Introducing Max Gawn

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Grounded in a combined purpose to elevate communities through mindfulness, movement and leadership, lululemon is proud to support Max Gawn and welcome him to the team as the newest lululemon ambassador.

Max’s leadership, family values, pursuit of passion and purpose and his hard work is a true model of what it means to be all in.

Professional AFL player, club captain, his mum’s biggest fan and lululemon ambassador - meet Max Gawn in the below Q&A. 

Q: Do you have any mindful practices? If so, what are they and what is the impact these practices have on you?

A: Walking without any headphones is one that I love, and by myself. Also going for a stroll at the beach and walking with no shoes on. Feeling the sand, water, ground, under my feet. It just cuts out any stress or anxiety or bad mood that I’m in. I was someone who struggled to realise if I was in a good or bad mood and these mindful practices helped me realise how much of a better person I am after a mindful walk.

Q: What is a goal you’re working on right now?

A: My beard... ? No, no, well I’m always trying to be the best version of myself and in-turn, creating better people around me. From a footy point of view, being in a leadership role in my workplace, my goal is to help create better people.

Q: How do you keep yourself accountable with goals that you set yourself?

A: I try to let someone in on it, specifically someone close to me family-wise. If I let people in on what my goals are, then it’s easier to stay accountable and complete the goal.

Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader?

A: I strive to create a great environment for people to be the best version of themselves. Being the best person you can be will then lead onto being the best footballer you can be, so, I try to create a safe environment and be there to talk openly with the team about anything that’s going on.

Q: What’s your relationship with running?

A: Love, hate. Running is a major part of football so I learnt to love running. If you hate it, it’s going to be a horrible 15-year career.

Q: How often do you run outside of footy?

A: More and more.. I’m becoming obsessed with it. I used to have a bit of anxiety around running. When I was younger, there was so much pressure put on running tests - 3km’s, 2km’s, 1km’s - and it used to work me up. Going into a footy game, I used to be scared of a ruckman that was a good runner, compared to a ruckman that was a talented player but now I live and breathe running and have anxiety if I miss a session. So I’ve gone in a completely different direction and it’s a love relationship at the moment.

Q: What would be three words you’d use to describe how you feel when you run?

A: It used to be anxious, but now I’d say - free, motivated and buggered.

Q: What’s your favourite lululemon product to train in?

A: Surge Shorts and the Metal Vent Tank.

Q: What’s your favourite sporting team?

A: Wow, I have to pick one? Can I pick three? New Zealand Black Caps, Sunderland Soccer (the black cats), and then team Jumbo Visma, which is a cycling team.

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t playing footy?

A: In hospitality, probably cooking.

Q: Coffee or wine?

A: That’s like saying Mum or Dad. I think wine - I’ve got a tattoo of a wine glass on me, so I’ll say wine.

Q: What was your first job?

A: Domino’s… actually no. Mum hired me at her cafe first, then she fired me, and I went to Dominos.

Q: What would you like your legacy to be?

A: I like the idea of being able to work hard as a footballer, but still be different, without fitting into a stereotype.