Beyond the Court: Beau Vernon building impact through sport and culture
The lessons Beau Vernon has learnt through sport have shaped far more than his decorated wheelchair rugby career.
As the Australian Steelers athlete continues to compete at the highest level, Vernon is also applying the resilience, leadership and work ethic developed through years in high-performance sport to life beyond the court, from co-founding The Culture Standard podcast to exploring opportunities in leadership, culture and storytelling.
In our Q&A as part of National Careers Week, Vernon reflects on the transferable skills sport has given him, the mentors who have influenced his journey, and how confidence built through adversity continues to shape his future ambitions.
What skills from sport do you find yourself using in study or work? Can you think of a moment where this really helped you?
Vernon: Growing up around sport instilled so many values that I find myself drawing on constantly. Resilience, the ability to work as a team, after failing life goes on, social connection, and the understanding that if you work hard at something, you will get better.
That last one is probably the biggest. Whether it's in a work meeting or building something new, I feel more confident in myself when I have put in the work and have prepared myself to the best of my ability. Sport also taught me that ups and downs are part of the process, not a reason to stop. I also probably have been drawn to and learnt to be more of a leader and manager due to watching my dad coach Australian rules footy as a youngster.
What new skills have you developed through your study or work? Has anything surprised you about what you are good at?
Vernon: I’ve learnt a lot over the years from work and study. I’ve learnt about being a hard worker, that no matter what job you do, to find the joy in it (especially when usually 5 out of 7 days most people work), that everyone in the team is just as important as the next, the difference between good cultures and average ones, conflict management, computer skills and communication skills.
Being co-founder of The Culture Standard podcast has pushed me to step out of my comfort zone. From interviewing, creating content and thinking about how to build something from the ground up. It's in its early stages right now, but watching it grow has shown me I'm more capable in that entrepreneurial space than I'd given myself credit for.
Has a teacher, mentor or colleague pointed out strengths you had not noticed?
Vernon: I've been lucky to have many mentors and coaches throughout my life. My approach has always been to extract one or two things from every person I admire and try to adapt those into my own life. Over time, people have reflected back to me that this quality of being genuinely curious and coachable is itself a strength. Quite often it’s harder to see our own strengths but journaling and getting feedback from people helps me be more self-aware of my strengths and weaknesses.
How does recognising these strengths help you feel more confident in areas beyond sport?
Vernon: Feeling confident and believing in ourselves is something that I feel we as Australians probably struggle with a bit.
Recognising these strengths has made me realise that the skills I've built through sport are genuinely transferable. Resilience, being a team player, working through adversity, work rate, finding the joy, these things show up everywhere.
They especially showed up when I broke my neck at the age of 23 and helped me be able to live an awesome life now despite the challenges quadriplegia throw at you. That realisation is confidence-building in itself.
Journaling has really helped me with this too. Continuously reflecting on where I'm at, what's going well and what I could improve has given me a clearer picture of who I am and what I bring to the table. I’m big on building little wins and that these deposits build and build into more confidence. Working hard at sport and that going well has given me a level of belief that if I work hard enough at something in life, then we can achieve a lot more than we think.
Has this given you ideas about work or study you might want to explore in the future?
Vernon: Absolutely. The Culture Standard is a big part of that. Right now, it's a podcast, but the vision is to grow it into something that has a genuine positive influence on people, teams, and organisations by taking everything that sport has taught me (from coaching and playing) about culture and bringing it into the broader world. I'm excited about where it's heading and what positive influence we can have.
National Careers Week (11 to 15 May 2026) is an opportunity to recognise that athletes are more than their sporting achievements alone. National Careers Week is an initiative of the Career Industry Council of Australia. It aims to celebrate careers, career development, career development services, and career development practitioners and promote career development’s economic, social and personal benefits.