How I Got Here: International hockey star and beauty blogger Davis Atkin
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Admit it, we’ve all been there—stalking social media and LinkedIn profiles, trying desperately to figure out how the hell someone got their dream job.
It seems impossible and yet there they are, living out your career fantasy (minus the itchy business suit). It might seem hard to believe, but once upon a time, they were also fantasising about their future career, and with some hard work, they made it.
Welcome to How I Got Here, HerCanberra’s series that reveals everything you want to know about the secrets of career success. This week we sat down with professional hockey player and beauty blogger Davis Atkin.
Davis tells us what it was like when he became the first openly gay player to take the field for the Kookaburras (Australia’s national hockey team), the sacrifices he made to become an elite athlete, his love for skincare and his lifelong dream of donning the green and gold at the Olympics!
Existential crisis time: Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Davis Atkin. Some people call me Ziggy or Davi. I play hockey for the Canberra Chill in the Hockey One league. I am also part of the Kookaburras training group, which I debuted for in Rourkela, India in March 2023. I am the first openly gay hockey player to play for the Kookaburras and only the second in the sport. I am now based in Perth, which is where the national setup is located, however I come back to live in Canberra during the Hockey One season.
Aside from hockey, I also am an avid beauty lover, university student, barista, as well as a die-hard fan of League of Legends which is a strategy-based computer game.
Let’s go back to when you were a kid, have you always dreamed of working in this industry?
Well… as a kid I would say no. Only because I hadn’t started to play hockey until I was around 11 years old. I think I wanted to be a flight attendant when I was a kid, which is funny now that I’m thinking about it because I loath flying. Some would say I have a love hate relationship with the aviation industry.
I’ve always been a sporty kid. Before I got into hockey, I dabbled in dancing, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, soccer and cross country running all at the same time. Then adding in hockey, my mum finally sat me down and said I needed to choose which sport to continue on with. Bless her because she was driving me around to everything and did not have the time nor patience to do everything, let alone add another sport.
But when I started to become more involved with hockey, I knew from the get go that this was for me. The first year I played I tried out for the ACT under 12s school boys team. I remember I had just bought my first wooden hockey stick a couple weeks earlier and I actually made the train on side which was a big surprise to me. Even as an 11 year old, that selection created a spark which put the idea in my head of, I really enjoy this sport and I could go far. This was the same year as the 2012 London Olympics which was my first taste at watching the Kookaburras play.
Tell us about when you were first starting out, what set a fire in your belly to get here and how did you do it?
When I was was 15, I attended the under 16 school boys national championship in Melbourne. I was actually quite sick during that tournament and unfortunately missed out on one or two of the games. Even so, I was picked in the Australian team which was bound for Europe where we got to play against countries like Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. This was my first taste of international hockey. Quite a few of those boys I played with then I still compete and play with today. The thing from this experience that set a fire in belly was the feeling of playing with and against high quality players. That feeling of competing with the best is addictive! Still today, I get that same feeling.
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in; what did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
2021 was a hard year for me. Unfortunately during this year I was outed to my coach by my sports physiologist at the time. Until this point, I had been pretty comfortable with my sexuality. It had never been an issue, mainly because it had never come up. The elite sporting environment was different however. There were, and still are, barely any out male sporting figures at the highest level. No one to look up to. No one to guide you through your self discovery. So having the opportunity to tell someone, let alone to the junior national coach at the time, taken away from you.
It was heart wrenching. Now initially I tried to make a joke out of it as this was my coping mechanism. But when it started to sink in. I lost all passion. All life about me. Gone. This was because hockey was and still is everything to me. So when I rocked up to training feeling sick and severely uncomfortable, day in, day out. I just couldn’t take it anymore. Now I did take a much needed break. I did come back to the sport earlier than I probably would have liked. But I’m glad I took that break. It allowed me to reset. Regather my thoughts about what I want to do with my life. And ultimately I chose to stay with the sport. Was that because I was passionate about the sport? Or was it because I was scared to leave it all behind? Probably both. But I can honestly say that this experience has shaped who I am today as a person and as a hockey player.
What was your biggest break?
The high performance environment is a not for the feint of heart. It’s a space where some achieve glory whereas others endure brutal episodes of non-selection or non qualification. For me this would be in 2022 where I am in my final year of the junior Australian program (Burras) and I missed out on the final selection of the Sultan Johor Cup team. This was the only international event for the team during that year and thus was the key tournament to be selected for as a junior (U21). Being a goal of mine for over two years, this weighed on me pretty heavily. All the feelings of failure started to kick in. Second guessing my worth. My value. What the future looks like for me in the sport. These feelings then turned into determination. Thankfully during this time it was the Hockey One league and so I was able to then use this feeling of intense determination to prove both to myself and others that I am capable of playing at a higher level. In particular there was a game we played against Tasmania where we were loosing 4-1 with three minutes to go and I ended up scoring a field goal as well as converting it afterwords. We then score another goal before the final whistle and subsequently won the shootout to take home the three points. I would say this is a defining game in my career so far as it led to my selection in the National Development Squad. The following year was when I got to make my debut for the Kookaburras.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Marian Wright Edelman’s quote of “you can’t be what you can’t see” has always stuck with me during this journey. I believe in the same principle in that children are less likely to be inspired for their future if they don’t have visible role models that are like them. In my case, having a international level gay men’s hockey player that I got to see on tv as a youngster would have been incredibly valuable to me. It didn’t come to me straight away, but I have now moved into a position publicly to be this person. To be that person for the gay hockey stars of the future. To make them feel like the pathway ahead is plausible and it is ok to be both an elite athlete and a gay man.
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What is it about your industry that you love and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
The bond you create with your teammates is really unique. You spend everyday with the same group of men, morning and evening sometimes. So I have really valued the mateship of the program. Also just watching any sport at the elite level is amazing. Watching these insidiously or groups of people pushing their bodies to the limits and performing skills that require years and years of practice.
Simultaneously, the environment in which I came out publicly on an international space was an interesting experience, lets just say that haha. For me when I did some media work around being the first gay Kookaburra and one of first internationally, the response was quote polarising. People mainly just didn’t understand why it was a big deal. Others thought it was great and a few were just hateful homophobes. But people couldn’t wrap their head around why my sexuality needed to be publicly announced. They seemed to think it didn’t matter. This brings me back to what I said before. Representation matters. It is a big deal. To the 10 year old kid watching me debut for Australia who might be questioning his sexuality. To the 16 year old boy who is scared out of his mind about coming out to his teammates or coaches because he thinks they will think differently of him. It does matter.
Tell us how you ‘stay in the know’, what media do you consume?
Growing up I always used to watch SBS or ABC news every-night with my parents which I would say paved a good foundation for wanting to stay updated about the world. Nowadays I mostly get my information from social media, news outlet apps but also political podcasts which have been a more recent find of mine.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself still living in Perth, training with the Kookaburras. Hopefully I would have just gone to the LA Olympics the year before. A gold medal would be the dream. I would have also finished my masters in public health and hopefully moving in to a workspace related to public health and/or skin health. I want to have a dog. Something like my family dog Piper, who is a Parsons Russell Terrier.
Why should people follow in your footsteps?
Each person is going to have their unique journey. But I hope that from my experiences that I get to share with the world, others feel like they can do the same in their journey. Feeling comfortable with your identity, and combining that with your passion in life is truly life changing. It definitely opened up my awareness in life. Coming out and being as public as I am has also helped my hockey. Feeling more comfortable in who I am has helped me on the field.
What advice would you give your past self?
You’re worth it. You’re valuable. Keep opening up. You and everyone else is going to love your true self. And put in the hard yards early. Your hockey career will thank you for it.
