The Biggest Guy In The Gym

Wow what a crazy 24 hours I’ve had! Firstly…yes I did win the Career Achievement category of the NT Young Achiever Awards but also, in total shock to me, I also managed to become the overall winner making me the NT Young Achiever of the Year!!!
I had no idea that I even stood a chance at winning due to the high calibre of nominations this year (200 nominations!) but I decided earlier on that no matter what happens I would make it a fantastic night. So with that in mind, I invited some close friends and my family to join me on the night and wanted to travel in style. So I booked the stretch limo from Wise Limousines and made sure we had some champagne - Bollinger for the ride. Our driver Phil was an absolute champion and took us on a fantastic tour of Darwin before dropping us off at Ducks Nuts for some pre event drinks. I had to rush off to rehearsals while my entourage relaxed for awhile.

During rehearsal I got to meet a couple of nominees including my fellow nominees in the career category - Tashka Urban and Rachel De Viriglio. They were really nice and I’m only sorry that I didn’t get to spend more time with them learning about their own achievements. After rehearsal it was show time and we all sat down at the tables and listened to the opening speeches by the major sponsors and Matthew Bonson the Minister for Youth Affairs. Seated at my table was a former client of mine on one of that last projects I did for my previous employer. It was great to catch up with him and he ended up wining the Youth Leadership category. Congrats Donald! Also seated at my table was Bradley Lewis - take note of his name because you’ll see some amazing achievements from this guy. He’s only in Year 6 and achieved quite a lot despite being so young. Unfortunately he was under aged for the awards but his submission impressed the judges so much that Conoco Phillips honoured him with a special certificate. I always speak about passion and he’s a clear example of a person who is passionate about what he believes in and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with over the next few years. Good luck with your dreams Bradley!

After the entree it was time for the awards and each nominee was asked to come up on stage and receive a finalist certificate. So Rachel, Tashka and I walked up on stage and received our certificates and we walked back to our seats afterwards. It was then they announced the winner of the category - AJ Kulatunga! and I couldn’t believe it!!! It was just an amazing moment for me and I don’t think I’ll forget anytime soon! I walked up on stage and received the award from the sponsor - Drake International, and then went up to the podium to deliver my “Biggest Guy in the Gym” speech. I spoke to the crowd of 300 people and by the end of it I think I got my message across because people clapped and cheered. An amazing moment!

At the end of the night all the category winners were invited up on stage to announce the overall winner of the night. While I was on stage I was really honoured to be up there amongst some of these most amazing young people in the Territory and for me, that moment I was blown away simply by being one of them. Then they announced me as the winner of the category and I was totally at a loss for words because I REALLY didn’t think I’d win it at all. Words cannot describe what I was feeling at that moment, but there wasn’t really time to think because I had to accept my award and return to the podium for another speech. I had no idea what I’d say to top “The Biggest Guy in the Gym” but I decided to speak about the actual awards night, how it was my first time there and its been an amazing experience. How great it was to meet all the nominees tonight, and listen to the great speeches. But most of all, how great it was to be living in the Territory and meeting people here and how everyone here has a story to tell. And that’s what its all about, the stories that inspire and motivate you to go beyond your wildest dreams.

After that it was a massive photo session and doing the final goodbyes before Tashka and Phil rocked out to close the night.

What an amazing Night!!!

I’d like to say a big thank you to my Mum and Dad for putting up with my dreams even though they disagreed with them; Jaysin for being my inspiration and motivation throughout my contract with DHCS; Kathryn for nominating me; and Viran who’s kept me out of a lot of trouble but also got me into some too! Also a very special thanks to Gina from Awards Australia for putting in the time and effort to organise my tickets and photos; Diane and Phil from Wise Limousines for being such great people to deal with; The sponsors of the Awards night; a big thank you to my character referees Peter and Ana for speaking so highly of me to the judges and last but certainly not least my after party entourage (Dev, Alvin, Paki, Kirsty, Tasso, Skev, Milan and the others) at Ducks Nuts to help me celebrate the most amazing night of my life!

Dream, Build, Inspire, Lead!

AJ~

Author: AJ Kulatunga

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Dream, Build, Inspire, Lead!, NT Young Achiever Awards, The Biggest Guy in the Gym,  AJ Kulatunga