"Instead of complaining about it ... why don't you go and contribute"

As a 24 year old, Ryan Miller took the opportunity to follow his dream of becoming a TV broadcaster and journalist at Sky News in Sydney.

He immediately hit the ground running and was soon thrust into a management role looking after a news team. As a traditional journalist, he was passionate about reporting the truth but it didn’t take long before editorial direction began to occur from above. This coincided with the ‘on air’ arrival of polarising people like Andrew Bolt and Peta Credlin…things now began to change. When these on air presenters began espousing the conservative views of the network’s “owner” and these views were morally different to Ryan’s, he knew it was time to move.

The dilemma of leaving a position after only 10 months, the potential career consequences of this and the requirement to pay back some relocation costs, made for a difficult time. But a chance referral from a mate to a role in football at the Greater Western Sydney Giants, a sport that had been a large part of his life in WA, was the ideal way to relieve this tension.

Immediately things changed and over the next 4 and a half years, Ryan was able to immerse himself in a personal passion but also was part of something “bigger” in the world of AFL.

It was a successful period for the Giants during this time and especially in the growth of woman’s football … the fastest growing woman’s sport in Western Sydney at the time…and Ryan was at the centre of it.

Now back in WA, Ryan is creating content for a international tech startup, Optimize Mind Performance. Their App supports athletes, both professionals and amateurs, to optimize their mental skills training for better performance. Check it out at optimizemindperformance.com