Niall Breslin has been both a professional rugby player and a musician, fronting the band The Blizzards. He went through anxiety and depression when he was injured in his sport. He finds athletes are prone to ‘struggling with their heads’. Niall decided to talk in public about his mental health after experiencing a panic attack […]
Sport
Former Olympic Gold Paralympian, Anne Usher MBE
Paralympic Champion Anne Usher was a physiotherapist and competitive cyclist until a back injury left her unable to ride, or to heal herself. She felt an inward spiral of failure and feeling she was the victim. Volunteering for the London Olympics in 2012 was “one of the best tonics” and led to a chance meeting with […]
Paralympic Surfer, Bruno Hansen
Surfing Champion “You’re paralysed and you’ll never walk again.” Those were the words Bruno Hansen heard after his spine was snapped. A broken shell of a human being, Bruno tried to drown himself before a wave hit him and, as he says, “the joy kicked in”. Bruno is now three-time ISA World Adaptive Surfing Champion. […]
Former Olympic Heavyweight Gold Medallist, Audley Harrison
Boxing Champion Audley Harrison grew up in a broken home in a tough part of London. By the age of 17 he had been expelled from schools and ended up in juvenile detention. Relying on willpower, he turned his life around, becoming a university graduate and a boxing sensation. Harrison, who is retired and lives […]
TV Celebrity and actor, Josh Patterson
TV personality and former professional sportsman Josh Patterson looks as if he has it all — but it hasn’t always been like that. When his dream of making a career as a rugby player didn’t work out as he’d hoped, he was left in a dark place. He’d struggled with his mental attitude to the […]
Kick It!
Oliver (Founder) Head Talks founder takes us to his local boxing club We all know sport is good for you. But it also turns out to be essential for healthy minds. Some workouts have even more added value. Here Head Talks founder Oli takes us to his local boxing club, where spirits are […]
Team GB Olympic athlete, Jack Green
Team GB Olympic Athlete When 20-year old Jack Green stumbled over a hurdle during the 2012 London Olympics, his dream and his mind exploded. ‘I couldn’t do one run without feeling awful.’ Green descended into depression, contemplating suicide. During an 18-month break he learned to control his self-destructive perfectionism. ‘I never fell out of love […]
Alexander Stubb: Former Prime Minister’s Talk on Happiness
Alexander Stubb Former Prime Minister of Finland. Aside from politics, Stubb is passionate about “Mind, Body and Happiness”. He believes that the inextricable link between the three should impact our lifestyle. As an avid athlete and Ironman competitor himself, Stubb advocates the view that a healthy body is essential to a healthy mind, […]
Elite Sports Psychologist, Jamil Qureshi
Sport Psychologist and Mind Coach Dubbed the ‘Mind Magician’, Jamil Qureshi has coached numerous sport stars, helping six of them reach number one rankings. ‘Most of us are entrenched in negative thoughts.’ Overcoming a few bad choices of his own, even resulting in homelessness, Qureshi is now a renowned performance psychologist. Clients include premier league footballers and golfers, […]
Badminton Blues, Gail Emms MBE
Badminton champion Gail Emms was at the top of her game when she started hating it. But she saw talking about that ‘as a weakness’. Coming from a sporty family, Emms had started playing badminton aged four. When the former badminton World Champion and Olympic silver medallist eventually retired in 2008, she spiralled into bouts […]
Former NBA Basketball Champion turned Psychologist, John Amaechi OBE
Leading psychologist and high-performance coach Basketball giant John Amaechi OBE was for a long time widely known as the highest paid British sports star in the US. Born in the US and brought up in England, as a child he always felt different with ‘no one to turn to’. Braving a homophobic backlash, this self-described ‘extreme introvert’, courageously […]
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