Tony Fountain

By any definition, Tony Fountain has led a life of business and personal success.  While some would liken Tony’s life to a roller coaster ride, he succinctly puts it as “having climbed the stairs to heaven and walked the halls of hell”.

Attributing his success to having the courage to chase his dreams and realise his goals, Tony has gone from an outback auctioneer to one of the founders and directors of the Ray White Real Estate franchise group, as well as being a pilot, journalist, author and “blue water” sailor.

A leader in pleasure horse auctioneering, Tony turned his small town agency into a national leader.  Learning how to fly in order to build his business, Tony became known as the “The Flying Gavel” in the Australian livestock and aviation industries.

Sought after for his auctioneering expertise, Tony was approached by Ray White Real Estate to commence their auction operations in Sydney and New South Wales.  Never shy of a challenge, within three years Tony had taken the company from market newcomers to market leaders, a position they have held ever since.

Through his agency Tony was also a pioneer in the area of computer oriented livestock marketing and was the first to sell pigs at auction through computer description.  It was during this time he also saw a need for a rural co-operative and co-founded Australia’s largest rural merchandising company Combined Rural Traders.

Tony was also Marketing Manager of the Santa Gertrudis Beef Breeders Association, now Australia’s third largest beef breed.  In this role and at his instigation, the Accredited Commercial Sales concept was launched and fully developed.

A  successful author, Tony has been the editor and publisher of three livestock magazines and has had numerous articles published in Australian and international aviation, livestock and yachting magazines. Currently he is working on his autobiography The Rainbow Chaser.

Following a triple bypass heart operation (when he didn’t even know he had the heart problem), Tony turned his back on his career to sail with his wife on a voyage that combines his speaking business with chasing his boyhood dream.   He also founded the Slocum Spray Society of Australia, a yachting organisation that fosters the memory of Captain Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail single-handed around the world.

Known as the Rainbow Chaser, Tony’s story is proof positive that dreams can come true. Speaking at conferences across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the United States, Tony draws from a myriad of experiences to motivates audience to believe in themselves and to rise to the challenges of achieving their own personal and business success.

Tony Fountain talks about:

• Success starts with a Dream – Challenges audiences to step outside their comfort zone and get ‘back on the track’ of their dreams and aspirations.
• Making a Franchise Work for You – Having been both a Franchise Director and Franchisee, Tony provides valuable insights from someone who knows the industry from both sides.
• Making the Internet your friend – Learn how to utilize the net without any technical knowledge.
• Before there were Fences – Motivating audiences to draw on untapped resources within themselves, Tony shows how individuals can become persons of initiative who operate as if ‘the fences weren’t there’.