Brad Harris

“This was always an inclusive community – the School should be really proud of that”

Since graduating a strong sense of social justice has seen this Yarra Old Grammarian commit tireless time, energy and passion into his pursuits.

Brad Harris (YOG 2002) is co-founder of the Sporting Globe sports bars/restaurants, a business created with friend and former Yarra student, James Sinclair (YOG 2002). Alongside his entrepreneurial pursuits Brad is a social philanthropist, committed to reducing homelessness. Brad recently joined with social housing provider, Launch Housing, and VicRoads to develop a new and affordable housing model. “VicRoads provides surplus land and Launch provides dwellings built off-site that are trucked in and installed. They can be moved when VicRoads requires the land. We’ve built fifty seven homes for around $4 million”.

Brad believes his ideals around equality and fairness were nurtured at Yarra where he made plenty of friends – and maintains many of those friendships today. “One thing that stands out for me about Yarra is that there were never any cliques or groups. Everyone got along. I think this School punches out good people and good community-minded citizens”.

The School’s motto, Levavi Oculos (lift up my eyes) resonates with Brad. He interprets it as standing back and looking at the big picture before working out how to grasp an issue and tackle it.

While he continues to grow the Sporting Globe franchise and tackle homelessness, Brad seeks a balance, so he doesn’t have to work 70 or 80 hours a week. He’s a firm believer that people can achieve in business or philanthropy without losing touch with other important elements in their life, such as, family and healthy living. Asked if he had any advice for future YOGs, Brad had this to say:

“Give things your best shot and don’t get disheartened because life has a way of panning out and you get there in the end”.