After graduating from Caulfield Campus in 1992, Alex Wadelton followed his passion for writing and spreading awareness of the power of creativity.
Starting Out
Alex attended Caulfield Grammar School from pre-prep at Malvern through to Year 12 at Caulfield Campus. He recalls basketball playing a large role in helping him to feel a sense of belonging in an often daunting, large senior environment. Alex graduated in the final all-boys year of Caulfield, excelling academically and solidifying his love for writing through Year 11 and 12 English Literature classes.
“The fact that I have been a writer in advertising for more than twenty years, have had two books published, and use the skills that first started to come alive in those lessons is a real treasure”.
Alex hopes that students realise school is just the beginning.
He suggests trying things, making things, and not worrying about competition or comparisons. Alex hopes that everyone will follow the things they are independently passionate about.
“Take your time figuring out what you best like in life”.
As a young child, Alex dreamt of being an archaeologist due to his love for dinosaurs. Yet with growth and the outlook mentioned above, he grew to admire creative fields such as English Literature, writing, design, and art. Alex’s father was in advertising, giving him the chance to realise that this seemed like a great amalgam of his interests and skills. Alex would go on to make a career in advertising.
Pursuing various passions
Today, Alex is married with two kids aged 8 and 12. His day consists of working with a huge array of charities and social good causes, with the hope that the world will be made a better place. Alex achieves this through his involvement with fundraising and advertisement campaigns through his for-purpose advertising agency, Silver Lining. Running workshops and presenting keynotes addressing the power of creativity, Alex further shares how creativity can have positive, longstanding impacts on the world.
Furthermore, Alex has written a series of books with a co-author, 3AW’s Russel Howcroft. Titled “The Right-brain Workout”, this series has two volumes. Alex is currently in the process of turning this into a social movement that will help unlock everyone’s hidden creative genius.
Inspired by people who share the same values as Alex, he thoroughly enjoys promoting creativity, helping others help themselves, and asserting that being nice is a good thing. Alex is proud of the various projects he has worked on that have included such values. For example, Alex thought of and executed the creation of a statue honouring Nicky Winmar’s iconic stance against racism. This statue now stands on Noongar land at Perth’s Optus Stadium. Similarly, he is an active member of a social activist group called Future Landill, helping end supermarket’s short-term plastic promotions such as “Ooshies” and “Little Shop”. Alex successfully raised more than half a million dollars through creative ideas and charities in the last few years and hopes that in the future he will continue to talk about the power of creativity (whilst ideally being based somewhere near the beach).
Alongside these experiences, time with his family is where he gets the most joy. This includes jumping in the ocean, playing cricket in the nets, and enjoying the outdoors. Alex was an avid runner, today wondering “how on earth I used to run 100 kms a week”. Completing seven marathons in his time, Alex is proud of his achievements ranging from his career through to his personal life.
