Derrick McManus - Inspirational Speaker, Facilitator and MC

14/10/2026

On my way home from another sensational adventure with some of the nicest people on the face of this earth.

It’s been 8 days on the Kokoda track with savage inclines/declines, twist & turns, slips and slides along sometimes narrow paths (sometimes a mere foot width wide) with a 500 metre drop off the side.

Loved every minute.

I can only say it was exceptional privilege to have conversations with these people about men’s mental health and reducing gender violence - in the middle of the PNG jungle.

A workshop from:
The Man Cave
Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation
And me with Sustainable Optimal Performance - Human Durability

Kokoda Centurions Australian Kokoda Tours
Toyota Australia TOYOTA
Seeley International EMENA

05/10/2026

To go far, we walk together.
To create change, we talk together.

This is our motto for our 2026 Kokoda Centurion trek.

Can you spare a minute for men’s mental health and reducing gender violence?

You know I love to contribute to community, and this is how I’m doing it now.

On 5 October I’m heading back to Kokoda with 34 trekkers to raise awareness, start conversations and raise vital funds for two organisations that help save lives and families.

We walk Kokoda Track partly in remembrance of the soldiers who fought in 1942 to save Australia against invading forces, and mostly as a metaphor in the struggle with mental health.
The four pillars that kept them going: courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice; are the same pillars are what we need to take on mental health and gender violence. People like you and me, stepping up for each other and showing Courage, Endurance, Mateship and Sacrifice in support.

You may not be able to walk with us, but a donation keeps the programs and research going for all of us. Any support means more than I can say.

🤍 The Man Cave: https://www.mycause.com.au/page/399761/kokoda-centurions
Empowering boys to become great men with emotional understanding and regulation.

💜 Breakthrough Mental Health: https://kokoda-2026.raiselysite.com/kokoda-centurions
Researching and implementing the strategies that are actually effective in combating mental health.

TOYOTA Toyota Australia
Seeley International
Australian Kokoda Tours

Mignon Furnell - CEO Kokoda Centurions
Scott Matthews - co- founder

26/07/2026

Reveling in the opportunity to say thank you to all the SAAS (ambulance) volunteers on the Yorke Peninsula

27/05/2026

"Iron mindset is an understatement.
Elite level mind is what Derrick has.
Yes, trained but also developed - through suffering, stress and difficulty. Like a diamond formed deep within the Earth' when subjected to extreme heat and pressure. We need to embrace stressors more and let them form us into stronger, more resilient beings. True honour to spend time with Derrick and learn from him."

I met Aleksandra King while I was in the UK when I was opening the Spy Q executive conference being run by Gavin Stone - retired British Intelligence Officer - and James Foster.

All Aleksandra's podcast interviews are next level and compared to The Diary Of A CEO for depth, intensity and value.

Please listen to this one and please like it and make comment for feedback and broader sharing stats.

https://lnkd.in/gg4yaB7V

03/05/2026

Melbourne — I'm coming to you.

Are you ready to close the gap between what your team believes it's capable of — and how it actually performs when the pressure is real?

Because that gap is exactly where most people come undone. And it's exactly where the real work begins.

I work in Human Durability and Mind Mastery — helping leaders, teams and organisations sustain high performance physically, mentally and emotionally when the stakes are high and the margin for error is small.

Human Durability — beyond resilience. Sustained high performance under sustained pressure. Mind Mastery — the ability to think clearly, decide well and execute with precision when everything is telling you not to.

This isn't theory that sounds great in a workshop and evaporates by Monday.

This is a system forged in extreme conditions — built across years as a sniper, diver and counter-terrorism operative, where rock-solid mindset wasn't a nice-to-have, it was survival. And when I was shot 14 times in less than 5 seconds and faced three hours alone, bleeding and conscious — 30 seconds from death — Mind Management wasn't a concept. It was the only thing standing between me and not making it.

That experience didn't break me. It became the foundation of everything I now teach.

I'll be in Melbourne from 10 - 15 May, and I'm opening up time to connect with leaders, teams and organisations who are ready to move beyond potential — and into real, repeatable performance.

Coffee. Conversation. A genuine challenge.

If that sparks something — send me a message or tag someone who needs to hear this.

Fair warning: I love a good laugh and I'm happy with small talk — but I go deep fast. Come ready.

28/04/2026

Should you be in or out of your comfort zone?

This is not theory. It sits at the core of Human Durability. It is how I survived being shot and returned to full duties as a sniper, diver and counter-terrorist operative two years later.

Everyone loves to say, “Get out of your comfort zone. That’s where growth happens.”

Sure, that's true ...
But no one talks about staying there too long.
What happens to your mental, physical and relationship health?

Outside your comfort zone is also where stress lives.
It is uncertain.
It is complex.
It is hard.
It is uncomfortable.
It stretches you.

And not just your capacity and capability.
It tests your mental wellbeing too.

Now don’t get me wrong. I spend a lot of time outside the comfort zone.
That pressure can be exciting. I enjoy it.
That was my life in STAR Force.

But I only stay outside the comfort zone for a chosen amount of time.
And then I switch.

Stay there too long and your performance drops.
Just a little, then a bit more. Then it can collapse.

You get overwhelmed by everything and it doesn't abate.
Decisions are harder.
Solutions are rarer.
Creativity disappears.
Your team still needs you.
Your family wonder if you’re ever happy.

This is when most people double down.
"I just need to be more resilient and keep on going."

Wrong move.
That thinking is exactly what leads to burnout.

This is where I tell people to 'get back into your comfort zone'.

Not to hide. Not forever. Not for too long.
And definitely not because there is anything wrong with you.

Get back in with intent.

Inside your comfort zone:
Your mind settles.
Your nervous system downshifts.
Where clarity returns.
Energy is restored.
Perspective stabilises.
You reconnect with yourself and your people.

This is not weakness. This is strength. And this is recovery.
This is how you protect your mental wellbeing and sustain optimal performance under pressure.

Go back into your comfort zone:
For 10 minutes, 24 hours, two weeks or whatever YOU need.
Allow yourself little time out and then ...

Go again.

Human Durability is not about choosing one zone over the other.
It is built by deliberately using both.

I redefined them for resilience and Human Durability as:
Functional Resilience - inside your comfort zone.
Aspirational Resilience - outside your comfort zone.

Functional Resilience is utilised when you see the signs of burnout. This is where you rest, relax, replenish and reset and get ready to go again.
Aspirational Resilience is where you enjoy pushing yourself, striving, achieving, and growing.

However, one without the other will break you.
Stay in Aspirational Resilience too long - Burnout.
Stay in Functional Resilience too long - Rustout.

Move between both, and you build Human Durability - the capacity to sustain optimal performance under pressure.

It's not about how long you can stay outside your comfort zone.

It's how well you move between Functional and Aspirational Resilience and keep showing up at your best.

14/04/2026

Memories .... from 2022

I once cycled 200 kilometers a day for four days, just to do it.

Just for fun.

And it was fun. I pushed my body, mind, and spirit and accomplished something challenging.

And it felt FANTASTIC.

When what you do has meaning to you, it’s easier to push yourself through what others perceive as pain.

Chase that feeling of personal or professional accomplishment that comes from really pushing yourself.

To me, there is no greater feeling in the world.