ADVANTAGE
STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME
A MEN’S HEALTH colleague and I have a phrase we roll out whenever we’re trying to decide which of us will interview an available talent. For example, I’ll say, “Greg Norman? Yep – I’ve got a feel for him. I’ll do it.” Alternatively, it’s, “Bear Grylls? Nah – no feel for him.”
Recently, Stan Walker entered MH airspace, and I’ll be honest, I was hesitant. I had only respect for Walker – I’d seen enough of him over the years to sense a likeable guy whose throat, as Michael Bublé once said, had been “kissed by God”. But it was exactly this issue of pre-interview connection giving me pause: I had minimal feel for Walker, this young, proud Māori artist of turbulent beginnings. Who was I – a non-Indigenous Australian – to evaluate his contribution to the world? Once upon a time, this juxtaposition wouldn’t have bothered me, but in 2022, it seemed problematic. Lived experience and all that – or lack thereof. Or was I overthinking this? As my colleague once said, when I was crying off on an interview: “Well, get a f*cking feel for him!”
So, with Stan the Man, I tried doing just that, starting with acquiring a copy of his 2020 memoir, , which is astonishing in its rawness and candour. In the space of an afternoon, I’d prepared myself to meet an enigmatic 31-year-old performer who has something to teach us all about staring down adversity