Matildas star Mary Fowler wants to make an impact and have fun along the way

Mary Fowler is magnetic. An instinctual player who can pull the strings and with vision few possess.  

That magnetism extends off the field too. She’s become a ubiquitous presence over the past year, gracing the fashion runway, signing a record multi-million-dollar endorsement deal, and writing a deeply personal memoir. 

The 23-year-old is one of the biggest stars in Australian sport right now, and certainly one of the most marketable. 

But she accepts it with grace and a willingness to leverage her platform and profile, while still staying true to Mary.

Soaking up City’s success

When we meet, she’s fresh off a long haul flight from the UK, just a couple of days after Manchester City’s FA Cup win. 

That followed the team’s triumph in the Women’s Super League a few weeks earlier, both the first major trophies she’s won in her booming career. 

She featured largely as an impact player off the bench since making her comeback from an ACL injury earlier this year. 

She’s now back in Australia for the Matildas’ two-match friendly series against Mexico, as the long road to next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil officially begins. 

But for a season that started on the sidelines, she is taking time to soak up the success. 

“My rehab made up the majority of my season. So I think in that sense, I kind of separated myself a little bit from the team and enjoyed really being a spectator,” she tells ABC Sport.

“And I have so much love for the group of girls there and it was really nice to just be able to watch and not feel envious at all. 

“I think either way I would have had the same feelings for the team, but on a personal level it was really nice to share that moment with them when I did come back, because they did celebrate me really nicely and it was just a moment that I’ll cherish for a long time.”

Fowler speaks highly of Manchester City, her teammates, and the environment there, which has helped her thrive, returning just 10 months after rupturing her ACL.

“We’ve been out a few times [to celebrate]. I’m not built for the life of the party,” she says with a smile.

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Touching lives

Fowler’s return was quick by ACL recovery standards. 

But it was still a significant period to be sidelined and she embraced her time away from football, reinforcing her need to have a balanced life and pursue passion projects.

She has now reached a level reserved for few Australian athletes, effectively crossing from sport star to broader cultural figurehead. 

That’s been highlighted by becoming the first professional footballer to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week, releasing a memoir, signing a $10 million endorsement deal to make her one of the highest paid women’s footballers in the world, and the increased scrutiny over her personal life.

Super-stardom isn’t something she has actively sought out, but having been in the spotlight since she debuted for the Matildas as a 15-year-old, she understands how to handle it. 

“I see myself as someone that is very capable and I do like to put my best foot forward when I’m trying new things like walking the runway and getting to write a book,” she says.

“I really enjoy doing those things because it also opens my own eyes to seeing myself in a different way. 

“But I never really attach those things to my identity and how I value myself. So in that sense, I don’t think that those things make it any more difficult to deal with being Mary. 

“I think what does become a bit more challenging is managing expectations of people around you, like access and being able to have time for myself and not changing how I show up for people around me. 

“I think as long as I have that guiding me, then I won’t really hopefully lose my way or not be grounded anymore, staying true to how I actually want to be for people.”

Part of Fowler’s appeal is her relatability and her willingness to share her own frailties. 

In her memoir, Bloom, released last year, she shared challenging anecdotes about racism she’s faced and her own mental health struggles, framed as a journal, asking the reader to reflect on their own experiences and write them down. 

“It just felt more authentic to me to make it feel like my journal because I haven’t lived my whole life yet. I didn’t want it to be like an autobiography,” she says.

“And so in framing it like that, I just thought of a book that might have been useful for myself to read. 

“It didn’t need to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think for myself as a teenager moving into young adulthood, there were quite a lot of lessons for me to learn. 

“And it’s something that I’m really grateful for about football. I’ve been pushed into a lot of environments and a lot of situations where I feel like I’ve grown at an accelerated rate. 

Fowler says she was particularly struck by the prevalence of mental health issues when researching the book.

“It just touched a part in me where I was like, wow, it’s comforting to know I’m not the only person that was struggling,” she says. 

“But it also breaks my heart to know that there’s so many people out there that are struggling too. So I was fuelled by that.” 

She has since established a creative side project called My Journal is Full, an Instagram page where she shares stories, photos, film and art. 

“And so I think doing it in an authentic way was something that I wanted to try and achieve.”

Keeping the joy

Fowler says she plays her best when she’s having fun. 

That hasn’t always been the case for her throughout her career, but she’s in a good place for both her club side and national team.

Her last major outing for the Matildas was the Asian Cup, where she played a key role in their run to the final, eventually losing to Japan.

She reflects on the tournament with pride, but can’t help but entertain the what ifs, or what could have beens, for what looked to be the Matildas’ best opportunity to secure only their second major trophy, after the 2010 Asian Cup triumph. 

“I am the kind of player that relies a lot on instincts and on trusting myself and trusting my body,” she says. 

“And so that was something that I underestimated how much time that would take. 

“I think we did really well as a team and it’s created some really good momentum for us moving forward. But the perfectionist in me is also like, I wish I was a little bit more prepared because it was such a great opportunity as well.”

Now, she has these friendlies against Mexico, where all paths lead to next year’s World Cup. 

“I’m in this phase now where I’ve come out of my rehab and I feel more and more myself as time goes on,” she says.

“I just want to enjoy that. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to be getting stats and getting goals and stuff. 

“I think I always play my best football when I’m really enjoying it. And so I don’t want to let that expectation ruin the fun that I’m having.”