David is our founder, managing director, and principal accredited exercise physiologist at TLC with 11 years of experience as a clinical exercise physiologist. He is a born and bred Cairns local whose vision was to give back to the community in which he grew up. Upon graduation from JCU Townsville in 2014 with a Bachelor of Exercise Physiology (Clinical), David returned home and worked in the Cairns area in private practice, vocational rehabilitation, occupational rehabilitation, and the disability sector. He went on to start Thriving Lives Co. (formerly known as FNQ Chronic Pain and Disease Rehabilitation) in 2017, working part-time until expanding into full-time practice in 2019. His vision was to establish an interdisciplinary Allied Health clinic in Cairns that supports individuals living with complex pain conditions, disabilities, illness, and disease.
Following a kayaking injury in 2016 and the related lived experience of persistent pain and the associated disability, he developed a keen interest in the complexities of pain neuroscience and treatment to support others to get back to the things that they love. Over the past five years David has engaged in multiple post-graduate courses and conferences on pain neuroscience and management by leading international researchers, and most recently completed his Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management) online through the University of Sydney in November of 2022, and a Professional Certificate in Pain Sciences (Education) from the University of South Australia in 2023.
As part of his passion to support his community to recover from persistent pain David took on a volunteer position in 2023 as the Cairns Local Pain Educator with Pain Revolution, which involved delivery of monthly workshops for six months to provide local health professionals with advanced understanding and skills in pain science, education, and care. Additionally in 2023, David took up cycling to participate in the Pain Revolution Rural Outreach tour that involved cycling 751 kilometres and 7129 vertical metres from Townsville to Cairns over seven days to raise money for, and awareness of the importance of sharing the latest pain science information in rural and regional communities. David then hung up his bike and returned to the Rural Outreach Tour in September of 2024 as an Educator, involved in curriculum development and delivery of pain science workshops in rural and regional towns.
Outside of work, David loves the outdoors and being active through water skiing, scuba diving, snowboarding, camping, exploring watering holes, playing squash, and spending time with friends and family.