Noongar-Yamatji man Des Headland first made his name during his 166-game AFL career, but the 43-year-old is now kicking goals in the business world.

Mr Headland, a father of three, is one of the owners, a director and chief executive of Spartan First, an Indigenous occupational health service.

He is also the co-chairman of Aboriginal-owned IronMerge Group which has two divisions: IronMerge People - providing recruitment and labour for mining and construction, and IronMerge Industrial which provides PPE and hardware.

His latest venture is the establishment of Paradigm Entertainment, where he's an owner and director. Paradigm's first event was the promotion of the world title fight of young Noongar boxer Alex Winwood, who recently came agonisingly close to a title in just his fifth professional fight, narrowly losing to WBA minimum-weight world champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong.

And then there's Madalah, an organisation that assists Indigenous students with scholarships to leading Perth schools, which lists Mr Headland as an ambassador.

To play well - and to win - a good and cohesive team is critical, and the 2002 Brisbane Premiership player is full of praise for his colleagues.

"It might seem like a lot, but there are good people running those companies," the former Docker and Lion said.

"My day-to-day work is as CEO of Spartan First, and I'm really excited that we've opened our first radiology centre in Kalgoorlie."

Spartan First began in 2018 after Mr Headland was approached by former Docker Clinton Wolf, now Spartan's executive chair. (Mr Wolf is also managing director of the National Indigenous Times and The Indigenous Business Review)

It began with one medical centre conducting pre-employment medical examinations for mining, defence, and government in Perth's industrial in 2018 and has since expanded to nine medical centres in WA and Queensland with a tenth due to open in early 2025.

Spartan First Imaging in Kalgoorlie Boulder is Australia's first Indigenous media imaging service.

"I used to be the one lying on a medical table being x-rayed and examined by physios - the technology and equipment now days is miles ahead," Mr Headland said.

"We'll be looking to expand with more radiology centres in the future."

Spartan First also has a dental clinic in Subiaco in Perth, and GP clinics in Perth and Bunbury (WA).

"When we can employ Aboriginal medical practitioners and staff, we do, but the focus is on employing the best person for the job," Mr Headland said.

"We take great pride in delivering a high-quality service for everyone, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal."

When it comes to business, Mr Headland's journey has been anything but linear.

He was burnt with an energy drinks business he began in India during his playing days, losing two houses in the process, but he's not one to dwell on the past.

"I learnt some lessons the hard way, that's for sure, but footy taught me about adversity, things can happen, and what's important is to look forward and move on, and that's what I do," he said.

"I was dropped from the Brisbane Lions in 2001 and missed the grand final and I was devastated, but that made me train harder to be a better player, and I made it into the 2002 premiership team," he said.

After Mr Headland hung up his boots in 2010, he moved to Broome with this wife and children where they stayed for three years.

It was in Broome that Mr Headland entered the political arena after being selected in July 2013 as a candidate for the Palmer United Party for the Federal seat of Durack. He then became an advisor to Senator Dio Wan, a former WA senator in the Palmer United Party.

"I'd just finished footy, and I didn't have political knowledge - it was a steep learning curve and I learnt just how hard politicians work," he said.

"During my first week in Canberra, I was going to a meeting with Clive Palmer and we walked into a meeting room and in there is the Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey – I was there to take notes – and afterwards I thought, I've just sat with the most powerful people in Australia, and if I can do that, nothing scares me anymore.

"I was in Canberra, when a new thing called Supply Nation started, I went to the launch and I saw an opportunity for Indigenous businesses.

"I helped a few friends who had a business in the NT set up in WA, then I did some consultancy for the Njamal Trustee in the Pilbara for a year, and that's when I met Clinton who talked about setting up an occupational health business, and the rest is history."

Like all competitive sportsmen, Mr Headland is looking for his next challenge, thinking ahead to his next move.

"Our goal is to make medical services accessible to everyone," he said.