The first thing Joseph Sua’ali’i does each morning is walk. Before the crowds and cameras, before the sprint drills and review sessions, he walks. “It’s a way of returning to centre,” he says softly, like he’s said it before – to himself, probably. “Just getting back to me.”

There’s a stillness to Sua’ali’i – one that sits in contrast to the high-contact world he’s built his life inside. At just 22, he’s made the code leap from The National Rugby League to representing Australia in rugby union, carried the weight of expectation with grace, and stepped into new spaces without losing the quiet rituals that anchor him. In many ways, he reflects what it means to be a modern athlete: emotionally intelligent, self-aware, and supported in holistic ways generations before him weren’t. The old archetype of toughness for toughness’ sake is giving way to something more contemporary – where mindset, vulnerability, and personal growth are just as important as performance. And Sua’ali’i, without trying to prove it, is already living that shift.

Discipline, he tells me, isn’t a word he throws around loosely. “For me, it’s not just training. It’s sleep, it’s energy, it’s how you show up for yourself every day.” If he sounds unusually grounded for someone still closer to twenty than thirty, it’s because he is. It’s tempting to say he’s wise beyond his years. But the truth is, he’s wise because of his years – because of who raised him, and where. Growing up in Western Sydney, Sua’ali’i was shaped by two worlds: his Samoan and Cambodian heritage, and the broader canvas of sport and story. His family – eight siblings, a mother who ran the household with care, a father whose patience he still tries to emulate – are the lens through which he views everything.

He speaks about them often throughout our conversation. His grandparents, who would gather their entire Samoan village to watch his games on a small television. His little sisters, who mirror his every move. “They watch how I walk, how I talk,” he says. “So, I try to be someone they can look up to.”

It’s a form of leadership he’s cultivated without fanfare – one that values consistency over control. “I’ve always played in older squads, so I was the young one for a long time. But now, I see the next generation coming through, and I think: just be someone they can follow.”

On the field, Sua’ali’i doesn’t just play – he paints. He describes it that way: the footy field as canvas. A space to create, to improvise, to build in real time. “That’s the part I love… you can go out on the field and write or tell a story through the way you play,” he says. “Kicking left foot, right foot, flicking a pass… it’s expressive. That’s my art.”

That language – of canvas, story, and art – isn’t far from the vision Pharrell Williams brings to Louis Vuitton. As the brand’s creative director, Williams blurs lines between music, design, and culture, reminding the world that artistry is never confined to one medium. Sua’ali’i’s approach to rugby feels cut from the same cloth: instinctive, fluid, and unafraid of expression.

He leans into the creative process in other ways too – through visualisation, for one. It’s not new age, not even deliberate. More intuitive. “I visualise everything,” he tells me. “Moments in games. Movements. Just standing in the middle of a stadium, closing my eyes and seeing how I want it to go.”

In that sense, Sua’ali’i and Williams share a philosophy – seeing before doing, imagining before building. It’s what Louis Vuitton has always championed: creation that begins with vision, and ends with something both timeless and new.

It’s a mindset that’s served him through his recent code switch – a bold move, even for an athlete of his calibre – that doesn’t have a great precedence to support its long-term success. He’s the first to admit it hasn’t been easy. “You start again,” he says. “At zero. There’s learning, unlearning. And it’s uncomfortable. But I love that. I love learning new things, unlocking different skills, stepping into a new version of myself.”

Lately, that instinct has started to align with the world of fashion – not in a strategic way, but in moments that make sense. After his Wallabies debut, Louis Vuitton invited him to attend the Grand Prix in Melbourne – a gesture that felt easy, not forced. He’s been wearing pieces from the brand since, not as a statement, but because it fits – an energy he describes to me as “effortless with a bit of flair”. Quiet, considered, and reflective of where he’s at.

It’s not the kind of thing he ever imagined as a kid, sketching out dreams that felt bigger than the four walls of his childhood classroom. Sua’ali’i tells me that even from a young age, he always had an eye for detail. “Shoes, hair gel, school photos – I didn’t want to look like everyone else...” That same eye for detail is what Louis Vuitton is built on: the art of precision, where the smallest touch transforms the whole.

“I think about that boy sometimes,” he says. “Just wanting to play rugby. Wearing something cool. Being seen.” Today, when he pulls on a tailored Louis Vuitton jacket or carries himself in their understated silhouettes, it’s not about status – it’s about honouring that boy who always wanted to stand out, but in his own quiet way.

Now, he’s here – not to prove anything, but to honour that version of himself. But the dream hasn’t lost its texture. If anything, it’s become sharper – more real. “The best thing,” he says, “is that my family get to experience it with me. They’ve always been part of it. None of this is just mine.”

When I ask what keeps his feet firmly planted in a world of media cycles and match reviews, of long-haul flights and 90,000-person crowds – he doesn’t hesitate. “My people. My girlfriend, my siblings, my parents, my friends. Sitting around a table and just… talking. That’s what brings me back.”

He shrugs. “That’s what matters.”

PHOTOGRAPHY Banjo McLachlan @ LIMINAL REP
FASHION Thomas Townsend
TALENT Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i
GROOMING Cherry Cheung @ Vivien’s Creative
PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT Bec Seeto
PRODUCTION & VIDEO Olivia Repaci