The Athlete Mindset, with Alex Newsome

A special guest joins us in the office to discuss what drives athletes to perform

NEWS

This article was written by the team at Event XV, an athlete based uitzenbureau in The Netherlands

4/29/20266 min read

At Event XV, we believe athletes make exceptional workers — the discipline, resilience, and ability to perform under pressure translates directly to the workplace.

To show you what we mean, we brought in an old mate of ours, someone who embodies these traits every day.

We sat down with Alex Newsome, Top 14 rugby star - the world’s leading domestic rugby competition, commerce student, and most recently a father, to discuss how growing up on a cattle farm in rural Australia prepared him for the challenges and resilience needed in sport, business, and life. If you've ever faced him across a Catan board, you'll know he doesn't do anything half-hearted.

Alex, mate welcome to the office!

Mate thanks for having me!

You’re obviously from a pretty hard-working background, growing on a farm in rural NSW, Australia, to a student studying commerce in Sydney, and now playing rugby in Clermont, France. Three pretty different worlds — farm, sport, business. How have those overlapped and shaped who you are today?

Yeah look, everyone has their own path and I've been lucky enough to be exposed to all three. Each one throws its own challenges at you, but honestly the common thread for me is the human factor. Good and bad operators exist in every environment — on the farm, in rugby, in business — and I've been fortunate enough to learn from both. Being surrounded by great people is always a massive advantage.

It definitely is, and I like something else you touched on there too—being aware enough to actually learn as much as you can from those experiences, whether they were for better or worse. Do you think exposure to those different perspectives has helped you to successfully navigate the incredibly high-pressure world of professional rugby?

It's a really good question because rugby at the top level can really feel all encompassing - The quality of opposition, number of stakeholders involved, as well as media and commercial interest certainly creates pressure, and to get to a high level it often takes a certain obsession, and that whole melting pot can make balance genuinely hard to find. For me, getting back to the farm, or just being able to get away from rugby for a little bit has always helped keep everything in perspective. On top of that study, exploring my networks, work experience — those have all been ways I've tried to find something outside the game. Not just to prepare for what comes next, but because experiencing something new away from rugby actually keeps you fresh. Most athletes are only professional for a fraction of their lives, so cultivating interests outside sport just makes sense.

We’ve seen some of those outside interests firsthand – we've faced off on the opposite sides of more catan and backgammon boards than any of us would care to admit. You are one of the most competitive, driven, and strategic people you could ever meet. Do you think that was something that was always in you, or do you think it was something that was forged in that fire of a pro rugby environment?

I do think I’ve always had that innate competitiveness, I think most guys who do well in sport do- I mean I just watched you eat 10 oysters in 13 seconds to win the Rotterdam Oyster Eating Challenge on the weekend, so that comment goes both ways! But Nature vs Nurture… I think they both play a role. Everyone's different but I was lucky to be exposed to great people and environments growing up that taught me strong fundamentals — discipline, work ethic — things I could then apply to my rugby career. But certainly being thrown into a pro rugby environment where you’re surrounded by some of the most competitive and driven people you’ll ever meet, it’s sink or swim - and you need to either have it, or learn it quick.

And that’s just the mentality it takes to thrive in the training environments, - what about once you step on the field, is it more about skill and preparation then, or does mindset still play a big role?

Massively. The willingness to learn and work hard will put you in good stead in any field, absolutely. But the ability to back yourself — that's what makes the difference at the very top. The best players have enormous confidence in their ability, even in those high pressure moments. That self belief is what separates good from great.

One thing people don't often talk about enough is how hard it is for athletes to separate their identity from their results on a weekend. You have a bad game and suddenly the whole week feels different. How have you dealt with that personally?

It's one of the most difficult things honestly. When you have a deep passion for sport it's not easy, and it's something I've genuinely struggled with. Your identity can become so wrapped up in how you performed on Saturday. That's why cultivating interests away from sport is so important — not just for your wellbeing but actually for your performance. A creative outlet, a hobby, something that's just yours — it makes you a happier athlete, and a happier athlete usually performs better. That balance is everything.

Now on that note of being happy — you've recently become a dad. How's that been?

Incredible mate. Holding your own son for the first time after watching your wife bring him into the world — it's humbling in a way that's hard to describe. Pure joy. It's also a massive learning curve — I think about my grandmother having seven kids and I don't know how she did it. But yeah, you feel a greater sense of responsibility, and that absolutely creates motivation to perform.

It’s been great to watch, and always great to see you. Thanks for coming into the Event XV office today, you’ve got a look behind the scenes at what we're building. How’s it been?

Honestly, inspiring. Seeing fellow athletes harness their qualities and channel them into building something of their own — that's not easy for anyone to do. I'm genuinely looking forward to supporting you guys and watching Event XV grow. I think you’ve identified a really valuable asset for the market, there are a lot of high quality people in the sporting world who can be great of value to businesses, whether that’s while they support their sporting careers or as they transition into the workforce full time. And I have to say — there's no doubt that all those schooners at Beasties clubhouse over the years played a significant role in forming this great vision.

We'll take that. Alex, thanks mate — really appreciate you coming in.

Absolute pleasure.

We started Event XV because we believe in what athletes bring to the workplace. We hope sitting down with Alex and picking his brain like this gives you a window into the mindset we look for — and why we think it matters. Stay tuned, we have more to come with other elite athletes.