Dan Carter on life after rugby, the importance of asking for help and not wanting to cling to the past

When Dan Carter hung up his boots in 2021, he was left to face the big question lurking at the end of every professional athlete’s career.

Now what?

It was a question he had been prepared for during his rugby career in New Zealand, with each Super Rugby franchise having a player development manager whose tasks included helping players address the question of what they might do if their sporting career ended tomorrow.

But for Carter, it wasn’t something he really considered until later in his career.

“Me, I was kind of just putting that to the side because I was so focused on being the best rugby player in the world. That’s what was driving me, and I knew I couldn’t play forever,” Carter tells the Herald.

“I knew what I was passionate about, what I liked, what I didn’t like, but still, when that day comes it is quite a challenge and you’re often having to initially navigate that change by yourself.

“It wasn’t until I was able to go ‘right, I need some help with this, I can’t do it by myself’ and thankfully I was surrounded by great people who gave me a lot of advice and helped me manage that change.”

Richie McCaw and Dan Carter after winning the 2015 World Cup. Photo / Brett Phibbs

In a near 20-year career, Carter achieved it all. He won back-to-back World Cups with the All Blacks and was part of title-winning teams with every professional team he took to the field for (Canterbury, Crusaders, Perpignan, Racing 92 and Kolbeco Steelers). He was also a three-time World Rugby Player of the Year and was inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Stepping away from something he had dedicated his life to presented plenty of challenges. Among them, simply keeping fit became a different experience.

Carter found himself training in a similar fashion to how he would when he was playing but was missing the energy of working alongside a group of like-minded people. He found some similarities in the high-intensity interval sessions at F45, for whom he is now an ambassador and is this week taking part in their Trials Week, which sees attendees score points for their workout efforts and compete on an online global leaderboard.

“When I finished playing, I found myself just going to the gym by myself and doing all my old rugby programmes ,” Carter says.

“I’m kind of working out like ‘Why? what’s the purpose of training like a rugby player when I’m no longer playing?’ That’s where F45 came along.”

The transition away from the game has been a process for Carter; figuring out his next move was not something he rushed into. With a young family, Carter says he made sure to take his time and really assess what he wanted to do or what his purpose was without rugby.

He has had conversations with former teammates, other athletes who have moved into the next stage of their lives, as well as business people who have had to navigate change in their own lives.

Last year, he opened up about trying to figure out the next stage of his life. In the time since hanging up his boots, he has released a book, his own fragrance, and got involved in several business ventures, while also supporting several charities.

Now, he says he is in a position where he feels settled. One thing that has been clear to Carter in the past couple of years is that, while he was one of the great rugby players, he doesn’t want his future to be defined by the things he achieved in the past.

“I don’t want to just continue my life looking back at old highlights reels and then talking about my past and the All Blacks and almost giving up on life after rugby; saying, oh, my best days are behind me,” Carter explains.

“I’ve closed that chapter of my life. It was incredible, but now I’m at the starting line and it’s really exciting because I have this wealth of knowledge and experience from my past that I can use to elevate my passions for the next chapter of my life. Being at that starting line excites me.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.