From introducing radically beneficial training regiments to re engineering and dismantling the groupthink around men's mental health, Dan Conn has disrupted and shifted the world of health and wellness.

Like so many who have racked up a decade-plus in the NRL, Daniel Conn could have traded on his glory days for years, never having to buy himself a drink in pubs where Bulldogs, Roosters and Titans congregate.

He could have charged through the nose to tell old jokes at footy club dinner. Instead, he focused on a future with one letter and two numbers: F45. The idea was both brilliant and brilliantly executed – gyms that were small enough that they could proliferate most suburban shopping strips and where you could be in, out and exhausted within three quarters of an hour. Along with founder Rob Deutsch, Conn became the face of an entirely new and conveniently franchisable way of working out.

Along the way, he has forged collabs with the likes of everyone from GQ to Adidas. Perhaps most impressive was his shift from the purely physical realms of F45 to working with The Collective Wellness Group which encompasses a mental health aspect and dovetails neatly with his passion for removing the stigma around discussing issues such as depression. His own experience front and centre. As is the pattern with his entire story, it’s about altering the concept of what strength can be.