About Me
I’m Anton, a keynote speaker and consumer advocate whose life has been repeatedly shaped by both extreme challenges and triumphs. Beginning with Gender Identity disorder, to being raised in a high control religious cult, a brain tumour diagnosis and 13 subsequent surgeries. Understanding, accepting, and adapting to living life with an acquired brain injury.The decision to transition, a rebirth at great cost but even greater gain. In my late 30’s I was told I had stage 4 cancer, it was terminal and l was only expected to live for a few months.
It turned out to be breast cancer, of all the cancers it had to be breast. That made me quite angry and fueled a very strong determination to live. I have lived years beyond what was expected of me and continue to thrive. My life experience fuels everything I do. Having lived as both female and male I have unique insights into the differences in our brains and behaviours and I share these respectfully and sometimes a little cheekily. Most Impactful, I speak as someone who has faced death and chosen life again and again. My life journey is a reminder of what’s possible when courage outweighs fear.
Born in Australia to Italian and German heritage,I lived the first 3/4 of my life in a woman’s world. Not long after my transition I was terminally diagnosed but this didn’t break me. I decided to channel my passion for coffee into my own brand “Cosa Nostra Coffee” and this was all while navigating job loss, injury and serious illness. Coffee became more than a business; it became a symbol of strength and survival. Under the mentorship of coffee icon Phillip Di Bella, I developed artisan blends like Kaders Remedy, Best Kept Secret and Smooth Operator. These blends have earned local recognition and are helping me to fund some of the advocacy work I’m deeply committed to.
When I’m not roasting beans, I work closely with the healthcare system that’s saved my life more than once. I serve as a Community Advisory Council member for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and up until recently as a Consumer Representative for Redcliffe Hospital, Metro North Health, Brighton Community and Oral Health, and other Queensland health services. I bring a consumer perspective into decision-making spaces, helping shape better care, stronger systems and improved accessibility across Queensland.