Beau Vernon

Beau Vernon's Biography

In 2012 at the age of 23 Beau Vernon’s life changed forever. A passionate sportsman, Beau was left a quadriplegic following a freak accident whilst playing Australian Rules football. Beau was left with no function of his fingers or with any movement from the chest down. During his 8 months of living in hospital and rehabilitation Beau faced many physical and emotional battles. He worked fearlessly to make the most of his limited upper body movement. Beau's resilience and positive attitude was truly tested to get him through those times.

Not one to sit still, Beau has moved forward with his life, using his accident as a tool to strengthen his resilience and to help others. Beau returned to the sport he loves, Aussie Rules, as the Senior Head Coach of the Leongatha FC. Beau led the Leongatha senior side from the bottom end of the ladder to consecutive Grand Finals in his first two years as Coach.

Currently as coach of the Phillip Island Football and Netball Club in 2021 Beau is aiming  for four consecutive premierships in charge.

More about Beau:

Current Senior Coach of Phillip Island Football Netball Club. (Coached Leongatha for 3 years

3 Grand Finals and 1 Premiership. Coached Phillip Island for 1 year and 1 Premiership)

Current Ambassador for wings for life world run

Currently Studying Positive Psychology

Pride of Australia Medal Holder

Finished a business degree at RMIT University

Husband and Father of two little legends

Actively Involved in Sport. Surfer, Kayaker, Cardio (boxing, weights, interval training), Hand Cycling (2016 National Champion), darts, table tennis, golf

Despite being in a wheelchair, I love life, and definitely still don’t sit still. I want to be an advocate to show that people with a disability are as much apart of society as anyone else and that we should raise the bar on what can be achieved.

People continuously say, “your story and approach to life is inspiring, you should write a blog and get out there and tell your story”. He listened and started doing motivational speaking and dedicating his life and story to inspire others.

Every single person will face obstacles in their lives and Beau does not see himself as being worse off than anyone else. Beau has increased his knowledge of strategies that can assist in helping people to overcome life’s obstacles. He has learnt a lot about our thoughts and our emotions, about gratitude, about the importance of support, and he has learnt ways to stay optimistic despite what life has dealt him.

‘It’s not a poor me story, everyone has their own challenges and I am no worse off. My presentation will give you an insight into my journey whilst passing on key messages around having a positive mindset, dealing with adversity and challenges, removing limitations, and being the best people we can be.’

‘We talk about nutrition for our health, we talk about exercise for our health. In this day and age the biggest issue we are facing with our health is our mental health. I want to help people wire or rewire their brains so that they can prosper and live the best life they can, no matter the situation.’

Beau is focusing on spending more time dedicated to his hand cycling after winning the 2021 Australian Road Championships: para-cycling time trial titles in February, he is also hoping to one day represent Australia in the Paralympics.