Footy star’s surprising career change

A former footy star has made the surprising career transition from the field to the stage with the help of an ARIA award-winning artist.

Former Warringah Rats player Will Clift said the leap into music was not an easy decision but one he’s been building up to his whole life.

“I’ve always tried to do both,” he said.

“It’s always been a huge part of my life.”

The 26-year-old who hails from Eumundi on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast was chosen ahead of hundreds of musicians who applied for a mentorship with Matt Corby.

 Lovers of early Frank Ocean, Budjerah and even Corby himself will enjoy listening to Coast, the young artist’s first six-track acoustic EP.

“He has such a unique and soulful sound that I can‘t wait to experiment with, and a powerful backstory of sacrifice and pursuing what was true to him, which really resonated with me,” Corby said.

Clift said a lot of people at the rugby club were shocked to find out he wouldn’t be running onto the field this year.

“They were shocked to hear that I was going full time with music,” he said.

“My coach, my family, they were all so supportive of me and totally understood why I made the decision.”

It’s not as far a leap as you might imagine that someone like Clift would find himself in two wildly different careers.

“I think the one thing that I will take out of it, is hard work,” he said.

“If you want to be successful, you’ve got to work hard and have good people around you to help you through the journey.”

He started playing semi-professionally for the under 20s Melbourne Rebels before making the switch into the professional grade.

All the while completing a music degree.

Then the city was plunged into one of the world’s harshest lockdowns and he decided to throw a neuroscience degree into the mix for good measure.

Emerging from lockdown he gave footy one last “crack” and moved to Sydney’s northern beaches to play for the Warringah Rats.

“But at the end of last year, I sort of had an epiphany. And I was like, you know, I love rugby but I can’t do both.

“I did the old pros and cons list and it was pretty clear to me that it was music.”

He won’t be missing the strict control of the sport anytime soon though, saying music has given him far more freedom.

“I was tracking calories, training every day, for several hours a day,” he said, before chuckling.

“My body feels amazing. I’m not bruised and battered.”

Clift said he’s looking forward to the chance to share the stage with Corby when he opens for him on the Central Coast next week.

“I’m really looking forward to picking his brains, hopefully not annoying him too much,” he said before adding Corby was the main reason he applied for the mentorship.

“I would absolutely love to get in the studio with him because, you know, he‘s just amazing at what he does.”

“I’m also hoping he can teach me some of the nitty gritty of what it looks like to release music and try and make money from it.”

Will Clift will play alongside Corby as part of the Wild Turkey Music 101 Mentorship next week on the Central Coast.