Danielle Whittaker: Inside the life of high-flying 'sales queen' and 'Shamanic medicine woman' who died in hotel drug party in Surfers Paradise

A 'Shamanic medicine woman' who died from an overdose during her 40th birthday party had spent more than 20 years climbing the corporate ladder before leaving it all behind for her spiritual journey.

Danielle Whittaker was partying in a high-rise apartment on the Gold Coast with six close friends on Friday night when she suddenly went into cardiac arrest.

Police claim to have found wide array of drugs including cannabis, ketamine and mushroom caps inside their room.

Ms Whittaker launched her professional career with Telecom in New Zealand in 2009.

She already had two university qualifications under her belt -  a diploma in cookery and culinary arts from the Victoria University of Wellington from 2002 and a bachelor of applied management from the Southern Institute of Technology in 2017.

After uprooting her life to move to Brisbane, she worked for a range of companies - including spending multiple years with Telstra and CSG Print Services.

On her LinkedIn page she titled herself 'the sales queen'.

'I have two decades of experience in high-level sales roles across six cities, two countries and multiple organisations, dealing with people of all levels,' Ms Whittaker wrote.

'I have a great ability to build long-lasting relationships naturally; people buy off who they know, like and trust, and having a good reputation within a large network really makes selling a lot easier.'

She put those sales skills to use in 2014 by launching her own app, Fit Meet, which promised to connect users 'based on their sport and location to find training partners'.

By 2018 she had left the company and in 2019 became Toyota's Central Queensland district sales manager.

Ms Whittaker then took on her longest job, a four-year run as the external sales manager for Super Steel Australia.

She left the company in January and became 'funemployed'.

However, Ms Whittaker didn't completely abandoned her former career and extensively wrote about her upcoming book which would cover her knowledge of the corporate world and sales experience

'Conscious Selling' is also the working title of my first book, which will encompass my two decades of sales knowledge, broken down step by step with all of the tools and strategies you will need to get crystal clear on your ideal client, create an entire sales plan based around this, and then how to actually implement it,' she wrote.

Ms Whittaker also shared her experiences with her growing spirituality.

'The journey of even more self discovery and growth that I have been on over the past couple of years has been quite simply, outrageous,' she wrote.

'And only now am I able to create a brand new offering that is something so far from what I would have picked, yet, it makes so much sense.

'I have been developing my psychic and intuitive abilities even further, rather heavily, practising tarot, oracle and more recently remembering how to read runes from some seriously ancient past lives. Shit has been wild to say the least.

'And there are certain things I can no longer ignore.'

Two of Ms Whittaker's friends were also rushed to hospital for treatment following the overdose on Friday, with one remaining in the ICU as of Tuesday. 

The second has been released, Queensland Police Superintendent Peter Miles confirmed.

He said several types of drugs were found in the unit at the Meriton Apartments in Surfers Paradise.

'We haven't got the toxicology results back but what I can say is that there was cannabis residue, there was ketamine and some mushroom caps located in the room,' he told reporters.

'What caused the actual overdose for those three women, we're not quite sure yet.

'One's still in intensive care, one is okay, and obviously there is the lady that passed away.'

He said whatever drugs the women had taken were 'pretty potent' and said illicit substances such as cocaine, heroin and GHB were circulating around the Gold Coast.

'The other two ladies I would say are extremely lucky that they are able to pull through,' Supt Miles said.

'It's a dangerous juggle that you're going with when you're taking drugs. You don't know what's in it, you don't know where it's coming from.

'In this case, it proved to be extremely potent. It's a dangerous act, you can't do it, you don't know what you're taking and you don't know how you're going to react and in this case it's proven fatal.'

Emergency services were called to the unit just after 11pm on Friday, after it was reported that a woman was unconscious. 

Seven people were inside with the four others assessed at the scene.

Police will carry out a toxicology report to identify the cocktail of drugs used, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Tributes have since flown for the New Zealand-born Ms Whittaker, who'd only just turned 40 days before overdosing.

'The best of friends, loyal, trustworthy, a friend in all seasons, keeper of secrets,' one friend wrote.

'You were always there for me, for all of us. So full of energy and the joy of life.

'You were carpe diem and no f***s given and go for it.

'You busted myths and stood up for the oppressed, lifted heavy s***, laughed out loud and raged at the world, you cooked up a storm and created them.

'Entrepreneurial, creative, passionate, endless energy and joy for life.'

The friend said Ms Whittaker had been 'fearless and invincible' and there would 'never be another you'.

Another friend said Ms Whittaker was 'so loved and missed' and she was 'absolutely devastated', since the pair were meant to celebrate their 40th birthdays together.

'You were a force to reckon with, and had so many amazing plans to help so many people,' she wrote.

'Kind, courageous, sensitive, hilarious, fierce, upfront, honest (blunt!), all of those things and so much more - it has been one hell of a ride and I am so bloody lucky to have known you, let alone call you a close friend.'

Known as a 'Shamanic medicine woman' on her social media, Ms Whittaker proudly worked to 'build an army of courageous, empowered, soul driven women who are here to create change and make magic'.

Her work revolved around New Age spirituality.