THE STIGMA has shifted at Collingwood (and across the competition). When Isaac Quaynor was drafted by the Magpies at the end of 2018, players would fine teammates if they posted training photos. Straying down the influencer path was incomprehensible. 

But times have changed. 

Quaynor, along with Pat Lipinski, Darcy Moore and the Daicos brothers are part of an active group of Collingwood players on Instagram and TikTok, posting everything from behind-the-scenes training content, off-season travel, modelling work and daily fits. 

"I think the whole stigma around that stuff is changing. At the Pies we're all for an environment where everyone can be themselves. So that's the biggest thing," Quaynor told AFL.com.au.

"If you like fashion, if you like red wine, if you like whatever it is, then you have time and there's time within the schedule to be able to tap into things outside of football or whether it's family or you've got kids, so I think that stuff that we do really well and that kind of allows for balance, it kind of puts the ball in your court and allows you to make your own decisions. 

"I still remember when I first came in, there was fines if you posted a photo of yourself training; no chance you're going to post a photo of you walking at Melbourne Fashion Week, like, not a chance. 

"Even to see how much it's changed in probably a four- or five-year period; 'Fly' [coach Craig McRae] was probably a big catalyst of that changing at the Pies. It's pretty cool what we're doing now. We're still training as hard as anyone and still put so much time into our craft, but we just understand that balance is really important to get the best out of yourself."

Now Quaynor will make his catwalk debut during Melbourne Fashion Festival next Monday night, following in the footsteps of 2023 premiership teammate Jack Ginnivan, who walked up and down the same floorboards at the Royal Exhibition Building last year.

Alongside Melbourne recruit Changkuoth Jiath and AFLW trio Mon Conti, Sophie McKay and Matilda Scholz, Quaynor will model for Strateas Carlucci as part of a limited edition collaboration featuring all 18 clubs. 

"It is a bit nerve-racking," Quaynor said inside Melbourne Museum this week. "I've done some modelling gigs, but nothing to that level, so it'd be an interesting experience. A bit out of my comfort zone, but I saw 'Ginni' do it, so yeah, he kind of gave me a bit of a inspiration to jump at it as well.

"I've always been big into fashion. I guess as I've gotten older, I've kind of been keen on, you know, infusing that into my personal brand as well. It's kind of like the three Fs for me: Fashion, footy, fragrance. This is a pretty cool opportunity to do so, I guess push the boundaries a little bit. I think I want to be someone that keeps pushing the boundaries with that stuff. Ginni did an awesome job last year, so trying to follow suit."

Quaynor's fitness ahead of Collingwood's Opening Round clash against St Kilda at the MCG on Labor Day Eve has been a point of intrigue at Olympic Park since the star small defender strained his hamstring while training in Sorrento during the Christmas break. 

But after a slow build across January, the 26-year-old played in last Friday's intraclub at the KGM Centre and is ready for some minutes in the pre-season matches against Greater Western Sydney on Friday or North Melbourne in the AAMI Community Series on March 1.

"It's finally good," he said. "It's been a new process for me because, to be honest, I've had a pretty healthy career so far in regards to my body – and I'm really grateful for that. This actually forced me to stop. It was only a grade one strain, so nothing serious at all. But just wanted to make sure I got myself 100 per cent right before I got back out there. I'm feeling great, so I'm really keen to get into."

Quaynor carried a debilitating toe injury across 2024, which didn't stop him from playing but prevented him from covering the ground with his explosive zip and dynamic change of direction.

But last year, Quaynor roared back to form on the back of a 'less is actually more' mantra, finishing third in the Copeland Trophy behind Darcy Cameron and Nick Daicos, after playing all 25 games in a defence that was decimated by injuries amid a run to a preliminary final. 

"I remember having a chat with ‘Fly' at the end of 2024 when I wasn't going so well and he just spoke about balance because I'm very much like a more, more, more type operator. I wasn't playing well, so I was like, I'll do more, I'll do more, and actually just kept getting worse," he said.

"It's funny sometimes less is more. Now I feel like I'm a lot more pointed and everything's very intentional about what I do at the club now. I'm not hanging around there for two hours after everyone's done like I used to a little. This stuff has really helped because on days off I get to fully switch off and kind of just either do a photo shoot or do some fragrance content and it's stuff I really enjoy."

Quaynor has redefined his physical boundaries this summer, which is why he thinks his hammy went at the start of the year. The Magpies do the 30-15 French Test under high performance boss Jarrod Wade, which ramps up by 0.5km/h every 30 seconds. Quaynor led the way in December, holding on until it reached 23 km/h.

"I wanted to go to the next level with my fitness this pre-season. I've been lucky enough to take out that test the last few years, but I really wanted to beat my own score, so that was a goal that I was setting out to do. And that was probably partly why I did my hammy, because I might have just gone a bit overboard with the training," he said.

"That was a big thing for me. I just wanted to continue to get fitter. But another thing was just ball and hand stuff, getting the footy in your hand as much as possible. I've always been someone that marking really gets me going in a game of football. I often feel like I play my best when I'm not even thinking about myself, I'm thinking about others trying to be a strong leader out there as well. That's been another thing that I've been trying to develop definitely over, you know, this Christmas/pre-season period."

Quaynor has been included in Collingwood's leadership group for the third year in a row, led by Moore as captain and Brayden Maynard and Nick Daicos as vice-captains. 

To achieve more success in football, Quaynor wants to achieve more off-field. Building a fragrance business from scratch has been part of his plan for the past couple of years. Rome wasn't built in a day, but progress is being made.

"It's been a slow process," he said, "but I think good things take time. So I've just been trying to keep the balance right with everything else outside of football. You only launch your fragrance for the first time once, so my mindset is I want it to be I know it's not going to be perfect, but I want to put as much time into making sure it's as good as it can be. 

"We're in the second round of samples in regards to bottle design, bottle cap packaging. The name's all locked in and the actual juice or the fragrance is pretty well locked in as well. We're 75 per cent there, it's just like that last 25 per cent is kind of about more the marketing side pushing it out, letting people know that it's finally here because a lot of people ask about it. I've been saying it's coming for a long time now. But I do feel like we're getting to the end of the road, which is really cool."

Quaynor is now known for how he smells and what he wears. After returning to his best in 2025, Craig McRae and Collingwood will need the Ghanaian-Australian to fire again if the Magpies are going to challenge for another premiership.  

The Strateas Carlucci x AFL collaboration will feature at the Melbourne Noir Runway at the Royal Exhibition Building on Monday, February 23 as part of the Melbourne International Fashion Festival. Tickets are available here.