Brendan Fevola cuts a happy, healthy figure in his 40s, but it comes after a long road back from his footy career falling apart around him at the Brisbane Lions. The end of Fevola's time as an AFL star was sudden, messy and shaped by a mix of off-field issues, declining form, and failed attempts at recovery. Now he is a messiah to those also battling mental illness.
The Downfall at Brisbane
Ongoing alcohol-related incidents, including fallout from his infamous 2009 Brownlow Medal week, along with poor professionalism and declining form, led to his contract being terminated. Despite being one of the league's most talented forwards, no AFL club offered him another chance due to concerns over his behaviour and fitness. He later entered rehabilitation, publicly addressed his addiction struggles, and rebuilt his life and career in the media while advocating for mental health awareness. Fevola has battled gambling addiction, weight gain and almost every vice that a footy player could become embroiled in – coming out the other side on top.
Life Today: Happy and Balanced
Carlton great Brendan Fevola is living his best life in 2026, including taking part in a recent Four'N Twenty Legends Game For Prostate Cancer match. It comes after a long battle with mental health issues that became apparent during Fevola's doomed season with the Brisbane Lions in 2010. Fevola spent time in a mental health care facility in central Brisbane to help pick up the pieces. 'Not playing footy anymore and being in the radio world, doing a job I love and coaching some AFLW as well, keeping busy,' are his keys to being happy today, he revealed. 'Happy wife, happy life, kids are busy, everything just seems to be cruising.'
Unexpected Brand Ambassador
Fevola has even become the unlikely face of Remedy Drinks, promoting kombucha – of all drinks – to sceptics throughout Victoria. 'Absolutely not,' he laughed when asked if he would have ever drunk kombucha during his playing days. Which makes him the perfect man to promote it, because life is different today – and life is good. Fevola is no longer the bad boy. He doesn't crash AFL events, he doesn't interrupt interviews with drunken rants and he doesn't cross-dress and walk through the busy streets of Melbourne on Mad Monday. His journey from that rehabilitation clinic in New Farm in Brisbane back in 2010 has helped shape the new, happy and balanced Fevola.
Mental Health Advocacy
Now, he has revealed that he gets daily calls for people from all walks of life as they battle with mental health issues, wanting his guidance on how to change their own lives. Fevola is happily married with children and has distanced himself from the issues that used to plague him. Now a regular radio presenter on The Fox, Fevola has become an influential modern voice. And he wants the AFL to listen to those voices as well, and implement a Mental Health Round.
'There's a lot of talk around mental illness, especially in the AFL – and the NRL as well,' Fevola told the Daily Mail. 'It's not just the elite sports where it's happening, it's also happening in regional areas, local footy clubs. I think I was pretty lucky I had some great support. Obviously I spent my time in the clinic and got out, got away from the footy world for a little bit. I had a really good support team, [but] it doesn't get talked about enough. The powers that be [need to listen to] everyone who is trying to push the mental health round in the AFL. I get calls every day from mums or dads or kids, asking me about mental health and how to deal with it.'
Calls for a Mental Health Round
The prospect of a Mental Health Round has come in sharp focus in the AFL in recent years. The death of St Kilda star Danny 'Spud' Frawley escalated calls for a mental health round. Adam Selwood of the West Coast Eagles tragically took his own life in 2025, which rocked the footy world to its core. Troy Selwood, twin brother of Adam, also battled mental health demons and died in the same year. St Kilda star Danny 'Spud' Frawley's death in 2019 brought both mental health and the impacts of concussion and CTE into the spotlight. The death of twin brothers Adam Selwood and Troy Selwood in 2025 shocked the AFL world and brought the issue into even sharper focus. And when Carlton star Elijah Hollands had a very public mental health episode during the club's recent loss to Collingwood, voices including Geelong star Bailey Smith became louder and louder as they called for the round to be implemented. Fevola has joined that chorus, because he knows the power it can have in helping people seek out help, when they otherwise may remain silent.
'I think talking about it is a big step. Most blokes keep their emotions in check and don't really like to express their feelings,' Fevola said. 'I think that's half the problem, we all try to act like we're tough and strong when deep down we're not. The more people that can speak about how they feel, the better off everyone is going to be, especially the message that does send to the younger crew out there. A lot of people are going through certain things.'
Reconnecting with Footy
Fevola has also become a footy fan again. After his dramatic fall from grace, while he always loved his park footy, he kept the AFL at arm's length. 'I love watching the footy at the moment, I stepped away from it for a bit but I'm right back into it,' he said. But Fevola admits recent changes to the game have left him scratching his head. '[Bulldogs coach] Luke Beveridge summed it up pretty well in his press conference a couple of days ago, I replayed that on my radio show. He absolutely nailed it,' Fevola explained. 'We've got a great game, it's a game that nobody else plays, it's pure. But we keep reacting to certain media outlets, making changes that don't need to be changed. The game wasn't broke, so I don't know why they keep trying to fix it.'
Fevola is also loving being a brand ambassador for a product he never thought he would promote. 'I feel like a rock star on this tour bus,' he said. 'The driver was telling me Snoop Dogg was the last on the list – it still smells a bit of smoke.'
