about

An approach built on experience

Sport has been my passion ever since I can remember. I have always had a huge interest in all sport but running has been something that I have particularly loved and is what drove me to study Exercise Physiology and Sports Coaching at University. Connecting the science behind the human body with my practical knowledge of sport was a natural next step.

At 21, I had the opportunity to train with the Australian Institute of Sport’s High Performance Coach for Tasmania. I learnt a hell of a lot from one of the best in the business and it wasn’t long before I became the assistant coach, helping to develop junior Australian athletes.

Running as a profession did not provide a great income so I began taking ‘fat blokes’ for walks.  A number of these ‘fat blokes’ were CEO’s of large organisations. When they started seeing significant improvements in their productivity, as a result of their improved physiology, they asked me to deliver corporate health and wellbeing workshops for their staff. The changes in output generated from improvements in health and physical fitness were profound and clear evidence of the link between Physiology and Productivity.

With my new-found knowledge I started Healthy Business. Within two years we sold to ACCOR and formed a new company, Good Health Solutions (GHS).  GHS is now Australia’s largest corporate health consultancy.  I continued to work in the new structure for the next 2 years, until I discovered there was another piece to the performance puzzle.

I have been fortunate to work with elite athletes and sporting teams throughout my career. I was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the NSW Cricket team for 6 years and have also worked with the Sydney Swans.  A few years ago I had the opportunity to work with the Australian Cricket team as their Physical Performance Manager. For a year I travelled with the team ensuring each player was in the best possible physical condition for every match of the demanding international cricket calendar. This opened my eyes to the fact that the world’s best sporting teams and athletes spend more money, time and resources on recovery than they do on training and performing.

I went on to write Flip the Switch, an Australian bestseller.  As a result of the book, which explains why performance increases when you play hard and recover even harder, I was asked to speak at conferences and work with senior executives to apply my understanding of high performance to the corporate world. The impact of Recovery in my programs was profound with clients sustaining performance throughout the year and avoiding burnout even under increased pressure. The success of my speaking and coaching programs demanded a full time focus. It was time to take it to the next level.

The more I continued working with executives and their teams the more I realised that something was still missing. Performance strategies around Physiology, Recovery and Productivity can provide a path to success, but what is it that will motivate you to take the first step on that path? Completing my Masters of Coaching Psychology is providing me with the tools to focus on behaviour change, goal setting and what really drives people. I’ve learned that training your brain is just as important as training your body.

I have studied and worked in all four performance areas – Physiology, Productivity, Recovery and Psychology. 15 years experience in elite sport and business has taught me that peak performance comes from integration of all four areas.  One does not work as effectively without the other.  I finally feel like the puzzle is complete.