Matt Welsh has carved himself into Australian swimming folklore as one of our greatest ever swimmers achieving Olympic, World Champion and Commonwealth Games success. Now, away from the pool Matt has become a reliable and insightful expert commentator and a popular guest personality appearing on all networks current affairs/news, chat, panel, variety and breakfast shows. He’s also had fun as a celebrity contestant on themed games shows and specials as well as fun cameos on Thank God You Are Here.
Previous experience
Corporate Health and Wellness: For over 6 years Matt worked with some of Australia’s biggest companies as Bupa Australia’s Corporate Health & Wellness Ambassador. This role involved running Heath & Wellness Events, as well as Corporate Wellbeing Seminars all around Australia. Matt worked with many of the best medical and wellbeing professionals to deliver engaging programs to compliment Bupa Australia’s health insurance offerings.
Titles: Throughout his sporting career Welsh captured 56 Australian titles, becoming the first swimmer to pass the magical 50 mark. He has also become a triple Commonwealth games gold medalist, world champion and world record holder. His maturity and passion for representing his country combined with his rustic looks and streamline physique makes him one of Australian swimming's great ambassadors.
Swimming: A relatively late bloomer, Matt only took up competitive swimming at the age of 18. Initially a butterfly specialist, Matt made the switch to the backstroke with resounding success.
At the 2001 World Championships Matt won gold in the 100m backstroke and 4x100m medley relay before heading to the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 to add three gold medals and the title of Commonwealth Games Record holder to his list of achievements.
Medals: In 2003, Matt won gold for the fifth consecutive year in the men's 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke at the Telstra Australian Short Course Championships. A few weeks later in Barcelona at the World Swimming Championships, Matt, better regarded as a backstroker, won gold and set a new world record in an event he rarely swims, the 50m butterfly.
Olympics: Welsh earned the opportunity to compete at his second Olympics by again sweeping the backstroke events at the Telstra Olympic Swim Trials. Welsh also took silver in the 50m butterfly.
At the World Championships in Montreal in 2005 Matt again made his mark on the World stage, winning silver in the 50m backstroke.
Commonwealth Games: Welsh continued his domination at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in his hometown of Melbourne. He won gold in the men's 4x100m Medley Relay and produced great individual performances to win silver in both the 50m Butterfly and 100m Backstroke.
FINA: Competing again in front of a home crowd in Melbourne at the 12th FINA World Championships in March 2007, Welsh made the finals of both the 50m and 100m Backstroke and was a member of the gold medal winning 4x100m Medley Relay team.
Retirement: Matt Welsh announced his retirement from swimming prior to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. With wife Lauren, Matt is enjoying parenthood and family life with the entertaining Newton clan.
Talking Points
The Life Athlete (General Health and Wellbeing)
Learn how to apply elite athletic training techniques to everyday life. Find out about the easiest ways to stay fit and healthy, what constitutes a healthy life and what the health risks are (both physically and mentally) if you continue with unhealthy behaviour. Matt will explain how to make small, daily improvements for maximum benefit.
The Life Athlete (General Health and Wellbeing)
Energy Management
Learn about the importance of managing your energy levels, as well as techniques for boosting and renewing them on a daily basis. Matt will explain energy quadrants and how to use them to perform at your best, as well as ways to find meaning and purpose in your daily activities.
Energy Management
Stress Management
Learn about the nature of stress and why it can be good for you. Matt will explain how your body reacts to both good and bad stress, the health risks of not learning to manage your stress, as well as stress management techniques and coping skills.
Stress Management
Motivation and Goal Setting
What is motivation and how do you find it? Matt will take you through a range of techniques to create motivational goals, finding meaning and purpose to drive you towards those goals, and how to re-set goals to keep them relevant.
Motivation and Goal Setting
Sedentary Behaviour
What is sedentary behaviour and why does it have such a negative impact on our health? Learn about the health risks associated with inactivity such as cardiovascular disease and Type II Diabetes, and find out how to make activity part of your day for a healthier body and mind. Matt will share exercises and behaviours to take back to your desk to provide ongoing benefits.
Sedentary Behaviour
Men’s Health
Find out more about health risks for men through different life stages and how they can make healthier decisions to get more out of life. Matt will also speak about the male mentality to health, and the consequences of not making it a priority.
Men’s Health
Food for the Life Athlete
Learn about the importance of a healthy diet and how to achieve it easily, as well as the health risks of a poor diet, including high intakes of salt and refined sugar. Matt will share important food portion information to help you manage your diet.
Food for the Life Athlete
Exercise for the Life Athlete
Matt will explain the importance of exercise to your physical and mental wellbeing, including how the body responds to exercise and ways to make it part of your day. He will also share tips on the best ways to prepare and recover from exercise so it remains a positive influence on your health.
Exercise for the Life Athlete
Work / Life Balance
Matt will help you understand and define ‘balance’ versus ‘blend’, as well as redefine ‘work/life balance or blend’ to ‘achievement/happiness balance or blend’. Learn to use goal setting methodology to structure short and long-term achievements, find out about the ‘PERMA’ model to define happiness in life, and find out about some daily habits that will foster a positive mindset and create more success and happiness overall.
Work / Life Balance
Master of Ceremonies
Matt is a reliable and sought after MC and event host with a passion for keeping events running to time, getting attendees engaged through activity and injecting his trademark humour throughout the event.
Master of Ceremonies
