FRANK CUIULI

World’s Leading Practitioner NeuroPhysics Therapist and Martial Arts Expert

FRANK CUIULI Story and Interview by Jasmina Siderovski

Former Martial Arts professional who has held global rankings, Frank Cuiuli dedicated his life to understanding what drives sustainable high performance. He practiced as a rehabilitation therapist dealing with conditions ranging from PTSD to Brain Injury.

Currently the Chief Executive Officer of 8Squad with a goal to create one of the leading boutique digital services companies in Australia. Defined by culture and differentiated through a new operating model which is designed for autonomy and supporting people’s vision.

Trained by extraordinaire and mentor, Ken Ware - Founder of NeuroPhysics Therapy and the Neurotricional Sciences Institute, Frank is a crucial player in the field of NeuroPhysics and dealing with the development and use of physical techniques to gain information about the nervous system on a molecular level. This unique approach quantifies the secrets behind the nervous system and the conception of biological organisms through the treatment and therapy of a sophisticated exercise-based method. There is a prevalent interest in this method of treatment worldwide. Experts continue to debate the place of the conscious observer—a popular field for research and questions the rules of PNeuroPhysics operating in biological structure.

Frank’s extensive experience has had broad applications across many aspects of rehabilitation and performance. His proven methods trigger the nervous system and stimulate the body to re-adjust for optimal function in impressive time scales. Frank focuses on a self-healing process allowing the body to upgrade itself into a comfortable and ideal state of function, by underpinning the presented restraints.

A professional of a high decree, Frank exemplifies the true meaning of tenacity. Frank is always open to new ideas because he wants to keep growing and learning - he has a growth mindset. For example, everyone should have opposition, and it is natural and to be encouraged. If you don’t have opposition, you are not trying hard enough, or you are deluded. Developing appropriate tenacity and displaying the right level of resolve may not win the day, but it will earn the respect of those you are attempting to influence. Rather than outright rejection of anything to the contrary, Frank’s tenacity, seeks opportunities to bring people towards his purpose, even if that means modifying his route or some of the detail along the way. He has always held true to his purpose!

On the corporate platform, Frank is a dynamic influencer for social change and corporate responsibility. An esteemed leader who enhances innovation through digital transformation and setting the benchmark in the industry. An entrepreneur tried and tested and is the epitome of what it takes to succeed in the real world and the challenges we face daily.

Could you please tell our readers about your background and life growing up?

I am from a typical Italian Middle-Class family where both my parents worked, and my grandparents mostly raised me. I was a sporty kid, and my parents encouraged trying any sport I wanted. Like most kids experienced in that era, bullying was the norm. I had my share of it and responded by being drawn towards martial arts.

The martial arts was probably the one sport which took me many years of convincing my parents to let me take part. By the time I got to high school, my parents let me take on Tae Kwon Do classes at the school gym, which lasted about six months before coming across a Kung Fu system based in Chinatown. I don’t know how I convinced them to let me join Choy Lee Fut, but I did. I guess I was effective at annoying them until they caved.

Joining that school was like a duck taking to water. I was 13 yo when I joined and within one year of training; I was competing in a National Kung Fu Tournament—held by William Cheung In Melbourne, in the open form’s category competing against adults who had been training for over 15 years and running their own schools. None of my family took my training seriously or realised my talent. I ended up winning that tournament and quickly became a national champion in Kung Fu Forms. Less than 12 months later, I was on a plane with a group of adults to Tianjin China representing Australia in the All-China National Wu Shu championships. The Olympics of Kung Fu, recruiting most of the Chinese Kung Fu movie stars.

I was in year 11 at school when I travelled to China for the second time, touring most of the south. When I came back, I was not sure where I was at in life, so I left school. I auditioned for roles in stage productions, and my first gig was in the German Opera, ‘Rake’s Progress.’ It then led to several other productions where I played acrobatic and dance roles. A fun distraction from life for that year, but then returned to school. After realising that I needed to get a real job after the opera work went quiet, I had to repeat year 11 to complete my HSC. The mark was not worth the paper I wrote it on. It summed up my entire high school experience.

Martial Arts was my identity through most of my teenage years. Unfortunately, I got to know many of the wrong people and found myself in more trouble than I could cope. By my late teens, I was well in over my head and starting to lose sight of who I was. I had distanced myself from my family, and all the trouble came to a head at about 19 years old. A gunshot wound gave me time to reflect on my direction in life and getting in trouble with the law serving 1000 hours in community service let me really think about the future I wanted to create.

I then began putting myself back together at about the age of 20. I started dating (now wife) Carmen and working in retail to keep me busy. I kept my link with Martial Arts but moved towards different circles to change my environment. I ran my Martial Arts school at night and worked Men’s Retail through the day. While working in retail, I met my first Mentor, Rudy Eckhardt, who I then embarked on an over ten-year journey of self-transformation. Almost, every challenge I faced in life the work I was doing with Rudy and years of practising self-mastery that enabled me to get up and persist through failures.

While working in Men’s Fashion, I also met the man who would offer me my first job in computers. Joseph Hayek offered me a sales role for a small computer store selling PC’s and Laptops before the notion of a personal home office existed. That offer combined with the work I had already begun with Rudy is what changed the entire trajectory of my life.

Is there any moment or memory that stands out for you?

Winning the Australian Kung Fu Nationals at 13 Years Old was a real highlight for me. It was my first major stage experience. Performing and getting such a strong response from the crowd lifted my self-belief, and raised my self-awareness of who I am. Doing this on my own with no family to even watch me on the day was also what I think has set me up to be very much selfdriven and independent in life.

I understand you are a Martial Arts expert could you guide us through your journey.

My first real Martial Art was a Southern Kung Fu system, ‘Choy Lee Fut,’ which I started training at 13 years old. I trained with the direct descendant of the system; whose great-great-grandfather was the founder. I was with this school for almost eight years, but the techniques are a staple in my training. I then spent my 20s training in more contemporary martial arts such as Kick Boxing, Karate, and a little of Ju-Jitsu. I competed in full contact with Karate, Point Karate, and Kickboxing tournaments throughout my 20s. I also began going deeper into my meditation practices during this time.

Then in my early 30s, I began training an internal Martial Arts system which originates in the Wudang province of China. This system comes out of the Daoist methods of training and incorporated Daoist meditation. I stayed with this system for almost ten years before realising the common thread of what all systems aim to teach. I then turned my focus on understanding the body more deeply without the nuance and vague descriptions often given by masters on what is happening in the body with the training. In my 40s, I see movement as a 4D dimension. Movement is an expression of the mind, and regardless of the movement you do, it is more about the approach. I have also gone back to Buddhist Meditation Lineage as my means of training the mind.

When and why did you become a Certified NeuroPhysics Therapy Practitioner?

After I sold my technology consulting business back in 2012, I went back to study the body more scientifically. I had also been studying the use of psychedelic compounds to alter perception and to understand consciousness. I booked a trip to the Amazon to experience one of the most potent Psychedelic experiences with a native Shaman. Those two weeks opened up the journey which would guide my life to this day.

After coming back from the Amazon, I connected with many practitioners around the world who specialised in peak performance and human development. I spoke with several Neuroscientists in executive development programs. Through several synchronistic events, I met Ken Ware, based in Queensland. I had experienced several therapies such as TRE, which uses the body’s natural Tremor response to release stress out of the system. When I met Ken, I wanted to understand what he was doing achieving the results with very high order conditions that were unheard of. Notably his work with spinal cord injury.

When I met Ken and experienced his protocols, he had gone far, far deeper than anyone else in how to leverage these dynamics to bring back balance to the body. I connected the dots around how these dynamics also support complex learning and development, as it all has to do with how the brain makes new connections and breaks old habits.

Hooked from the start, I began my studies as a NeuroPhysics Therapist immediately, which was sometime between late 2012, and early 2013.

What is PIVOTme?

PIVOTme was the evolution of what started as a consultancy for Developing Culture and High Performance in Business and morphed into a rehabilitation centre for people who were dealing with complex issues. Unfortunately, because of the complex nature of our health system, we could not make the business model work. The high costs required to run this kind of centre needed a flow of patients to sustain the business. Not possible when you are working on the outside of the Approved Allied Health regulatory framework.

After investing many millions of dollars trying to solve this issue, we gave up. Our government is not there yet where they can help new therapies get through the regulatory hurdles required to bring this kind of practice to market. It meant that anyone who wanted to explore this kind of therapy did so out of their pocket. It also meant Doctors who observed first-hand what this therapy achieved for their patients, could not refer other patients to us. Their license would be on the line if they referred to non-approved Allied Health Practitioners.

After deciding to close the Rehabilitation element of PIVOTme, which also came at considerable costs, I reverted it to my research vehicle. I continued to explore and test our methods in the corporate setting. Today, I use the Adaptive Human Framework to develop high-performance culture programs in business. We are applying this framework at 8Squad, where I am the current CEO.

As a life-changing rehabilitation practitioner for many patients around the world are there any cases in your mind that stand out that changed a person’s life for the better? What was their life like before you began working with them?

While all our patients’ results are equally impressive, there are a few cases which stand out for me. One, in particular, was a young Lebanese man, Chadi, who had a car accident in Lebanon, and was left in a coma for three months. The doctors did not expect him to come out of the coma, but he did. Unfortunately, he suffered right hemisphere brain damage which left him unable to speak and confined in a wheelchair.

Chadi is probably one of the most determined individuals I have ever met. He taught himself to speak again and would never accept “Can’t” as an idea of setting his goals. Once he regained his speech, he set his sights on walking. Despite the doctors and specialist were telling him this would be highly unlikely due to the brain damage he suffered.

He came out to Australia and lived with an Aunty for three months while embracing our therapy. The results were miraculous. His tenacity and hard work paid off. Today, he is back at University living mostly independently. He has ditched the wheelchair and can execute high order movement such as a burpee, something I am sure he likes to demonstrate to his doctors. While he still has work to do, this is a turnaround which you could not have expected. I knew from the first time I spoke with him that it was going to be fun working with Chadi. It helped me understand how much we take for granted, such as the simple notion of independence.

For Chadi, a young good looking 22 yo, being able to regain his social life and challenge the conventional thinking what was possible due to his injury, was awe-inspiring for me to be a part of. While NPT gave us the tools and framework to work within, we are a guide on the journey, and it is our clients who are the real magic makers. Being part of that journey is a blessing for a practitioner, and it is the main thing I miss about being able to practice as a therapist.

Plus, I made a friend for life. Now we speak about his options coming out of a Degree. He is a bona fide genius and wants to pursue Data Science and AI as a career option. Mentoring him through his career options is our next frontier!

What are the most valuable lessons you have learned in the profession of NeuroPhysics?

Learning about Complex Systems Theory. Understanding that regardless of whether you are dealing with an individual human being, or a collective of human beings, it is all part of a complex adaptive system. This idea has changed how I look at my problems, societal problems, and is central to how I run my current business. Science has traditionally been reductive in its nature. It means breaking everything down to cause and effect, to reduce it to one thing which causes something and is not how our body, nor our great lived experience, works. I believe this kind of thinking runs through how we teach at all scales. It influences our thoughts as victims of someone else’s action. The constant pursuit of the silver lining, which is going to fix all our pains and problems in life lead us to view things from the lens of complexity.

At the most basic level, means that when you feel pain, mental or physical, it is not one thing that you can fix to liberate you from that pain truly. Everything in your Psychophysical system creates a feedback loop to something else. The headache you have today could very well be about how your body responded to the difficulty you had at work yesterday. A massage and a Panadol may fix the problem short term. Learning how to deal with the root cause often means accepting something you need to change is the only way you can liberate yourself from those future headaches.

Is there any useful advice you would like to offer anyone else who may be interested in pursuing the same path?

Stay curious and keep exploring. Ultimately study was vital to opening up my paths of inquiry, and the NeuroPhysics course online would be an excellent place for many to start. Ken has broken down the courseware into small modules which makes it affordable but also makes it easy to consume in your own time. Even if your goal is not about becoming a practitioner, the knowledge will open up thinking and pathways you may want to deepen your exploration.

What are three aspects that you learned about yourself along the way??

I have always had the tools within myself. It just took a long time to trust they were then when I needed them. My limitations were always a construct of my mind. I have often picked the big audacious goals out of a fear of being good enough in life. It was my way to prove I was good enough, smart enough, etc. For me now it is less about the outcome and I think I have finally (took 48 years) embracing the journey. While I still have the drive, it now comes from a different place.

How did the name ‘8squad’ come about, and why did you choose the path of salesforce?

The name came about organically based on the business model, based on a decentralised control framework. Our teams are organised in groups of between 5–8 people that self-organise based on specialisation and market focus. We have both a decentralised and distributed command, which makes us more adaptive to market forces. The traditional management models are top-down in their function where critical decisions and strategy is set from the top and cascades down into the business.

Essentially, we turned this model on its head. Strategy is still set from the leadership, but execution is distributed across the teams and managed through a strict but straightforward governance process. No one individual has too much say over the overall business. If we get something wrong, it will only affect a subset of the business as opposed to an entire division. If we have leadership issues, we also see these indicators early.

Your expertise as a rehabilitation practitioner is awe-inspiring. I can appreciate your experience as a practitioner would be a massive bonus for your organisation, team and clients that make your company stand out from the others. Name three key areas where your company leads the way as an innovator in the race for effective leadership.

I would stand up and confidently say that very few companies globally would have gone as far as we have in implementing a human development model which covers Physical, Mental and Spiritual development as we have. Most companies pay lip service with their current implementation of wellbeing programs.

By taking on this holistic process, we can prove how our people - when compared to others with like skills, with similar experience - will outperform because they; Know how to put aside their own beliefs and biases when dealing with conflict; Learn how to maintain a physical state that gives them access to higher-order thinking processes when under stressful conditions; and

Based on their training on Self Awareness, they will have an improved ability to manage the surrounding team (not just ours, but the teams of our clients) to usher better outcomes because of their ability to coach and guide people through their challenges.

This model is continuously evolving as new science and processes are made available and are not optional. Our people embark on a journey, much like a Martial Artist. They start with a white belt and work their way to a black belt. Each step they have to prove they have assimilated what they have learned through application. It is not just enough to remember your Kata… you need to demonstrate you know how to use the skills you have learned. MANY leadership developments programs don’t cut it. It is not because of the information being shared, but the expectation that they can acquire these skills over a week-long course. Then people will get it and implement what they have learned once complete. Change is hard, and development programs need to be a continuous learning journey. This takes commitment from the company and its employees.

How do you think your colleagues would describe you?

Dedicated, focused, and a little bit crazy.

Unfortunately, the world has changed drastically overnight because of the global pandemic COVID-19 and has played havoc in the world economy and mental health. What’s a goal you have for yourself that you want to accomplish in the next year or two?

Build a business which truly is about building people as holistic entities, rather than being commodities for economic benefit. 8Squad will allow me to prove the Adaptive Human model. Over the next two years, we will test it in an organisational context. Hopefully, provide real data for other organisations to adopt this or similar models as a tool to build more resilient and balanced employees. I am a true believer that this will have not just a positive economic impact on their companies but have a positive impact on the families for those employees as they take what they learn back into the household. We see early evidence of this in our current implementation of the model at 8S.

As a professional in media, I am aware that this is the time for growth and change in the way we as individuals/ organisations think, operate and face challenges in a changing era. Up-

skilling is vital for survival—what are some other ways we can grow and learn to overthrow any future problems?

The simple answer is Self-Awareness and personal accountability. Our environment has outpaced our ability to cope. As a human race, we need to upgrade our OS for the future evolution of our species. But we can’t forget the basics. Our DNA is essentially not optimised for our current way of life. The environment (technology and urban living) is frying our circuits, and society is moving away from anything which causes pain (emotional and physical) as an attempt to create equality and justice for all. But, like everything in a healthy system, there is a careful balancing point for the system to run in an optimum fashion. In every way, we have lost that balancing point and moved to the extreme ends of every scale.

Who is someone you admire, and why?

Joe Rogan—I kind of have a man-crush on Joe. He has similar interests to me, and how he has built the world’s largest podcast is admirable. He has done so without changing who he is, and in fact, embraces the rough edges as part of his persona. He openly speaks about Psychedelics and his own experiences with them. He gets to speak to some most interesting people on the planet through the podcast vehicle. He is definitely someone I admire and would hang out with.

What do you consider being some of your greatest achievements?

very proud of. Aside from this, I have had two very significant business failures which cost my wife, an extremely significant amount of money. Getting up and getting on with it after these failures are my greatest achievement.

What are three pet peeves?

People asking for help, but only to do the thing they wanted to do in the first place.

People not taking accountability for their shit

The current world’s trend towards extreme political correctness. Everything has a balancing point.

Do you have any other skills or talents that most people aren’t aware of?

I have just taken up Freediving! My next frontier of self-mastery.

If you could be anywhere other than here, right this minute, where would you be?

If I wanted to be somewhere else, I would go there.

If we went to happy hour, what would you order?

Espresso Martini or a nice glass of red.

How do you want people to remember you?

Someone who was never scared of a challenge and lived to the fullest.

What are some things on your bucket list? Skydive, More Travel, Free dive to 40 meters.

What are some causes you care about, support or play a role?

I like to support programs which focus on mentoring the next generation of youth. The best way we can fix problems in this world is helping the next generation be better than us. I am involved in mentoring and developing underprivileged youth. I believe there is so much latent talent dormant in people, who have not been presented with an opportunity in life or have just made some bad choices as I did in my early years.

What do you do with your friends in your spare time?

Spare time? No such concept in my life. My life is about prioritising time. My friends’ circles are usually oriented around my passions. So, in this case, it would be training, diving, learning & building businesses.

What is your motto?

Passion – Truth – Tenacity (Tattooed on my arm)

The meaning behind these words;

If something is not worth your Passion, then it’s not worth your time

Truth – Comes from a Stoic Principle – Self Mastery depends on Self Honesty

Tenacity – Acknowledge that Suffering and Difficulty are inevitable