Chasing Dreams and Facing Adversity

Ji Wallace was at the top of his career as a gymnast and acrobat when a terrible injury and surprising diagnosis brought him back down to earth, temporarily.

Ji was an energetic, only child growing up on a bush block in suburban Brisbane when his parents brought home a trampoline to keep him occupied.

Ji took to it so quickly, he learnt how to flip by that afternoon, and was a national champion in gymnastics just a couple of years later.

He managed to make a career out of bouncing around, representing Australia at the Olympics and then joining Cirque Du Soleil as an acrobat.

But a terrible injury, and then the news that he was HIV positive, set Ji on a different course, although he didn't let it keep him grounded. 

This episode of Conversations explores elite athletes, gymnastics, the Olympics, Brisbane 2032, parenting, coming out, the queer community, LGBT issues, andHIV and AIDS.