Matthew Mitcham

LGBTQIA+ trailblazer
Matthew Mitcham

Matthew is one of the very few athletes to complete the golden trifecta, winning the Olympic Games (2008), World Cup (2010) and Commonwealth Games (2014).

Matthew’s win in Beijing 2008 will forever stand out in history, not just for achieving the single highest dive score in Olympic history, but in coming out before his Olympic debut, he became the first ever openly gay Olympic Champion. Since winning Gold in Beijing, Matthew has gone on to use his platform as an ambassador, speaker, and entertainer to advocate for issues surrounding mental health & wellbeing, and the LGBTQIA+ community.

A seasoned and entertaining speaker with fifteen years’ experience, Matthew has presented to a vast array of organisations from federal police to Airbnb and Spotify, MC’ed galas for the Lord Mayor of Sydney, and is the only facilitator trusted by the Australian Institute of Sport to deliver both the Respectful Behaviours Program and Thrive with Pride workshops.

Matthew’s speaking topics include:
Mental Health

After speaking candidly about his history with depression, anxiety and his recovery from addiction in his 2012 autobiography, Matthew has worked with various mental health charities and toured an award-winning cabaret show to help bring awareness and break down the stigma surrounding mental health. He has a proactive, solution-focused approach, covering emotional intelligence, managing stress and performance, humility and resilience, and self-care.

Goal setting

In his hugely popular goal setting workshop, Matthew takes participants through a modified SMART module which he has refined over years to become Olympic Champion, World No.1, get sober, create an award-winning cabaret show, and start his own business. His method includes several failsafes making it highly effective for personal and professional goals. The session also covers mindset, overcoming obstacles, dealing with failure, and motivation.

Diversity & Inclusion
Being the first openly gay Olympic Champion, Matthew has been a role model and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. He highlights the impact of authenticity and inclusive environments on mental well-being and performance in the workplace. He has gone on to do training in the Diversity and Inclusion space, and now helps organisations understand, identify, address and/or prevent all forms of discrimination, harassment and bullying based on age, race, religion, gender, and dis/ability. Watch Matt talk about this here.
Matthew Mitcham