Joe Williams is a Wiradjuri, 1st Nations Aboriginal man born in Cowra, raised in Wagga NSW having lived a 15 year span as a professional sports person. Joe played in the National Rugby League for South Sydney Rabbitohs, Penrith Panthers and Canterbury Bulldogs before switching to professional Boxing in 2009. As a boxer Joe was a 2x WBF World Jnr Welterweight champion and also won the WBC Asia Continental Title.
Although forging a successful professional sporting career, Joe battled the majority of his life with suicidal ideation and Bi Polar Disorder. After a suicide attempt in 2012, Joe felt his purpose was to help people who struggle with mental health & wellbeing.
Joe is an author, having contributed to multiple books as well as his own autobiography titled Defying The Enemy Within. Joe was also named as finalist for the courage award in the 2017 National Indigenous Human Rights Awards & 2018 was awarded the Suicide Prevention Australia Life Award for his work in communities across the country. In 2019 Joe was awarded Australia’s highest honour in the Mental Health field, announced as a co winner of the National Mental Health Prize presented by the Australian Prime Minister. Since founding the organisation The Enemy Within in 2014, Joe has delivered wellbeing programs to over 200 communities across Australia, & multiple countries around the globe; which aims to alleviate the mental & traumatic distress of individuals from all pockets of the community. Joe is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland and current PhD student at University of Melbourne.