Russell Packer: From NRL Star to Prisoner, Leaving Jail With An MBA
AboutJustice & crime
Russell Packer has lived one of the wildest arcs in rugby league - from a teenage prop playing men’s footy in Levin, to 100+ NRL games, prison, the threat of deportation, an MBA from one of the world’s top business schools, and a completely different life after footy.
Russell opens up about the parts of his story most people don’t see - the demons, the damage, the work, and the daily battle to be better for his partner Lara and their kids.
We talk:
- Discovering Wim Hof, ice baths and chasing healthy extremes
- Growing up in Foxton, playing men’s league at 14 and life lessons from Levin Lions
- The Sydney assault: what actually happened, the court case and media narrative
- A year in jail, isolation, anger, acceptance and the moment his daughter broke him
- Rebuilding his life and career after prison
- Nearly being deported from Australia and what that meant for his family
- Studying business, getting into AGSM and graduating with an MBA
- Moving into business: subdivisions, fencing and learning by failing
- Curiosity, reading, and a lifelong thirst for knowledge
- Raising an autistic son and becoming more empathetic and less judgmental
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Steve and Seamus are proud to be dressed by Barkers.
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