established Freestyle (initially known as KMI) around 2010–2011 as an independent personal development and coaching organization.

Freestyle, Inc. was a professional life-coaching and mentorship enterprise aimed at helping entrepreneurs develop essential skills for success. Over 23 years (its roots go back to 1989 when Kosage first started mentoring others), Freestyle expanded to 28 countries and reached over two million individuals through seminars, workshops, and one-on-one coaching.

Kosage used Freestyle to educate professionals by sharing his entrepreneurial experience and mindset. While leading Freestyle, he maintained steady passive income from his earlier health and nutrition business, giving him financial stability to explore new projects.

In 2009, he co-founded Defining Moments Publishing. This publishing initiative led to the creation of *Defining Moments of Courage: Passing the Torch to the Current Generation of Emerging Leaders*, which Kosage co-authored with Novalena Betancourt. The book became an Amazon #1 best-seller in its category, compiling inspirational stories (including Kosage’s own) to motivate readers to overcome adversity.

These ventures showcase Kosage’s evolution from a direct-sales leader into a multifaceted entrepreneur dedicated to personal development, content creation, and coaching. By the early 2010s, Dean Kosage had established himself as a prominent motivational figure honored by Cambridge Who’s Who in 2008 for “Excellence in Motivational Consulting.” He was poised to transition into the technology sector with the same passion for innovation and community building.

**Tech Entrepreneur: Zooplr and Its Evolution**

One of Kosage’s most notable business moves was venturing into the tech startup world. In 2011, he founded Zooplr, Inc., a company built around a breakthrough idea for a mobile application. Zooplr was envisioned as a “social learning platform” combining elements of chat/messaging, blogging, and e-learning to help entrepreneurs and creative thinkers connect and share ideas.

The concept leveraged community and gamification to spur innovation reflecting Kosage’s interest in engagement and his background in building networks. Under Kosage’s leadership as CEO, Zooplr quickly developed a working mobile app and garnered industry attention. Zooplr’s growth was swift the startup was acquired within six months of its launch by a group of successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

**Skylab Apps and Current Ventures**

By 2015, Dean Kosage (who around this time legally changed his name to Dean Grey) launched Skylab Apps, further solidifying his status as a tech entrepreneur. Skylab Apps is a technology company that creates fully customizable, gamified social networking applications for brands, organizations, and influencers. It provides a white-labeled platform grounded in what Grey calls the “Science of Engagement”allowing communities to have their own tailored social app ecosystem. As Founder and Chairman of Skylab, Grey built the company to help others increase user engagement, learning, and collaboration through game-like features and mobile connectivity.

Skylab Apps grew to produce powerful platforms for private thought leaders, government sectors, and charities across the globe. Under Grey’s leadership, Skylab gained recognition in the tech industry; he is often described as a global expert in gamification and community building. For example, *The Silicon Review* featured Skylab as a “groundbreaking tech ecosystem” that empowers groups to cultivate their own social networks. As of 2023, Grey continues to serve as Skylab’s chairman, guiding its vision.

Many of his recent public profiles use the name Dean Grey, reflecting a reinvention of his personal brand as he pivoted fully into tech entrepreneurship. Despite the name change, he often acknowledges the continuity of his journey from direct sales to tech, emphasizing how the core principles of leadership and engagement carry through