Overcoming Adversity

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. He has since completed a Bachelor of Business, worked at the AFL, got married, had a kid, won a Hand Cycling National Championship, and has returned to the sport he loves, Aussie Rules, as the Senior Head Coach of the Leongatha FC. Beau has led the Leongatha senior side from the bottom end of the ladder to consecutive Grand Finals in his first two years as Coach.

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.

Beau has learnt that we are so much more capable than we give ourselves credit for. To think that he can do what he does with essentially only his biceps, shoulder and neck muscles is mind blowing.

Presentation topics include

• Overcoming adversity
  - Becoming a quadriplegic at the age of 23 in 2012, Beau was able to overcome the odds and live a full, happy and independent life
• Coping with change
• Striving to be the best we can
• Disability awareness and education

Testimonials

Beau has an infectious personality with a very positive attitude & delivers a very gut wrenching, thought provoking, presentation, full of challenges but at the same time having a humble approach and accepting his circumstance and life in general.
Municipal Works Operations Association

We highly recommend Beau for any other speaking engagements. He was a very engaging presence and our clients were very happy to have heard his story.
Pursuit Advisers

Best speaker we have ever had, even received a standing ovation of all who attended ( over 200 people)
intowork Australia

Kane Cornes was asked to respond on behalf of the other 12 life members and did so eloquently. A father would be forgiven for thinking it was the highlight of the night. But then came Beau Vernon.
AFL Legend

Thank you so much for your amazing presentation, The staff have continued to rave about your session, which is fantastic.
Odyssey House

I chatted to staff and students and the opinion was that you were a huge hit and perfect for this activity. Your message was really clear and you related well to the students. It is easier to get to through to girls than to boys and you had the boys really engaged too. Your journey is inspiring.
Drouin Secondary College

We highly recommend Beau to any organisation wanting to raise awareness of disability internally, change attitudes or educate staff on the benefits of employing people with disability. He talks with passion and honesty and tells his story in an extremely genuine and sincere way. Thanks so much Beau!
National Disability Recruitment Coordinator