In this episode of Tumble Upward, I sit down with Jesse, whose life took a dramatic turn while serving in the Royal Australian Air Force. A training accident left him with multiple injuries, including an acquired brain injury, and his heart stopped seven times during the ordeal.

Against the odds, he fought his way through rehab to graduate, only to be medically retired from service soon after. The years that followed were marked by struggle — weight gain, loss of identity, and the challenge of finding purpose beyond the military.

But this is also a story of turning it all around. Jesse rebuilt his life, went to university, and today runs a high-performance program at Norths Rugby Union while continuing his own rehab journey. His story is one of resilience, reinvention, and the power of refusing to give up.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• The day of the training accident and its aftermath

• What it means to fight back through an acquired brain injury and physical trauma

• The challenges of medical retirement and life spiralling afterward

• The turning point that sparked his transformation

This is a powerful reminder that even in the darkest chapters, we have the ability to rewrite our story.