Meet the team > Coaches and Mentors
Mike Rolls
Mike’s expertise is in resilience. Mike believes that Less, really is more. This attitude is at the core of his work as a motivational speaker.
In September 2001, at the age of 18, Mike’s life changed forever. He contracted one of the deadliest diseases on the planet, Meningococcal Septicemia while on an end of season Football trip.
This lethal, fast acting and brutal infection left him with horrific internal and external injuries, including multiple amputations.
Mike’s chances of survival were as little as 5%. His family were told to say goodbye on more than one occasion as he fought for his life. He spent the next 6 months in hospital where he was given the sobering news that it could take years to achieve even the most basic tasks, such as walking and driving, as well as the devastating realisation that sport may not be a possibility.
Mike’s journey back to health was aided by a positive outlook, an adaptive mindset and a conscious decision to embrace challenge and change. His determination to live a happy, fulfilling life is evident in his accomplishments as a double amputee, like running again after many years, representing Australia in golf, climbing one of Australia’s tallest buildings and passionately advocating and supporting other amputees who experience similar circumstances.
Mike’s method of building and maintaining resilience by “Ditching the Dead Weight” is simple, yet highly effective. What can we take away from our life, in order to improve it? It’s a concept that suggests: if something in our lives is ‘optional’, then it is ‘actionable’.
Mike combines raw, real life adversity, with extensive research on the topic of resilience to create presentations and programs that challenge, educate, entertain, and inspire!
His audience will take away specific strategies they can use to successfully navigate the problems life throws at us, from a hiccup to a major crisis.
Mike has a background in the Health Industry, he’s a qualified Counsellor, is a highly skilled communicator and a passionate supporter of Amputee charity Limbs 4 Life. He has also recently become an official ambassador of Interplast Australia and New Zealand and Ossur.
Mike is an emerging Professional Speaker who motivates and inspires his audiences to reach for the stars in all that they do. Mike believes that we are all far more powerful than we can ever imagine and we must never underestimate our capabilities.
Mike walks his talk, he lives his message and inspires us to do the same!
“I met the amazing Donny Walford when I presented to a group of women at a behind closed doors event in Melbourne.”
“My coaching is all around building resilience. Understanding that life sometimes throws us a curveball. Understanding how to get through that change, go from a why me mentality to a what’s next mentality.”