John was singled out as a leader early in his education, becoming Junior School captain at 12 and winning a Youth Speechmaking competition to present the introductory speach for the Dali Lama's visit to Australia in 1985.
Excelling in the arts, he became a member of the school debating team at 13 and led them to victory that year fighting for the affirmative "That public funding for the Arts should be outlawed".

He attended LaTrobe University, where he studied film-making and became a well known student representative. He founded the LaTrobe chapter of the Young Liberals, and led them to victory in several student elections. As the LaTrobe representative to the National Union of Students, he spoke with conviction to several motions, most notably "That Student Union Fees Are A Trot Conspiracy to Supress Freedom of Expression", and his keynote address, "Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You, but How Much You Can Contribute To Your Country - HECS Is Not a Four Letter Word".

Having reached what he believed was the peak of achievement at University, John became cynical with the pursuit of further academic achievement. He turned his attention instead to the advertising industry. He went to work for Clemenger Harvey in Melbourne, where, in collaboration with Michelle Bennett, he won three Silver Golden Stylus awards for his work on the Intencity radio advertising campaign. These advertisements, entitled "Another One of the World's Greatest Airlines", "Pure Driving Pleasure" and "Army Reserves", showed a creative genius tempered by cynicism.

Riding a tidal wave of support, his nomination for the Race Around the World and the opportunity to further develop his genius for mass exploitation, was destined to succeed. Entitled "Once Man's Oddesy to Expose the Rort that is Publicly Funded Television", he showed he was determined to illustrate the futility of expecting serious documentary talent being backed by the public dollar. Once again he succeeded beyond even his parent's wildest expectations, with one short documentary being banned from television (thus proving his point) and engaging in a series of highly satirical pieces including him mocking authority in Lebanon, and generally ridiculing religion. While older members of the public protested, the younger generation regarded him as a hero and he garnered more public support than thought possible.