My guest today is Josh Dugan, an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a fullback and centre for the Cronulla Sharks in the NRL and Australia at international level. He previously played for the Canberra Raiders and the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League and has played at representative level for the Prime Minister's XIII, Country Origin, NRL All Stars, and New South Wales in the State of Origin series. 

In this episode, Josh shares his professional journey as a rugby player, the transition to retiring, and how that affected his identity. He talks about his current career helping kids, his biggest lessons from his current role, and the prevalence of mental health struggles in young people. He also discusses his stint in rehab, the lessons he learned from that, and the identity crisis after retiring. Tune in to learn more!

Topics we cover and where to find them:

• [00:00] Intro
• [05:17] Josh’s current service to the community of helping kids
• [09:17] Josh’s biggest lesson from his current role of mentoring kids
• [14:46] The prevalence of mental health struggles among young people
• [17:21] The transition from being a professional rugby player to retiring
• [19:53] The identity crisis after retiring
• [21:33] How Josh got into drug abuse and rehab
• [25:00] The positive things that can result from hitting rock bottom
• [28:10] Josh’s best moments of his profession as a rugby player
• [36:51] Having the right mentality as an athlete
• [39:17] Developing self-belief in your career
• [41:51] The best advice to young people getting into sport

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Episode resources:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__duges13/

Twitch.tv: https://www.twitch.tv/duges_6

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