BREAKING THE TACKLGE
THEY SAY YOU CAN learn a lot about a man from his handshake. Firm with solid eye contact is the default for most Aussie men. Anything less invites scorn. But what if this most earnest, most masculine of gestures was freighted with uncertainty and risk? What if the simple act of greeting a mate or congratulating an opposing player on the sporting field had the potential to threaten everything you’ve ever held dear?
So it was for Nathan Charles, the only person with cystic fibrosis ever to play a contact sport at an elite level. His whole life has been about taking precautions and diminishing risk. Today, upon arriving at Sydney’s Henson Park for a photo shoot with Men’s Health he extends his hand unguardedly. But there was a time when Charles didn’t like to shake hands at all. Instead he fist bumped or just nodded.
He didn’t share drink bottles with his teammates, either. Again, too risky. He had too much at stake, too much to lose. It wasn’t just the chance he’d pick up a cold or the flu. It was that a virus could weaken his immune system, opening the door for his underlying staph
