Build sustainable income: Relying just on an entertainment career for income is stressful and only translates it if takes off in a big way. Building other sustainable ways to make money helps us also build a long-term career in entertainment.
Asa part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Nick Bracks.
Nick Bracks is a storyteller who has dedicated his adult life to creating positive conversations around mental health.
An acclaimed mental health advocate and successful multi entrepreneur, Nick has delivered 1,000+ mental health seminars around the globe, including two TEDx talks. This came about following his own personal and public battle with mental health and wellbeing.
Creative at heart, Nick is an actor with several films to his name and a two-year role on the well-loved Australian soap, Neighbours. Acting, along with exercise and meditation, is Nick’s foundation for vibrant mental health.
Nick now spends his time creating educational content through his Move Your Mind podcast and courses. His professional life and personal development are perfectly intertwined.
He lives between Australia and the United States.
Nick has just released his first book, Move Your Mind: How to Build Healthy Mindset for life that is available globally here: https://www.amazon.com/Move-Your-Mind-Healthy-Mindset/dp/073039204X
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Igrew up in a well-known Australian family (my father was the premier of Victoria). I always had an active mind and was motivated to excel in sports, specifically middle distance running, in which I competed at a national level. I had a very unique upbringing and all I have known since the age of 12 is to be in the media, which is where my career as an adult also led.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
The specific event that led me on my career path was my public battle with depression. It played out in the Australian media and it was during my recovery that I found my voice while competing on Dancing With The Stars. This led to speaking at schools and building my own seminar company, speaking over 1,000 times over the last decade, inducing several TED talks. I gained confidence through this to follow my other passion in acting and after years of training landed work on shows such as Neighbours and feature films.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
There are too many to go into however one of them would involve somehow ending up as a competitor on a show called ‘Celebrity Splash’ where you get trained by an Olympic diving coach to jump off diving boards!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Probably thinking that I had all of the answers and would magically become an overnight success. I cringe looking back on it.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I am building out a TV show centered around mental health that I am beyond excited about. It combines my two passions of mental health and film.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
I would say fall in love with the process. Success is hard and comes and goes, but we always have the day-to-day process. If you can fall in love with that then you can’t go wrong.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Diversity is critical as it is a true representation of life. Here are three reasons it is important:
- It is a real representation of life
- It provides fair opportunities to everyone
- It showcases Talent that would not otherwise be seen
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- That it would take time: I used to be so rushed and want everything right away. I could have avoided stress and pain if I acknowledged how long it would take.
- That the process never ends: You don’t just ‘make it’ and everything is then easy. It is a never-ending process which again is why we need to enjoy the ‘process’.
- To have other interests: If you only care about one part of your career you can become stale and stop enjoying what you used to love. Having other interests keeps us fresh.
- Build sustainable income: Relying just on an entertainment career for income is stressful and only translates it if takes off in a big way. Building other sustainable ways to make money helps us also build a long-term career in entertainment.
- Surround yourself with good people: I used to have toxic people around me and it derailed certain things. I now only have a small group of very supportive people around me and it makes all of the difference.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I would say to keep balance and have a long-term view. Things may not happen overnight and we always need to keep perspective about what is truly important. Keeping daily routines such as exercise and meditation also makes an enormous difference.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I have been advocating for mainstream mental health education for the past 12 years and will continue to do so. I would love to inspire as many people as possible to realise that vulnerability is the ultimate strength.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many but my uncle and aunty were huge to me. They both passed away during covid and it was devastating. They supported my dreams since I was a little kid and instilled the belief in me that I can achieve anything. They are everything to me. So much so that I tattooed their initials on my wrist to remind me to follow my heart as they wanted me to.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I love this one by Gandhi, ‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever’. It is so relevant as it reminds you to be present and make the most of what is in front of you right now while always staying curious and educating yourself.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Hugh Jackman. He is a fellow Australian and someone who I would love to emulate a career!
How can our readers follow you online?
They can find info on my website, including free content and links to my new book here: nickbracks.com
Here are some other links:
https://www.amazon.com/Move-Your-Mind-Healthy-Mindset/dp/073039204X
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.
In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.
Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.
With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.
