Indigenous Sport Month: Josh Addo-Carr reveals why All Stars concept means so much to him

Josh Addo-Carr has an unmistakeable laugh to go with his unmistakeable smile.

‘The Fox’s’ story begins in Sydney’s Redfern and Doonside but has taken the proud Wiradjuri and Gunggandji man to premiership glory in Melbourne for the Storm.

Addo-Carr tells Fatima Kdouh about the sacrifices his young mum made to give the premiership winner a better life.

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Josh Addo-Carr with his granddad and former boxing champion Wally Carr.Source:Supplied

What Indigenous Nation/s are you connected with?

My family is from Wellington, NSW, that’s Wiradjuri mob and my dad’s family is from Yarrabah, that’s just outside of Cairns and that’s the Gunggandji mob.

I have strong connections to both but I grew up in Redfern.

I grew up all over Sydney, but I spent a little time in Doonside.

That’s where my dad’s family lives right now and my mum’s family live in Redfern.

I moved from Doonside when I was about five years of age with my mum. Mum moved away just for a better life for us kids, she wanted to move away from all the drama out west and give my sister and I a better life.

I do remember some of my time out west, it was real hectic. A lot of violence, drugs, alcohol, that kind of stuff.

I think mum and dad were caught up in all that stuff, like partying and that… and mum wanted to move away from all that stuff when we were kids.

She would have been around 27 when we moved from there, she had me when she was 21.

It was a big sacrifice, she made a tough decision but she put us kids first.

What does your heritage/culture mean to you?

Being Koori, I feel like I belong to something. And, you know, we as Indigenous people, we’ve lost a lot of our culture in terms of learning… your language, your dance, all those all those traditional things. And it means the world to me.

I like putting smiles on people’s faces, especially of Indigenous kids, because being Indigenous it is pretty tough when you’re growing up, we go through a lot of things other kids don’t have to.

But being Koori is special. I love it.

Josh Addo-Carr with his Blues teammate Latrell Mitchell.Source:News Corp Australia

My favourite custom from my heritage is …

The Indigenous All Stars is probably the only time we get to really connect with other Indigenous people, with Indigenous players in the NRL, too.

We learn to do the war cry. We learn a bit about our language as well.

Before we do the war cry, I’ll say a little bit in my language.

It’s not something I would ever learn in school. I just think how the All Stars have given us an opportunity to learn a little bit, and that little bit is massive for myself, it means in the future, I can teach my kids my language and show them that I know a bit about my language.

It means I can share stories with them, too.

The All Stars is just so special. I love being a part of it.

Making Indigenous culture mainstream…

I only learned about my language as I got older. Growing up we only got taught in school about how Australia got invaded, all that kind of stuff.

We never really got taught our language. And I understand it’s hard because not that many people know our language. Where I grew up is a fair way from where my tribe is, it’s five hours from Sydney.

But All Stars has given us the opportunity to learn a little bit of dance, to learn a bit of language and I absolutely love doing it.

The boys, obviously, are from different tribes, and they get to learn a bit of their language. I get to learn a bit of theirs, and I know how much it means to all of the players.

I want to play for the All Stars because I want to do the war cry.

You hear all the fans, the Indigenous fans and how excited they get when we’re doing it properly. We see more young Indigenous kids do dance, they are doing language classes in Redfern community centres.

Seeing that, what we are doing through All Stars and how that is helping kids turn back to our culture, is pretty special.

I think for me and guys like Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker, being in the All Stars, we’re teaching all the fellas to be confident, to represent.

If young kids, they see us doing that, then it’s obviously going to affect the community.

Josh Addo-Carr is proud of his Indigenous heritage.Source:Getty Images

Something not many people know about me is…

I’m an open book. I always tell people that I’m a big noter and proud of that.

Wherever I go, I will never change regardless of the environment. My mum always told me, no matter where you go, don’t change for anyone. Just always be respectful and that will take you places.

My earliest memory…

Probably playing footy on the street with my cousins back in Doonside, when I was young as.

If I wasn’t in sport I would be ….

Who knows to be honest?! I’d probably be getting into trouble. You know what? I love helping kids, so I’d probably be a support worker. I have just finished my certificate in support work, so I’d be doing that, helping kids, I reckon.

When I cop online abuse I …….

These are people who are sitting behind a phone or computer… those people who abuse us are never brave enough to say those things to your face. People always ask me that… but we’ve copped it our whole life, really, it’s nothing new.

I think that we’ve got a good bunch of boys in the NRL that have got each other’s backs and we’re not in it alone. I know Latrell has my back and I have Latrell’s back… and that goes for every Indigenous player in the NRL.

Addo Carr loves that dance is such an important part of Indigenous heritage.Source:Supplied

A common misconception made about me is……

It’s about showing people that our culture is still strong, that we may not know our language but we’re showing that we’re still here, we’re still standing strong. And whatever anyone says we know will still hold our head high.

Everyone’s got a lot of bad perceptions on Indigenous people. It’s a sad thing. But that’s what we’re trying to change.

We know everyone goes through their struggles. You’ve got good and bad in every culture.

We’re just trying to change the perception of what people think about us Indigenous people, as Black people .

What do people say on social media…

That you’re a dole bludger, all that kind of stuff, you know? There is this a misconception that people think we get government handouts and stuff for free, that we get housing for free… that we can’t be or aren’t productive members of society.

When people see me I hope they think…..

I hope people see that I have worked hard for what I’ve got. I’m trying to set a standard for all Indigenous kids coming through the systems.

I came through housing commission, I have struggled. I’ve hit rock bottom and hit the very top. I hope I’m showing kids if you work hard and make sacrifices, you can do whatever you want.

One piece of advice I would give my teenage self?

No matter what you go through in life, there is always going to be light at the end of the tunnel.

And like I said before, I’ve hit rock bottom before and always had in my head what I wanted and what I wanted to be… and I was going to get there no matter what.

And to make sure to be around the people that are going to make you better and help you do better no matter what you do.

Addo-Carr in State of Origin mode.Source:News Corp Australia

The best advice I was ever given……

My coach, Craig Bellamy, said ‘if you are going to spend so much time doing something, why don’t you be the best at it?’.

That’s probably one best bits of advice anyone has given me.

Family means……

They are the reason I wanted to move back to Sydney. I have spent five years away from them now and I just feel like they need me after a number of deaths in the family. I just feel like I need to be closer to them and help put smiles back on their faces.

A word or phrase I use too much…….

‘Let’s trot’. Or I say ‘Bra’ all the time.

I used to say ‘let’s trot’ when I was a kid, because I used to try and say something different, back in the day everyone would say ‘let’s go’ so I decided to start saying let’s trot. It’s caught now, and everyone says it. It’s pretty special.

My weird sporting superstition is ….

I did it all when I first started playing first grade, but I think as you become more experienced you rely less on them.

But I always try and get the left side of my body strapped first.

I’ve got to wait for one of my teammates to put a jersey on before I put my one on.

And I always put my left boot on before my right.

I’ve had them ever since I started playing professional footy.

On an away trip, I always have to have a shower in my hotel room when I wake up. Then I have to floss my teeth, brush my teeth then use mouthwash.

The try-scoring machine scored six recently against the Rabbitohs.Source:The Daily Telegraph

My sporting hero is ….

My grandfather, Wally Carr. He’s a famous Australian boxer. He’s got the record for the most professional fights in boxing history.

He fought overseas, but didn’t go to America because he did want to leave home. He was definitely the king of the family and I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be successful like him. He definitely set the standard for myself.

Reflections of your career highlights….

I can’t go past my NRL debut, but also obviously winning the grand final back in 2017 when I scored the first try. And then there was winning last year’s grand final.

Last year, especially, through Covid. It was the toughest season yet but that’s what motivated us as a team to win.

Everyone is going to remember that season, it’s the one people will talk about in 100 years time because of how tough it was.

What is it like being an Indigenous athlete today?

Yeah, it’s pretty special.

I love seeing Indigenous kids. I always go out to communities, schools, no matter where I go in Australia, I always try to go into the community to say hello and just to put a smile on their faces.

I absolutely love being a professional athlete.

I’ve gone through it all, and I just tell those kids, you know, you’ve got to make those sacrifices and that you have to step out of your comfort zone to be successful. And that’s the reason I moved to Melbourne.

Josh Addo-Carr in his Indigenous All Stars jersey.Source:News Corp Australia

How do we improve support networks for Indigenous athletes coming through the ranks of professional sport?

It’s a lot easier for Sydney Indigenous kids just because you’ve obviously got your family around you in the city. But for country Indigenous kids, it’s pretty tough to move away from home and, especially, family.

I’ve witnessed Indigenous kids that have come from the country that really miss home.

Having an Indigenous welfare officer in clubs would be great, any way that gives those kids a better support network.

When Greg Inglis came to Melbourne, they sent him up to Brisbane, to live with an Indigenous family up there, and that did wonders for him because he had moved away from home and that gave him the support network he needed.

Being Indigenous myself, family means a lot. And I just think you need to be around Indigenous people, families to thrive.

Who is your inspiration…

My grandfather but also my parents… my dad’s always working. And Mum, she’s obviously gone through a lot for her whole life.

Those three definitely built me into the person I am today. They have given me tools to be successful.

Ever since I was a pup, I have only ever wanted to be the NRL and be one of the best to have ever played the game.

Originally published asThe best piece of advice The Fox ever received

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