"I BOUGHT a needle off eBay, got some ice out and numbed it (the area) up. Had a couple of beers to numb my senses further, and then just went through with it."

That is Alex Pearce talking about the time he pierced his nose back in 2021. On the face of it, it does sound like a very COVID-era thing to have done. And in hindsight, the Fremantle captain admits that he did go through with it mainly because he was bored at home like everyone else. It wasn't totally on a whim, though. Pearce had thought about doing it for a while.

Unlike with the origin story of his very impressive mane, which he puts down squarely to "laziness" and not being bothered to go cut it every month. Even if his glorious curls have since become as much a trademark of the 30-year-old's presence on the footy field as his very impressive skills as a key defender.

As fashionable as they are, Alex's piercings and his hair are not meant to be fashion statements. They are instead vivid reflections of a young man whose self-exploration journey is based on not being defined by his chosen career path. Whether it is in terms of not having to identify as a footballer for 100 per cent of his life, or be constricted by the bubble that comes with being a high-profile athlete in a high-profile sporting league. To be able instead to find and then express the best version of Alex Pearce the person, which has little to do with Alex Pearce the footballer. Starting with the way he looks. 

"I feel like it (the decision to go ahead with the piercing) was a bit of a, not quite a protest, but more a reaction to the AFL bubble, which can be so restrictive and confined and regimented and where everything's being watched and managed. It was more a oh, f*** it. I want to grow my hair long and do something different," as Pearce puts it. 

"When you're working within this sort of industry, and the same as society, you can feel like you have to behave in a certain way or do things a certain way. For me, it's all about just the freedom to make a few different decisions and work out and be your best version of yourself and be really comfortable with that." 

"Freedom" and "expression", two words Pearce uses a lot during our chat. They've come to be the bedrocks of his holistic approach to life on and off the field. A significant part of his evolution from the mad sports fanatic who got drafted to the Dockers as a fresh-faced 18-year-old from Tasmania with cropped hair, to the wholesome man in his 30s who's on a quest to find out who he wants to be. To go from the kid for whom football was his life to become the adult who has football in his life. For Pearce to really come to grips with the role that his beloved sport plays in his life. 

"My whole childhood was centred around playing sport. And that was my whole identity. I've been in the space before where I'm simply the footballer who plays football, and that's all he does. And that set myself up for some really dark periods where I struggled through injury and rode the waves of form and team performance. And realised that's not a healthy place for me to be," he said.

"I was able to work out that for me to be at my best, I actually need to engage in other things. There's been periods in my 20s where I wasn't sure whether I was allowed to spend all my spare time engaging in listening to politics and music over the weekend instead of being fully committed to the AFL, only to realise that I needed this balance as someone who doesn't just live and engage in this little football bubble but feels like a citizen of the world and Australia. It's helped me to be happier." 

Pearce is a voracious reader. He's currently hooked on Red Rising and the Fourth Wing series along with books authored by former Man Booker prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro. Reading is among the many and varied interests that allow the towering Docker to stay grounded when it comes to his relationship with footy. He exists in a world that's completely different to this football bubble that he finds himself in. 

"I understand when I need to put my time into football and preparation. And for me, that's not watching games through the weekend or watching any footy shows or listening to footy podcasts. The night before a training session or a game, I'll reflect and write my focuses. And if there's any footage to watch, I'll make sure I watch that and have a clear understanding of how I'm going to show up the next day and review training. But then that's it," he said.

Then there's his greatest indulgence, an unbridled love of, and deep-rooted connection with, music. So much so that he even co-hosted his own music podcast over the winter with Triple J presenter Bridget Hustwaite called Fan to Fan. It's quite telling when he talks about using music to deal with the stresses of football responsibilities and more so when he mentions how music frees him up and even allows him to "daydream". Pearce reveals his music taste to be diverse with a special affinity for indie rock, but it's when he describes the shared experience of going to live music gigs that you get a window into why it means so much to him. 

"There's that feeling of being somewhere with, it might be 100 people or a 1000 people, but just all being captivated and just having this shared cathartic experience or sometimes just a freeing meditative experience. It's something I really treasure. There's no manual on how to engage in a concert. You get to just do whatever you want. You can sit at the back and listen. You can get in the front row and mosh out," he said.

It also allows him an opportunity to be on the other side of the fence, and at some level be in the shoes of the footy fans who come support him and his team every weekend.  

"I don't get to experience that as much when you're in the middle of the oval but being able to be in the crowd and side to side and sing with someone and sing along. It's hard to describe at times, but it definitely has a great impact on my mental health and how I live life," he said.

"It's not about you, is it? You are just an audience member. All the attention is on the artist, and you get to engage and express however you feel with that."

For the record, the bands he's really into currently include Geese, Fontaines DC, Sly Withers, Ullah and Wednesday. The other great passion for Pearce away from his football is his love for cricket, the long form in particular. Not surprisingly either, considering he grew up literally at a cricket club in Ulverstone on the northern coast of Tasmania, with the hopes of becoming a cricketer.

As a peek behind the curtain, I met Alex for the first time last year in the Barossa during Gather Round, when I was over to shoot some content with Fremantle and he walked up behind me wondering loudly whether I had "lost my way to a cricket ground". It was the start of our friendship but also my understanding of how much he loves his Test cricket in general. 

"I relished being out on the field for 90 overs and you have to find a way to concentrate. You might only have one moment in that game to have an impact as a fielder and can you do it? Can you stay in the game for that?" he said.

"It's a bond I share with my dad, and we've gone to the Boxing Day Test for the last few years. It helps feed our relationship. On a weekend, I'd go to the local cricket club when I was 10 years old and spend the day there and be looked after by the players, the president and the secretary whether dad was there or not. It was always my happy place."

Pearce also recalls how winning a second-grade flag alongside his father, Scott, remains his favourite cricket memory. And there's hardly a cricket topic that the Beau Webster fan is not eager to discuss whenever he's got the time.  

Where Pearce has stood out even more in recent years is his leadership off the field, where he's been unafraid to share his opinions on world affairs. Pearce is not a rebel. But he does believe strongly in the causes that resonate with him – a laudable trait for someone who calls himself a "citizen of the world". While the well-read captain is always keen to be open with his social and political views, he's cognisant of the responsibilities that come with being a club captain and is respectful of that. 

"I'm not a golfer or a tennis player and I'm not just the Alex Pearce brand. I'm Alex Pearce, the footballer, the captain of the Fremantle Dockers. And with that comes responsibilities, which means it's about finding that balance of staying true to myself and living the values I believe in while also respecting the role that I have and respecting the club that I represent," he said. 

If anything it's this well-roundedness that's made Pearce one of the most valuable footballers of his generation, both for his club as well as the AFL as a whole. And he's on pretty much every expert's potential All-Australian list for 2026 at the moment. He acknowledges the white-line fever that comes with being a footballer but it's fascinating to hear him break down the different garb he ends up putting on between the first and final sirens on the field. 

"I'm a different person. A very passionate and loud and extroverted person as compared to me in the wild, where I'm more introverted and quieter and reflective. This game requires intensity and (it's) high in emotion," Pearce said.

"Hyper-masculinity, at times, I allow myself to go into, because I think it helps my performance and again, I love when the game is over. Because then you get to just stop and release it all. Take a deep breath, reflect and hopefully enjoy what's happened.

"I still get a lot of almost anxiety, and the build-up to the game I don't enjoy that much. I still enjoy the experience but there's nothing better than when the siren goes and particularly when you win, you get to celebrate and talk about a game with your mates and have your arm around them. The footy player is often the 'anti' of what my normal life is."

That calm exterior, though, has been on show a couple of times already this season for Pearce, whether it's his late smother to clinch victory over the Crows at the Adelaide Oval or his cool mark at the end to negate a late Collingwood charge.

The man they call 'Moose', a nickname that's come down to him from his father, has stood up when it's mattered most, just as he's willing to stand up for what he believes in. I ask him about the "hyper-masculinity" that he brings up around his sport, and Pearce jumps in straight away about how devoted he is in breaking down the barriers and making the AFL a more welcoming space for all. That too many a time it's seen multiple incidents of homophobic slurs being thrown around. 

"The game was, from the outside, for a certain type of man to play. We've had Mitch Brown come out as a bisexual man but most of the commentary around it tells me that the AFL men's environment is not overly seen as safe for male members of the queer community. It can be traced back to this culture and environment that's always been there," he said.

"One of the greatest things that's happened to our sport is the AFLW and more women working within the club and expressing their sexuality. I am cultivating an environment within my own club which respects everyone and allows for our sport to be more diverse."

Pearce is referred to as being a culture-setter at Fremantle for good reason, and he has been trying to get his teammates of all ages to understand his way of putting his footy career into perspective with regards to the bigger picture. 

"I want them to have their life be more than just the game. As a leader, I try to set an example. When it's required, you give everything. But there's no shame with being able to leave that at the door a little bit and then engage in a different part of your personality and other things," he said.

"You don't have to stay in this little box. You can take the values you learn from playing for a club like Fremantle and explore being the person that you want to be."

Like he has, by not getting hooked on or fixated by his AFL career, but engaging with it whenever he needs to. With the confidence that he will deliver his best every time he does. 

And for the mane man who doesn't really believe in having a structure around his hair wash schedules or for how he plans his travels during the post-footy season, the prospect of eventual retirement from the sport comes with equally fun uncertainties. Except that he's confident of the AFL not featuring in his next career trajectory. 

"I'm not sure what my career will look like post-football. I've always wanted to do a 12-month music festival tour around the world. Glastonbury, all the UK festivals, and Europe, Coachella and Burning Man and all that I missed out on. Hopefully when I get more time, post career, that's when music lessons start," he said.

What won't ever change, however, is his perennial path of self-discovery. Or as he puts it, "I'll always keep exploring what I'm really about."