This was a really compelling interview into being true to yourself at all cost. In a world where we are often seeking validation and success, Tom sets an example of removing the noise and listening to your core needs.

Tom Boyd lived the dream of many young Australians. As the 2013 AFL number 1 draft pick, he was marked as a future superstar in his sport. Fame and money were guaranteed, all the more so when he returned home to Melbourne to join the Western Bulldogs on a record-breaking $7 million contract.

But success as a footballer came at a cost Tom wasn't prepared to pay. The intense scrutiny from media and the public added to the enormous expectations he placed upon himself, creating a toxic cycle of insomnia, anxiety and depression. Even being part of the Bulldogs' famous drought-breaking Premiership win in 2016, when Tom arguably played the greatest game of his career, could not fundamentally change the chronic mental health issues he was experiencing.

Tom decided to make one of the bravest calls of his life and walk away from the team he loved, from his hugely lucrative contract, from celebrity and adulation. He did it because he knew he was much more than the sum of these things, and that mental wellbeing was the one essential he could not ignore.

Tom is now a public speaker and mental health advocate and recently released his first book, Nowhere to Hide.

You can learn more about Tom (and find his book) here:

instagram.com/tomboyd17

https://www.booktopia.com.au/nowhere-to-hide-tom-boyd/book/9781761065491.html

https://www.millennialtranslator.com.au/

...

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