A new-age men’s wellbeing organisation is being credited with saving the careers of Australian athletes.
Wallabies star James O’Connor’s redemption from wayward trouble-maker to potential World Cup hero has been credited to his dedication to ‘Saviour World’.
O’Connor, 29, is one of a number of athletes who claim to have turned their lives around thanks to ‘Saviour World’, an organisation claiming to provide ‘knowledge for men’ and a ‘male revolution’.
The group’s practices include sitting shirtless in a circle while exhaling heavily lugging heavy rocks up and down on the sand, and drinking a concoction known as ‘Morning Juice’.
Wallabies star James O’Connor’s (pictured with fiancee Bridget Bauman) redemption from wayward trouble-maker to potential World Cup hero has been credited to his dedication to ‘Saviour World’
O’Connor is pictured preparing ‘Morning Juice’ – a concoction made from two lemons, a bottle of apple cider vinegar and spring water
O’Connor starred for the Wallabies in their 47-26 win over the All Blacks in Perth on Saturday. His recall to the side comes after he spent years in the European ‘wilderness’, rejected by Australian rugby for a series of indiscretions.
Once dubbed the ‘golden boy’ of the sport, O’Connor was expected to lead a new generation of Wallabies to glory after making his test rugby debut aged just 18.
However, his career never reached the dizzying heights expected and his Australian contract was ripped up after he was kicked off a flight bound for Bali from Perth for drunken behaviour in 2013. After moving to France he was busted for alleged cocaine possession in 2017.
‘I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger and I’ve learnt from it now,’ O’Connor said after Saturday’s game, Fox Sports reported.
‘I guess I have a bit of wisdom on ways you can do it better so that people don’t follow what I did and waste five years of their career and their life.
‘I’ve been dedicated and I wouldn’t be here without the help of an organisation called Saviour World… if I didn’t have them, I’d still be in the wilderness in the UK.’
O’Connor regularly posts about Saviour World on his Instagram account, sharing videos of himself taking part in bizarre rituals with other athletes including American surfer Laird Hamilton, former NBA star Joakim Noah and English rugby player Danny Cipriani.
All four men appeared in a video filmed in Malibu, California in June, showing them breathing heavily while sitting shirtless together.
O’Connor flew to Iceland in September last year to take part in a Saviour World ‘training camp’.
‘I have been pushed into some very uncomfortable situations by Saviour World through the use of sensory deprivation, heat exhaustion and deep states of meditation,’ O’Connor posted to Instagram.
‘My reaction to each stimulus has forced me to face myself and my darkness in a way that I have never felt before.’
O’Connor wrote the ‘humbling’ and ‘enlightening’ experience allowed him to see who he ‘must become’ and urged him to share his ‘truth’.
‘I have a deep desire to play for the Wallabies again,’ the post continued.
‘I have learnt from my mistakes and I am now ready. Ready to bleed green and gold. Ready to bleed for my brothers. Ready to bleed for the people.
‘I will be back playing in October and I will have my eye firmly on the World Cup. I will not let myself or anyone down again. Time to shine!’
In videos shared to Saviour World’s YouTube account, O’Connor is shown hiking through remote areas in Iceland and practicing martial arts.
The Saviour World website offers ‘knowledge’ for men, with posts titled ‘Why You Should Wrestle’ and ‘Starving Your Darkness’.
A key practice of those following the Saviour World programme is drinking ‘Morning Juice’.
The group’s practices include sitting shirtless in a circle while exhaling heavily lugging heavy rocks up and down on the sand (O’Connor is pictured carrying a rock)
A recipe for ‘Morning Juice’ is posted on the Saviour World website, and O’Connor has shared a video of himself drinking the concoction made from two lemons, a bottle of apple cider vinegar and spring water on social media.
O’Connor’s new professional approach was reflected in his plans after his side’s big win.
‘I’m just going to go back and enjoy it with the boys at the hotel… speak to the missus and an early night for me. I’ve got an older body now, I’ve got to look after it,’ he said.
Teammate Samu Kerevi also acknowledged O’Connor’s new attitude.
‘After the recovery session I was asking him if he wanted to go into the city and he said he was going to go to bed and get some more food and get the recovery packs on. I was like, ”ah, OK, he’s the ultimate professional now”,’ Kerevi said.
Saviour World is based in the United Kingdom, and offers ‘subscriptions’ for £3.33 (AU$5.91) a month.
O’Connor’s (pictured) new professional approach was reflected in his plans after his side’s big win