James OโConnor is no stranger to labels โ the good, the bad, the ugly, and the inaccurate.
At 17, he was a prodigy. The youngest ever Super Rugby debutant in the history of the sport.
At 18, he was the future. The second youngest man to ever play for his country.
At 23, he was the bad boy whose off-field exploits resulted in a torn-up Wallabies contract.
At 27, he was an outcast. After being arrested in Paris on suspicion of buying cocaine, James OโConnorsโ fall from grace appeared to be complete.
Australian rugby was finished with OโConnor, but he wasnโt finished with Australian rugby. Now he is back on home soil, back in the Wallabies team, and back in the headlines.
At 30, James OโConnor is reformed: a label that finally fits.
Those who follow the game of rugby will tell you he seems like a changed man. Calm on the field, driven off it. But who has he changed into exactly?
Bad Boy, New Man
Meeting at a cafe in the beachside suburb of Coogee, the first thing I notice about James OโConnor is just how regular he seems.
Gone is the peroxided blonde hair, so often a staple of wayward sports stars. Gone is the mischievous smirk that hinted at trouble. Gone is the version of OโConnor that remains frozen in the minds of football fans: cocky and impulsive.
Sitting amongst the all-day brunchers and early lunchers, he looks entirely at home. This is James OโConnor, new and improved.
โBeing a professional rugby player from such a young age, I had to become a chameleon,โ admits OโConnor when asked about the many faces of Australiaโs most controversial flyhalf.
โI learned to play different characters. I was being wheeled out to CEOs and sponsors, told to shake hands with this guy, smile for this person. And I think that played a part in breaking me because I didnโt know who I was.โ
The OโConnor rise and fall and rise again is a sporting cliche weโre all too familiar with.
Prodigious talent with the world at his feet self implodes through a series of high profile indiscretions. Typically, theyโre left with two options: bottom out or bounce back.
In 2017, while playing for Toulon in France, OโConnor and former All Black Ali Williams were arrested for allegedly trying to buy cocaine outside a Parisian nightclub. For OโConnor who had grown up comfortably in Brisbane while attending an elite private school, spending three nights in a French jail cell was tres confronting.
โWhen everything happened in France I had already started to realise what was good for me and what wasnโt, but then I made this mistake,โ recalls OโConnor.
โI let my guard down, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but honestly, I was far from innocent, and I needed help badly. I was drinking every day, experimenting with prescription drugs, it was rock bottom.โ
For most people, the knee jerk reaction to hitting a low is to reach for the familiar โ head home and reboot. But for OโConnor, the bridges back here werenโt just burned, they were charred to ash.
โI tried to come home to Australia, but no one wanted to touch me with a ten-foot pole, I had a stigma about me,โ says OโConnor, who famously had his Wallabies contract torn up in 2013.
With his options limited. OโConnor signed a deal with English Premiership club Sale Sharks shortly before the 2017โ18 season โ thatโs when everything changed.
โI started working seriously with a guy named Ollie Pryce-Tidd,โ beams OโConnor, the name bringing a smile to his face.
โThatโs when I discovered Saviour World.โ
What Is Saviour World?
Footballersโ Instagram posts tends to fall into four distinct categories: Game-day shots. Training shots. Fancy snaps with the missusโ and beers with the boys.
So when James OโConnor changed lanes and started posting about a mysterious organization called Saviour World, I was intrigued. Since February 22nd, 2018 nearly every single post on OโConnorโs account has tagged or mentioned Saviour World.
Click through to the Saviour World page and you will find more questions than answers. It bills itself as a health and wellness website, promising knowledge for men and encouraging readers to join the male revolution. The account is populated with cartoons of buff, shirtless alpha males and accompanied by captions like YOU ARE A MAN, WHY ARE YOU ANGRY? and THE POWER OF INTENTION.
Itโs confusing but itโs kind of meant to be, at least according to Ollie Pryce-Tidd, the public face of Saviour World and the man responsible for reforming OโConnor.
โThere are quite a few men behind Saviour World, and you possibly sense there is some mystery to it,โ says Ollie over the phone from the Scottish highlands.
โIf you want to seek the answers, you will find them.โ
The longer we talk, the more obvious it becomes that Ollie specialises in this type of chat. Eloquent flow that sounds impressive but leaves you unsure of what is being discussed. Eventually, he starts to drip-feed information about Savior World and what it means today.
โOriginally we sold teas, and the plan was for Saviour World to be a successful health brand,โ explains Ollie.
โBut that was only to generate an income so we could serve our bigger purpose: delivering knowledge and sharing ancient teachings to help make you a better man.โ
As far as I can tell, Saviour World is a self-help program aimed at young men, offering up books, videos and literature designed to empower. Thatโs all well and good, but talk of ancient teachings seems like an attempt to legitimise what is another stock standard self-help program.
What are these teachings, where did they come from?
โWhen I was a young man, I was chronically ill, and while looking for answers, I came across a man who became one of the Saviour World founders,โ explains Ollie.
โHe didnโt reveal himself to me in person, but he started to pass on the teachings. We now have various teachers that pass on their knowledge to the next generation.โ
Ollie then proceeds to drop a few more esoteric bombs, including โthe stairway to heaven is inside youโ, and โgreat knowledge has to be passed on to those who are worthyโ.
While itโs tempting to roll your eyes, Ollie speaks with such authenticity that itโs hard not to get swept up. Maybe the stairway to heaven is inside me?
Savior World users can pay ยฃ3.33 to access the teachings via a monthly subscription and OโConnor steadfastly maintains they have pulled him back from the abyss.
โI needed to find my purpose again, and Saviour World gave me that,โ offers OโConnor, picking at his plate of calamari.
As well as the teachings Saviour World encourages physical sacrifices, like carrying boulders on the beach.
โBreak your body to break your mind and prove that you can get through the pain,โ
โOllie would say, โYouโre going to climb a mountain,โ and Iโd say โBut my ankle is sore!โ
Next thing you know, I am climbing it while carrying a heavy backpack and wearing a shitty pair of shoes. He wanted to break the sooky kid in me.โ
Harmless Self-Help or Risky Idealisation?
Self-help was all the rage in the noughties with Tony Robbins helping a confused generation โunleash the power withinโ. But itโs different these days, social media has turned every second person into a navel-gazing guru, triggering a rise in self-help cynicism.
โRight now itโs trendy to practise yoga, drink a juice, do a bit of Wim Hof and be the best version of yourself,โ laughs OโConnor.
โBut when you take a step above and fully commit to an enlightened life, it can become a bit weird for people.โ
OโConnor admits his rebrand raised a few eyebrows in the Wallabies camp but for the most part his teammates have been respectful, curious even. โThough a few have taken the piss,โ he smiles.
The more pressing issue for OโConnor is that anyone with a platform who endorses unorthodox views, especially on health and self, runs the risk of being publicly scrutinized. Just ask Pete Evans.
OโConnor speaks openly to his 160,000 followers about suffering from depression and believes Saviour World has helped him overcome that โ without the use of prescription drugs.
โThe worst thing I ever did was get medicated. I became a zombie. It took all heightened emotions away,โ OโConnor tells me.
Itโs no secret these types of opinions could land a successful young Wallaby back in hot water, something Ollie knows all too well.
โWho is to say who has the right answer, it comes down to what resonates with you when discussing mental health treatment options,โ he says.
โSome people want the conventional approach to mental health, but Saviour World sees it as an awakening process. Your spirit has had enough of living a lie; youโre sick and tired of being distracted and drained by society.โ
Then comes the disclaimer: โEverything has its place, thereโs no judgment from Saviour World,โ adds Ollie. โWeโre just providing another option for the curious younger man.โ
โI can only speak to my own experience, but for me, the medication didnโt work, and it was an easy way out,โ echoes OโConnor.
โItโs a lot harder to do the work, improve yourself and get active every day โ but again I can only speak for myself.โ
The Cost of Being Saved
James OโConnor is among several high profile athletes that Saviour World works with, also on the list English tight end prop Kyle Sinckler and former pro, Danny Cipriani.
Deep pockets can be helpful when youโre selling deep wisdom.
โMoney is not an issue, there are no worries for money when you understand need over greed,โ explains Ollie.
โWhen youโre on this path everything you need finds you, itโs all about the law of attraction and the vibrations you put out there.โ
But still, the bottom line is: you need to worry about the bottom line.
โEverybody contributes through their own choice, itโs never asked, everyone just wants to chuck in because it resonates,โ maintains Ollie.
โI have recently put money in,โ confirms OโConnor.
โItโs not a business where I am looking to make money; it is my way of giving back. Iโve backed several start-ups that have failed; this one has saved my life.โ
Whatever Works
For all my scepticism of programs like Saviour World, thereโs no denying that the man sitting opposite me seems at peace with himself.
โI know what itโs done for me, I know how broken I was, I know I wanted to exit life,โ he says.
โI remember those feelings; I can still reach out and grab them.โ
But now he is more interested in grabbing the opportunities that come his way. This weekend James OโConnor will return to the Wallabiesโ starting lineup for the final Test of the year against Argentina.
โNo one ever thought heโd play for the Wallabies ever again, he was forgotten about, discarded on the scrap heap,โ says Ollie.
โAnd by walking out this Saturday in the No.10 jersey for the Wallabies, he can influence younger men simply by being a success.โ
While elements of Saviour Worldโs self-help program may be questionable at best, dubious at worst, it has revitalised OโConnor.
โI can understand why people are cynical, it might sound like a lot of jargon, but itโs helped me focus on the man I was supposed to be,โ explains OโConnor.
โIโm back in Australia, playing the best rugby of my career. Saviour World has given me a reason to live again.โ
