Former AFL player Koby Stevens has provided a message of hope for those affected by brain injuries.
Stevens was a three-club player, beginning his journey at West Coast in 2010, marred by a severe concussion on debut and subsequent head knocks throughout his nine-year career.
The 33-year-old was forced into retirement during the 2018 season when he suited up for St Kilda, flagging serious health issues that affected his everyday life.
Speaking on Channel 10's The Project, Stevens detailed the enduring path he's had to face due to the "15 reported concussions" he faced, alluding to the notion that so many more go unnoticed.
The 91-gamer, in his words, would go from a "perfectly fit elite athlete to not being able to get out of bed without passing out".
"I was diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), which was a part of my brain that was injured that was affecting my heart rate," he said.
"Every time I stood up, my heart rate would jump up from 40 beats per minute to 130 in a click of a finger.
"My balance issues, my eyes were not good. My headaches were insane."
It took the tragic passing of St Kilda legend and Stevens' mentor Danny Frawley in 2019 that inspired a "radical change to figure out what was really going on".
Since then, Stevens has been searching high and wide for recovery measures that will help him regain normality in his life, showing others that there is a way forward.
"It's really this concept of re-wiring your brain," Stevens said.
"Finding out what are the problems and trying to re-wire it through different programs and technologies.
"I also went to alternative medicine. I did psilocybin and assisted medicine treatments: hot-cold plunges, worked with mindfulness experts and technology to read the brain waves while meditating, and breath techniques.
"All these weird and wonderful things were culminating in repairing the brain and getting me to a more healthy spot (in my life).
"There is hope. I had another scan this year (2024), and the difference over five years is astonishing."
Severe head knocks in the AFL have been a large talking point for the better part of the last decade, coinciding with four players - premiership players Angus Brayshaw and Nathan Murphy, the latter's Collingwood teammate Josh Carmichael and untried Western Bulldogs youngster Aiden O'Driscoll - prematurely retiring earlier this year.
A class-action lawsuit whereby over 60 former AFL players between 1985 and 2023 are seeking up to $1 billion in damages from the league, headed by Geelong premiership star Max Rooke and Bulldogs stalwart Liam Picken, is also currently underway.
"The reason I'm not involved is that I don't want to go back into that part of my life," Stevens said.
"I see what it gives our community. It's hard for me to watch players get hurt, but it's also hard to see it hurt the game because it's such a special part of our culture."
Stevens has been documenting his recovery, travelling the world and meeting others in similar situations in the hope that sharing his story might help.
The fruits of his work will be an epic movie called 'Thrive', produced by Australian actor and Saints fan Eric Bana.
"My hope is we can change the script on this injury," he continued.
"I don't want the film to be the end of the conversation. We want it to be the start. Our goal for the future is to have neuroplasticity centres in Australia and help these people."