As we marked Mental Health Month in October, one theme stood out – resilience.
Many wellbeing professionals, including a number of those in the TLS Experts family, agree that a defining element of good mental health is the ability to recover from setbacks.
It’s also something I’ve come to appreciate deeply since starting this business. Getting back up after disappointment or adversity takes real courage and doing it in the public eye is even harder. Working alongside the athletes and experts in the TLS family, I’ve noticed how often courage and resilience show up together and how they quietly but powerfully shape what comes next.
One of the most memorable and recent examples was just last month when I watched world class rally driver Molly Taylor roll her car over and over in a heart-stopping crash in the Extreme E series. Although a little banged up and requiring a trip to the hospital for observation, thankfully, she was okay, but instead of walking away defeated, she fronted up again the next day ready to go, crossing the finish line in first place and a week later going on to win the Extreme H World Cup. Brave stuff! I can’t even imagine how much courage and strength helped her put what she’s described as ‘the biggest crash of her career’ behind her and get back behind the wheel, but that’s exactly what she did.
Across our TLS family, I’ve seen countless moments like these; athletes dealing with the heartbreak of injury at the worst possible moments – like F1 Academy driver Aiva Anagnostiadis injuring her foot and requiring surgery just a week out from the Singapore round and fronting up to physio and training every single day despite wanting to be out there racing; or Olympic Racewalker Jemima Montag, whose hamstring injury and subsequent surgery saw her miss the World Championships in Tokyo, something she’d been training for all year.
That resilience, that courage shows up in so many different ways across our TLS family – not just on the track or in competition, but in the deeply personal and professional moments for our TLS Experts too.
Author Casey Beros has channelled the heartbreak of caring for her terminally ill dad into her book Next of Kin and continues to do so with her work supporting and educating carers, including a recent appearance at SXSW Sydney. It’s honest, brave storytelling that is allowing her to turn her pain into purpose.
And Shelly Horton, who’s used her own experience with perimenopause to help women feel seen and supported and is tackling her own journey with humour, honesty and heart in her book I’m Your Peri Godmother and on stages all over the country for the benefit of each of us.
Whether it’s our experts missing out on opportunities they’ve worked so hard for, or our talent finding the strength to reset and move forward, disappointment may be part of the story but it’s never the ending.
Watching how our talent continue to bounce back, learn and give their best, often when no one’s watching, genuinely inspires me. As we head into the final stretch of the year, I hope you enjoy catching up on what our talent have been up to – the ups, the downs, and the resilience it’s taken to see them through.
Here’s to finishing the year strong,
TLS EXPERTS
Few shows tackle taboo topics as openly as SBS’s Tell Me What You Really Think. Hosted by Marc Fennell, the series brings together Australians for honest conversations about health and stigma -including our own Dr Preeya Alexander in the episode focused on weight management and obesity. You can access the full episode here on SBS On Demand.
You can also catch Dr Preeya Alexander, Shelly Horton, and health journalist Casey Beros in the latest season of Well Traveller on Network 10. This season, Casey joins as the series’ Health and Wellbeing Expert, Preeya shares practical health advice across each episode, and Shelly hosts a special feature exploring menopause and wellness. Stream past episodes on 10 Play, and don’t miss Shelly’s upcoming episode airing Saturday, November 22 at 3:30pm on Channel 10.
Both Preeya and Shelly were also busy with events and activities for World Menopause Awareness Month with Preeya joining forces with AIA to share some mythbusting menopause myths, while Shelly also launched her Hot Takes on Menopause partnership with Priceline for their Anything Menopause campaign and chatted about her very personal journey for Mamamia podcast Well.
On the food front, one of our favourite good chefs is back in the kitchen, with Dr Joanna McMillan commencing production on the next season of Channel 10’s Good Chef Bad Chef and chef Simon Toohey was buzzing with enthusiasm for a very special project he’s been working on – the launch of Geelong City Markets; an initiative designed to drive community and provide a place where locals and visitors can come to eat, drink, connect and celebrate the best of his local region.
Congratulations to Bardie Somerville, who was awarded the AWIC Outstanding Women in Trades Award last month, a fitting recognition of her hard work for the industry. Bardie continues to be a tireless advocate for women in trades and better wellbeing, and in keeping with her theme of advocacy in the industry, last month participated in a Lung Foundation campaign about how tradies can protect their lungs on worksites.
TLS SPORT
Proving once again that she is one of our most exciting Australian motorsport talent, Molly Taylor added yet another trophy to her crowded mantlepiece last month. Molly and co-driver Kevin Hansen were crowned the inaugural FIA Extreme H World Cup Champions, after an intense three days of competition culminated in a thrilling eight-car final. PS: you can catch Molly’s interview with Daniela Intili on ABC Weekend Breakfast here or if you’re keen to settle down and learn more about Molly’s story, you can watch her very own documentary Drive like a Girl currently airing on 7plus.
In other motorsport news, Kate Peck and her dad jumped on their motorbikes for the Aus Moto GP Homecoming Ride in collaboration with Spokes revving up a storm and having an absolute blast while encouraging people to ride safely in what was a very personal campaign that truly hit home. She also found some time to set up her very own home gymkhana with son Monte in a fun campaign to promote Shell’s Motorsport Model Car Collection promotion.
Kate’s also been busy launching the new Changemaker Ambassador Program in her role as one of the Directors of Women in Automotive. The initiative builds on the already brilliant work WinA is doing to spotlight extraordinary women and celebrate and promote the diverse and essential roles women hold across the sector.
Paralympic icon Ellie Cole is stocking up on warm clothes after being announced as part of the commentary team for Nine Network’s Winter Paralympics coverage, set to take place in Milano Cortina, Italy in March 2026. To help build momentum for this incredible event, Ellie took centre stage at Admiralty House as MC of the official launch of the Aussie winter Paralympic teams’ RM Williams-designed uniforms, wishing the athletes luck and letting them know the whole of Australia is behind them.
With the end of the school year fast approaching, many of our incredible athlete talent are available for speaking engagements and appearances to inspire students, parents and teachers alike. Making a dashing visit back to Aus, Diver Ellie Cole will be back from Stanford for a few weeks offering a great and rare opportunity to have her join your school event or celebration! All of our brilliant women in sport are available too so if you’re planning those end of year celebrations, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.
TLS SPEAKERS
It seems corporates across the country are swinging back to trusted experts for their speaking events, looking for credible professionals who can make sense of the noise in health and wellbeing and share practical, evidence-based advice. Our TLS Speakers do exactly that, leading conversations through panels, events and corporate sessions around Australia.
Last month, Dr Preeya Alexander joined the Bombora New Horizons Conference, Dr Ginni Mansberg shared her knowledge at Ampol’s World Menopause Month wellbeing session and Dr Michela Sorensen took to the stage for AMEX and Lendlease to talk all things women’s health.
Gut health is always a hot topic, and nutrition scientist Dr Joanna McMillan brought her expertise to the Frasers Property Health and Wellbeing Program, helping the team understand how to use nutrition to boost performance.
Paralympian Ellie Cole brought her trademark energy to Toyota’s family day last month, while habit scientist Dr Gina Cleo dropped oodles of advice at the KPMG Internal Masterclass Series and for a series of events for Australian Retirement Trust.
As a proud doggy mama, Shelly Horton was thrilled to once again host the Dog Lovers’ Festival in Melbourne and sparkled as host of the travel industry’s NTIA Awards Night in Brisbane; and Molly Taylor helped raise an incredible $700,000 (and counting) as part of Nedd’s Uncomfortable Challenge – organised by ultramarathon runner Nedd Brockman. Always happy to put her body on the line for a good cause, Molly strapped on her trainers and joined Nedd for the Boost Australia Gold Coast 500, helping raise funds for homelessness charity We Are Mobilise; and Dr Preeya Alexander joined Carrie Bickmore for Beyond The Feed: A Screen Smart Conversation with Instagram – an honest and important discussion about raising kids in the digital age.
HEALTH CALENDAR
Before we start hauling the Christmas tree out of storage, there are still plenty of events on the calendar to make 2025 memorable. To maximise impact for your event, panel or campaign, enlist one of our talent. For November, we’re still taking late bookings for:
- Movember – All month
- World Diabetes Day – 14 November
- International Men’s Day – 19 November
- World Sustainable Transport Day – 26 November
And with December just around the corner, here are the key dates to circle on your calendar:
3 December – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Paralympians Ellie Cole and Shae Graham are committed to advocating for better representation and inclusion of people with disabilities.
21 December – World Meditation Day
Set up your team and clients with meditation skills – an evidence-based tool to help them through the pressures of the holiday season and beyond. Our psychologists Dr Tim Sharp and Dr Leanne Hall, psychiatrist Dr Kieran Kennedy and habit-change expert Dr Gina Cleo are on hand for guidance.