Gold Logie Winner Grant Denyer shares health scare: ‘I was f***ed’
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We all know how important it is to take care of our health — after all, our bodies are the only ones we have!
But even though we might be aware of the importance of looking after ourselves, it’s not always easy to do so, especially when we’re living busy lives.
Grant Denyer is an example of a person who knows this all too well, having recently opened up about his past health problems in a candid podcast interview.
Denyer spoke on the latest episode of the Along for the Ride podcast, sharing to host Anthony Madaffari his fast-paced lifestyle.
Aside from being a past weatherman on one of Australia’s most popular morning shows, Sunrise, he is also known for winning in Dancing With The Stars in 2006 with Amanda Garner.
Denyer was on Sunrise from 2004 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2013.
‘It was the best experience of my life,’ he said.
‘I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.’
‘If I wanted to stand on Uluru tomorrow, I could. If I wanted to wrestle a crocodile from the top end the day after, I (would).
‘If I wanted to jump out of a helicopter and set a Guinness World Record, no worries.’
In a span of more than three years, Denyer says he was on a total of around 750 cross-country flights as part of job requirements for Sunrise.
‘If you turned up in a different part of the country every day, the ratings would go up… if you were somewhere remote or doing something cool, the ratings would go up further.’
‘I’m a competitive little b*****d, I was addicted to the success of the ratings. And therefore, we pushed the envelope.’
Denyer said the high of success drove him to push further, even outside of network television.
‘I was racing at the time, filming lots of other TV shows.’
‘It could be Monday to Friday, I’d be filming in a different part of the country every day, and then on the weekend… racing at 300 (kilometres) an hour.’
Eventually, though, his body gave way.
‘I wasn’t listening to my body, and it just… shut down.’
‘I had massive chronic fatigue. Excuse me for swearing, but I was f***ed.’
Denyer realised that the adrenaline high his lifestyle and career gave him took so much out of him that it took a long time to bounce back.
‘I reckon it took me three years to recover, to be honest.’
‘There was a point where I went to the doctor and they examined my organs… and they said they were running at about seven per cent.
‘And they said “If you don’t do something drastically, you’re going to die. And soon.”’
After the shocking warning from his doctor, Denyer decided to take his health more seriously.
‘I was trying to push on and I realised I just had to give in to it — forget about television, forget about success, forget about ratings — and just focus on my health because it wasn’t going to end well.’
Sadly, Denyer relapsed. After he broke his back in a horrific monster truck accident (which led to fears he’d never walk again), he admitted to chasing the high yet again.
But he said — going through two health scares — he came to a realisation.
‘It took two lessons to learn, you don’t want to make it three, because the third one might be a permanent one.’
‘I put the work in to make sure that it doesn’t get to that from now on.’
We sure hope so, Grant!
It’s not the first time that Denyer revealed a glimpse of himself beyond the glitz and glamour of the screen.
In July of this year, he took to Instagram to share his struggles with self-acceptance and admitted that at times, he’s guilty of being his worst critic.
‘My self-talk can get pretty savage… I beat myself up, worry about the future, hang on to regrets about the past and get bogged down in fear.’ he said.
![Screenshot_1.png Screenshot_1.png](https://seniorsdiscountclub.com.au/data/attachments/10/10117-38aad1ad2e12b63dcb0114af4ed608f8.jpg)
‘Fear of failure, fear of not being liked, fear of not being good enough. Generally, a busy mind that makes it hard to be present for those around me. Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy the moment with all that mental distraction.’
But just like his health, he gave his self-worth a break.
‘I am a work in progress. I suffer from perfectionism, but with stuff like meditation or self-improvement I don’t aim for perfection, just progress,’ he said.
If you have time, check out what stunt current Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac said Denyer would have been better featured in!
What do you think of Denyer’s long self-care journey?
Share your thoughts and opinions below!
Source: YouTube/Sunrise
But even though we might be aware of the importance of looking after ourselves, it’s not always easy to do so, especially when we’re living busy lives.
Grant Denyer is an example of a person who knows this all too well, having recently opened up about his past health problems in a candid podcast interview.
Denyer spoke on the latest episode of the Along for the Ride podcast, sharing to host Anthony Madaffari his fast-paced lifestyle.
Aside from being a past weatherman on one of Australia’s most popular morning shows, Sunrise, he is also known for winning in Dancing With The Stars in 2006 with Amanda Garner.
Denyer was on Sunrise from 2004 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2013.
‘It was the best experience of my life,’ he said.
‘I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.’
‘If I wanted to stand on Uluru tomorrow, I could. If I wanted to wrestle a crocodile from the top end the day after, I (would).
‘If I wanted to jump out of a helicopter and set a Guinness World Record, no worries.’
In a span of more than three years, Denyer says he was on a total of around 750 cross-country flights as part of job requirements for Sunrise.
‘If you turned up in a different part of the country every day, the ratings would go up… if you were somewhere remote or doing something cool, the ratings would go up further.’
‘I’m a competitive little b*****d, I was addicted to the success of the ratings. And therefore, we pushed the envelope.’
Denyer said the high of success drove him to push further, even outside of network television.
‘I was racing at the time, filming lots of other TV shows.’
‘It could be Monday to Friday, I’d be filming in a different part of the country every day, and then on the weekend… racing at 300 (kilometres) an hour.’
Eventually, though, his body gave way.
‘I wasn’t listening to my body, and it just… shut down.’
‘I had massive chronic fatigue. Excuse me for swearing, but I was f***ed.’
Denyer realised that the adrenaline high his lifestyle and career gave him took so much out of him that it took a long time to bounce back.
‘I reckon it took me three years to recover, to be honest.’
‘There was a point where I went to the doctor and they examined my organs… and they said they were running at about seven per cent.
‘And they said “If you don’t do something drastically, you’re going to die. And soon.”’
After the shocking warning from his doctor, Denyer decided to take his health more seriously.
‘I was trying to push on and I realised I just had to give in to it — forget about television, forget about success, forget about ratings — and just focus on my health because it wasn’t going to end well.’
Sadly, Denyer relapsed. After he broke his back in a horrific monster truck accident (which led to fears he’d never walk again), he admitted to chasing the high yet again.
But he said — going through two health scares — he came to a realisation.
‘It took two lessons to learn, you don’t want to make it three, because the third one might be a permanent one.’
‘I put the work in to make sure that it doesn’t get to that from now on.’
We sure hope so, Grant!
It’s not the first time that Denyer revealed a glimpse of himself beyond the glitz and glamour of the screen.
In July of this year, he took to Instagram to share his struggles with self-acceptance and admitted that at times, he’s guilty of being his worst critic.
‘My self-talk can get pretty savage… I beat myself up, worry about the future, hang on to regrets about the past and get bogged down in fear.’ he said.
![Screenshot_1.png Screenshot_1.png](https://seniorsdiscountclub.com.au/data/attachments/10/10117-38aad1ad2e12b63dcb0114af4ed608f8.jpg)
Denyer (left) won the 2006 edition of Dancing With the Stars. Screengrab Credit: YouTube/United Dance Styles
‘Fear of failure, fear of not being liked, fear of not being good enough. Generally, a busy mind that makes it hard to be present for those around me. Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy the moment with all that mental distraction.’
But just like his health, he gave his self-worth a break.
‘I am a work in progress. I suffer from perfectionism, but with stuff like meditation or self-improvement I don’t aim for perfection, just progress,’ he said.
If you have time, check out what stunt current Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac said Denyer would have been better featured in!
What do you think of Denyer’s long self-care journey?
Share your thoughts and opinions below!
Source: YouTube/Sunrise