David Culbert

“Yarra opens up infinite future possibilities for students”

When David Culbert arrived at Yarra, the School was relatively new and it was a major change from his small and familiar primary school. But David, Class of 1984, thrived during his high school years and, like many Yarra Old Grammarians, he was inspired by the School’s focus on fostering individual talents and passions.

Immediately after graduating, David moved to Canberra to join the Australian Institute of Sport. He was identified as a potential long jump champion and competed at two Olympic Games, three Commonwealth Games and a World Championship. He won three Australian titles. Since stepping away from professional athletics, David has run a sports marketing and PR business.

From the moment he joined Yarra, sport was David’s priority. He excelled in athletics but made his mark on the footy and hockey fields, too.

“I was probably pretty testing for some teachers because I was focused on sporting pursuits rather than academic pursuits! But whether it was Science, Maths, German or Indonesian, the teachers were committed and wanted us students to learn and be the best we could be.”

While at Yarra, David learned vital life skills like goal setting and how to manage his time. He left School with a goal to reach the 1988 Olympics – which he achieved.

He began his business in 1998 and still sets daily goals to keep that business growing – most recently David worked with the Australian Masters Games and has an hourly show on SEN Radio. He is working on the upcoming World Cup and Presidents Cup Golf events in Melbourne this year and next.

“You have to have a plan of attack because there are a hundred little things you have to do to make the big goal happen. Do everything you can every day to give yourself the best chance of success.”