The day his schoolteacher dismissed him as just a 'skinny little kid', a spark was ignited in the young John Tickell and he vowed to grow up and prove him wrong.

So he trained hard and became a champion schoolboy athlete, a low handicap golfer and a professional Australian Rules footballer for the Hawthorn Hawks.

He paid his own way through MedicalSchool driving delivery trucks and diving for golf balls in the river by the local public course. He taught himself to play the guitar and sang in clubs and on TV shows, producing a No. 1 Top 40 hit record along the way.

John graduated from the University of Melbourne to become Dr John, a General Practitioner, an Obstetrician and then a Specialist Practitioner in Sports Medicine.

Dr John first visited the USA, Europe and Asia in 1979 and began teaching the principles of health and stress management to the business world. He developed the first Executive Health Testing Clinics in Australia.

He then became a best selling author of the two inspirational books 'A Passion for Living' and 'Laughter, Sex, Vegetables and Fish.'

Dr Tickell also developed the first large scale health spa complex in Australia, the Hyatt Regency Coolum International Golf and Spa Resort on Queensland's SunshineCoast.

After travelling through many countries for over 20 years studying the habits of many races of people – including the longest living population in the world – Dr Tickell developed the ultimate program '91 DAYS that can CHANGE YOUR LIFE' which includes a computer program that assesses the physiological age of your body compared to your age in years. 

This experience has seen Dr Tickell become a world-renowned speaker at more than 1,800 conferences and meetings in the USA, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. He has spoken in the company of icons such as General Norman Schwarzkopf, Mikhail Gorbachev and Edward de Bono.

Jack Nicklaus was one of John's heroes and he figured out the best way to meet Jack was to invite him to design a golf course. Nicklaus said “yes” and the world-class Heritage Golf and Residential Country Club in Melbourne was the result. They then co-wrote the superb book 'Golf and Life' - 72 Lessons on Life.

His latest book, The Great Australian Diet has become the No. 1 selling weight loss and life changing publication in Australia.  The book, along with Dr Tickell, became the centrepiece of the hit TV reality show on Channel 9, 'Celebrity Overhaul'.

Dr John Tickell is also turning his attention to the biggest health challenge we have faced in modern times - childhood obesity - with his 'Livinglife Program for Kids'