Brief Bio for Matthew Johnstone

Matthew Johnstone completed a diploma in Fine Arts but then changed course and went onto to have 15 successful years as a creative in advertising. He worked in Sydney, San Francisco and New York where he became a Creative Director. He worked for some of the world’s best agencies and won many industry awards.

Since then he has published a total of 9 books (including 1 lateral thinking book and 1 kids book) the other 7 are mental health and well-being books most of which have gone on to be been best sellers locally and abroad.

Matthew’s company Drawn from Experience develops various creative, educational programs, illustrations and videos on understanding mental health, and resilience for schools, communities, eHealth and the work place. Matthew spends much of his time in the professional orbit of the leaders in mental health and wellbeing arena such as the World Health Organisation, the Black Dog Institute, The Golden Door Elysia and Geelong Grammar to name a few.

He has also worked extensively with many major corporations.

Matthew is a passionate public speaker who has delivered highly visual talks all over Australia, New Zealand, UAE, USA, Europe including Iceland. In 2014 he was invited to give a keynote at the World Health Organisation in Geneva.

In 2018 he was a finalist in the Australia Mental Health Award.

Most recently he has turned his attention to developing a digital mental health and wellbeing platform called ‘Here’s a Thought’.

Matthew’s work has been endorsed by Stephen Fry, Edward de Bono and the World Health Organisation.

Matthew lives in Sydney with his wife, 2 daughters and dog Cookie.