Wayne Schwass's Biography
Wayne Schwass is one of the
most highly rated performers in the AFL history, playing 282 AFL games over 14
years with the North Melbourne Football Club (1988-1997) and the Sydney Swans
(1998-2002). Founder of The Sunrise Foundation, Wayne is a versatile,
motivating and inspirational speaker.
Born in New Zealand, Schwass moved to Warrnambool
in Victoria at the age of 3 where he began playing Australian Rules before
being recruited by VFL club, Kangaroos.
During his 14 year career Wayne won 3 Club Best
& Fairest awards, was an All Australian, 3 x State Representative, 1996
Premiership player, 1995 Night Premiership Player, Morrish Medallist (VFL U/19
Best & Fairest), AFL Life Membership and North Melbourne Life Membership.
Wayne retired from AFL Football in June 2002.
Wayne has since forged a name for himself as a
highly respected AFL Broadcaster on TV, radio and online with AFL.com, AFL
Live, Triple M Footy and AFL Central- hosting such shows as Off The Bench
TV, Footy Feast and calling AF on the AFL Live. The 2016 season will see
Wayne return to the commentary team at Triple M and talking all things footy
with PRIME7’s Off The Bench TV.
In 2007 Wayne became the face of the AFL Coke
Zero Dream Team website and a co-presenter on the AFL’s online game preview
show Saturday Central as well as the AFL’s online review show The
Final Siren both on AFL.com.
Wayne is also the
Founder of ‘The Sunrise Foundation’, an organisation he created after becoming
one of the first AFL footballers to openly speak out about his battle with
depression. Though no longer operating, the Sunrise Foundation was created to
develop and deliver purpose built preventative education programs addressing
depression for young people aged between 12-24 with a particular focus in the
education system, athletes from all sports across all levels including the
elite and rural Australia
Wayne’s vast
experience from being an AFL player to media personality, from the private
sector to establishing the Sunrise Foundation has also developed him into a
versatile and motivating Keynote Speaker and MC.
Speaking Topics Include
Wayne’s keynote includes a candid, honest and
inspiring story about his 14 year struggle with depression and his road to
recovery, including;
Depression is an illness that doesn’t discriminate
How depression invaded every aspect and area of his life and the impact this had on his health, well-being, performance, enjoyment and quality of life
Watching the colour fade from his life, living in a heavy fog and accepting his disease had taken control of his mind
How he managed to hide his illness from his family, friends, team mates, football club and the general public for 14 years and the impact this had on his quality of life
How he managed to play 282 AFL Games, win 3 Best & Fairest Awards, play in a Premiership side, win All Australian Selection, represent his State and be awarded AFL & North Melbourne Football Club Life Membership all while battling clinical depression
Why he considered an option with irreversible consequences to escape the pain and suffering, why and how he chose to keep fighting
Why he self-medicated for 14 years
Why he chose not to seek help and the impact this had on his recovery and relationships
The importance of your support network and how 2 key people in his life played a critical role in saving his life
The role of carers and professionals and their importance in your recovery
Learning new skills
Why he believes the Stigma associated with mental illness is out-dated, uneducated and totally unacceptable in 2014
Why he believes mental illnesses are a bigger threat to our communities than the road toll
How he began to reclaim control of his life and the long road back to health and wellbeing
How he lived in denial until his light bulb moment
The importance of your own emotional health and wellbeing
Understanding, education, acceptance and learning to like/ love yourself again
What we can do individually and as a community to help those people living with mental illnesses
Why it’s a shared responsibility
The gap between all general health illnesses and mental illness and why this gap needs to be closed urgently
Life after depression and how Wayne turned his own experiences into a vehicle which had a profound impact on the lives of others
His passion for mental health and commitment to continue to bring mental illnesses into main stream Australia
Wayne’s Motivational Sales keynote includes:
Key to success
Skill set
Strategy and why you must have a road map to achieve success
Goal setting and why this is vital in your pursuit of success
If you don’t plan for success you’re planning for failure
Overcoming obstacles and objections
Overcoming the fear of being rejected
Coping with pressure
Mindset and attitude
Difference between a job and a career
What elite sport taught me and what skills did I transfer into my post football careers & why
Owning your career, performance and ultimate success or failure
Go looking for feedback, positive, negative and constructive and why this is important
Understanding your selling profile and being able to recognise the buyers profile
Why products, product knowledge, expertise and experience aren’t the most important assets to selling
Your ability to develop and maintain relationships with multiple stakeholders at different levels is the key to success and why
Your individual brand and why it’s never been more important in selling
What’s your value proposition – why should people buy from me
Identifying, investigating and understanding opportunities before you even meet the customer and pitch
How to become a trusted advisor
Team work
Leveraging the power and reach of social media into your daily activities for achieving success