Born and brought up in a small village named Rampura Phool (near Bhatinda in Punjab), he earned an Engineering degree from Thapar College in Patiala, before setting his sights to Australia for a brighter future.
"22 years ago, I landed in Sydney with a large suitcase of the only belongings I had, and a dream."
"I came as an international student and after I paid my tuition fees, I was left with $20 in my pocket," said Deepak Vinayak, in an interview with SBS Punjabi.
Since then, he's gone on to make a mark as a 'man on a mission' to help as many people as possible.
"I came from a very ordinary, but extremely principled family. Both of my parents were teachers, who instilled values in me from a young age."
"I was most impressed by the spirit of volunteerism in Australia and from my early days, I've been trying to incorporate this in my new life."
This has seen Mr Vinayak get involved in many initiatives that have helped foster multiculturalism in Victoria. He is known to have helped out bushfire victims, international students who need guidance, victims of domestic abuse, and many more.
He has earned numerous accolades including 'Multicultural Champion' in Victoria, Australia Day ambassador, member of Victorian Multicultural Commission's regional council, RU OK Day ambassador and White Ribbon Day ambassador, to name a few.
'It all began when I became a Justice of Peace many years ago. Although this only meant attesting documents for people, but I tried to take it a step further - if it was a new migrant, I would help them with their resume, for example."
"I have no fear in saying that no one helped me when I came to Australia all those years ago - there was a strong, thriving Punjabi community in Sydney at the time, but no one came forth to assist me."
"I'm trying hard to change that, so old settlers like us can come to the aid of new migrants."
'Although I know I will never join politics - many parties have approached and I have always refused -- but I would love to see political representation in our state and federal parliaments.
"The need of the hour is for our communities to unite, to rise above our differences and work hard to raise the profile of the Punjabi community in Australia. I'll be glad to provide mentorship to the youngsters, so that soon enough, they find their way into mainstream Australian politics."
