MIKAYLA Bowen felt like she had something to prove to the world back in 2020. Now she is proving it to herself.

She was West Coast’s first player signing, and despite growing up as a contested beast, once she hit the AFLW her slighter frame meant she encountered a crisis of confidence.

The world falling into an unforeseen pandemic and being an 18-year-old trying to navigate life with eyes on her also didn’t help matters.

So, a frustrated Bowen channelled those feelings toward something creative - first to prove people wrong, but more recently to contribute positively to the day-to-day mental fitness conversation.

“I think the majority of us would have been going through some sort of mental health anxiety,” Bowen told AFL.com.au.

“At that time, I was going through a bit of a rough patch with my footy at West Coast, and then family as well. I would say (with) family and life, I think, just found myself in a position where I probably was at one of my lowest points.

“I remember feeling with my footy at that point, I felt quite angry, like I had something to prove, like maybe I felt a little bit misunderstood being a smaller player and coming from a bit more of a contested footy background and feeling like I’d lost that a bit.”

That’s not to say she was playing bad footy – Bowen featured in every game across West Coast’s debut season, including its historic first win over the Western Bulldogs. But there was an identity crisis at play.

Those feelings led Bowen to her upstairs office at her WA home, where she found herself drawing.

“I’m not a drawer, so I’m sitting there being like ‘what is going on here?’ but I just went with it because that’s what you do. It’s what I found myself doing a lot when I was struggling, was trying to create and find an outlet that was a bit bigger than myself,” Bowen said.

“I ended up writing down just one line, ‘put me in a box, see what happens’. I felt quite angry at that point in time, I was obviously a bit younger as well and going through all the feels, but from that point I remember the concept of a box being extremely powerful for me.”

And that's how her streetwear brand Boxes by Bowen was born.

Growing up admiring athletes, she thought that elite athletes were immune from such mental challenges. And that is another thing Boxes is designed to debunk: everyone experiences those challenges, no matter what position you hold, or what life you lead.

“I genuinely believe we just all go through it in one way or another, and I think the biggest reason why I do it and why I love speaking about it is because I remember looking at athletes when I was younger and just thinking they don’t experience it,” Bowen said.

“And so if there’s a chance for me to open up a little bit in hopes that other people do as well, and all of a sudden you’ve got a room full of people who are actually giving each other a chance to understand each other a bit more, I think, is a big part of it.”

Bowen has always loved clothes, loved streetwear, and is a hoodie aficionado, so it made sense to channel her creativity toward that. It started as an outlet, and it remains as such, but it’s increasingly a conversation starter.

Each release of the Boxes line is focused on a specific concept. It started with ‘put me in a box’ and has evolved to things like ‘the art of staying present’.

And it makes sense. Bowen is bright and personable and wants to get into those deeper conversations with the people around her, wants to better understand others, but that’s not always a practical expectation.

Sometimes a quick chat about the concept behind a hoodie or tracksuit is enough to contribute to someone’s mental fitness.

“When it comes to mental health, sometimes we feel like we have to sit down here for two hours and really rip you apart and me apart to make some sense of a difference. But for me as a person, I feel like that’s something I would love to have the chance to do, but you just don’t often get the chance to do it. So, how can I have an impact in a smaller way? Or contribute to that conversation around mental health in a day-to-day kind of impact?” Bowen said.

“Every concept, every design, every idea that I come up with will either be from a conversation we’ve had or something I’ve liked. The art of staying present was a collection of mine that I released because I could not find myself appreciating what I had. I was always worried about what I didn’t have and where I was heading and what didn’t work out.

“So, I think coming from angry Mikayla, wanting to prove something… my earlier pieces were like prove them wrong, and I think I’m at the point now, having grown up and be more internally driven is like, prove yourself right.”

Now at 25, Bowen is in a whole new phase of life, driven by her passions both on and off the field. She has now been at Geelong longer than she was ever with the Eagles, and has made a life in Victoria.

On Sunday, she plays career game No.75, making her one of the youngest players to reach the milestone. And this year she’s doing it all in career-best form, under a new coach.

“How much time do you have?” Bowen chuckled when asked about playing under new Geelong coach Mick Stinear.

“I could speak about him for so long in terms of the man that he is, but from a coaching perspective, he’s got premiership experience, and not only that, the premiership is one thing, but I’ve always very much highly respected Melbourne and the way they play. Love the way they play, love playing against them.

“He’s challenging our standards from the way you think to the way you respond to a challenge, to the way you support your teammates and think about them, no yourself. So, I think, whether or not it’s this season or seasons to come, it’s going to make a massive difference for us.”