David was born to eighteen-year-old drug addicts, in the UK, who did their best to provide for him and support him, while working through their addictions. He achieved a Masters in Sports Science and later became his father’s carer until his death which devastated him, so he moved to Australia. He was unable to get a job in his field so manged an aquatic centre. He shares that about three years ago he started therapy for his grief and to deal with his upbringing traumas, where he was surrounded by addictive behaviour. He now sees his challenges as his greatest gifts and supports marginalised groups through sport.
Biography
David has worked in the sport, leisure and wellness sectors in England and Australia for 22 years, in roles spanning Local Government, peak bodies, private sector and the social economy.
David is the Founder and CEO of Collective Leisure and Director of David Burns Consulting. Collective Leisure is Australia’s first social enterprise leisure management company, certified by Social Traders with a mission to reduce health inequity within our communities. This is summarised in their purpose statement of “enabling well-being without boundaries”.
David Burns Consulting works with government, peak bodies, and universities in a policy, planning and strategic context.
David is a systems leader with a proven reputation for executing projects that serve the hard to reach, hardly reached and underserved communities.
Board roles:
• Non-Executive Director Social Enterprise Council of NSW + ACT
• Swinburne University Sport Innovation Research Group – Advisory Board
Business Name: Collective Leisure
Contact
davidb@collectiveleisure.com.au
https://www.collectiveleisure.com.au/
Social Media
www.linkedin.com/in/david-t-burns/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/collective-leisure/
https://www.instagram.com/collective.leisure/
We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes.
Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group.
If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here – https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact
We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories!
Warmly,
The Kintsugi Heroes team
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Theme Song: “Broken” by Colin Lillie
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Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit Australian podcast network sharing real stories of resilience, disability, and transformation.
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