The AFL and Anorexia | Brayden Ainsworth

Brayden Ainsworth grew up chasing the footy dream and he caught it. From small town W.A, to the big stage of the AFL, he made it, but behind the scenes, the pressure to perform, the need for validation and the obsession with being in peak condition, were quietly eating away at him.

When Brayden was delisted by the West Coast Eagles, after a short rollercoaster career, the identity he'd built his life around was suddenly gone, and so was his sense of purpose with no structure and no direction, he quickly spiralled into a dark place.

Constantly justifying starving himself and exercising to extreme excess, Brayden became very sick while being unable to fully accept the reality of his eating disorder. Anorexia was the end result of clinging to an identity that had turned against him and a desperate need for control.

For a long time, he didn't have the awareness, the words, or the courage to face his demons and speak his truth, but he sure does now.

A few years on from rock bottom, Brayden's working with young people to promote mental health in schools and using his experience to break the stigma around anorexia in men.

This is a story of what happens when the dream doesn't work out, and how falling apart can open space to build back up stronger than ever.

This is Brayden Ainsworth...