Jordan Mailata threw himself into the deep end less than four years ago when he left Australia to pursue the American dream.
“I have this saying, ‘don’t be afraid to dip your toe in the water. Drown in it, and learn how to swim’,” says Mailata, speaking ahead of his first season as a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“That’s something that I really believe in. I was drowning in unknown waters, I didn’t really know how to swim, but I had no option, because I wanted to survive.”
Mailata’s tale is a remarkable one, and an inspiration to those around the world who dream of finding an unorthodox route into the NFL.
During a conference call with members of the international media, Mailata seems relaxed and at ease with the pressure he finds himself under entering the new campaign.
Having landed the starting job at left tackle, he will be tasked with protecting the blindside of highly-rated young quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Ahead of Sunday’s opener against the Atlanta Falcons, it is a scenario which has not sunk in - simply because Mailata won’t allow it to.
“That’s just because, for me, I just adopt a certain way of life to get to the stage that I’m at,” he reveals.
“The way that I process things and the way I’ve been living my NFL life, it made me just forget about the feeling of just being a starter.”
As Mailata is pressed on just how he has pulled off a feat nobody else has yet managed - successfully switching rugby for NFL success - he regularly harks back to one theme.
The mantra.
“I sound like a broken record, I’m pretty sure the journalists here are sick of me saying the same thing!” He jokes.
“But they keep asking the same questions and they’ll keep getting the same answers because it’s truly what I believe in.
“The whole mantra of getting 1% better each day has always been my focus, and that’s the only way of life I know.
“That’s my goal this year - to focus on my process, how I can attack each day to get 1% better.”
Mailata describes his process as “addicting”, and refuses to commit to any goals for the season or career which lies ahead.
“But I’m here to win a championship, I will say that.”
The drive and determination that fuels Mailata can be traced back to his upbringing in Bankstown, New South Wales with Samoan parents.
“My mum, growing up she worked full-time, six days a week, probably 12 hours a day and my dad was a handyman with two jobs.
“The bloke could fix anything in the house - he knew it all, for some reason. He just came straight from Samoa and just knew how to fix everything - the car, the toilet, he even did gardening.
“For me, it was inspiring as a kid, seeing my dad fix everything. We didn’t have much growing up, but they had five kids. One girl, four boys.
“My sister was the eldest, and she practically raised us because mum and dad were always working. We’re really close, me and my siblings.
“As a kid, I never understood why my dad would just yell at me for no reason, and sometimes I would question, ‘is this like normal?’. Then you go to school and realise, this is normal, it’s a Polynesian thing, a bit of tough love!
“That’s the environment us Polynesians grew up in, it’s what we’re used to, and without mum and dad, I wouldn’t be anywhere.
“It’s all because of them, putting a roof over our heads, making sure we had food to eat. There’s a whole Polynesian family that can relate to my story around the world.”
After growing up with “tough love” back home, Mailata found the same with his new family in Philadelphia.
Since being drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Mailata’s journey has been guided by offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
“He means the world to me,” Mailata says. “He’s like my Dad here.
“He’s teaching me how to play football. It’s tough love and I know deep down inside, when he’s cussing me out, he loves me.
“I’m grateful I can have someone like Coach Stout in my life, because without someone like him, I wouldn’t know anything to be honest.”
Stoutland certainly buys into the mantra - particularly when it comes to Mailata conditioning his huge 6ft 8inch, 166kg frame for the physical excursion required to play at an NFL level.
“You get used to knowing your body, then you know how to manipulate your body into certain positions to be able to execute a play,” he explains.
“Our coach always talks about 10,000 kicks. There’s a Bruce Lee saying, ‘I do not fear the man who practices 10,000 kicks one time, I fear the man who practices one kick, 10,000 times’.
“That’s my O-Line coaches’ saying, just to keep practicing, and my mantra of 1% better every day. Just working out how to get comfortable in different positions.
“Once I got familiar with my body and how to manipulate it, just shifting weight, it’s natural for me now to play at this weight.”
It has been a step-by-step process for Mailata, starting with the basics and culminating in translating his physical gifts to playing on Sunday’s.
Mailata had little knowledge of the sport when he took the plunge, aside from films such as Remember the Titans and The Blindside , which led to classmates comparing him to ‘Big Mike’.
“First time I saw a playbook, I nearly fainted,” he recalls.
Nowadays, however, he has grown to love the X’s and O’s that come with the job.
“Every year I fall more in love with the game and get more passionate about watching football,” he insists.
It was a patient process which ultimately led to Mailata’s first game time on September 13, 2020.
Mailata was fast-tracked into the line-up by injuries and quickly figured out he needed to lean on his mantra to swim in the deep waters.
“When I started playing last year, 2020, after the first couple of starts, gameday really started to slow down,” he reflects.
“It became much easier for me to just focus on the plays, not be nervous or anxious, and then it all became about my preparation, how I prepared during that week.
“Did I practice fast enough? Did I practice hard enough? Did I lift in the gym hard enough? For me, whenever I put out max in the gym, max on the field and just worried about focusing on myself, that’s when it started slowing down for me.
“I guess the process of elimination - people worry about who they’re playing against, what they’re going to see, what type of moves they’re going to get.
“For me, I break it down and the first thing I worry about is me, the last thing I worry about is me.
“If I take care of my job, I can be able to slow down the game just by practicing hard, practicing small habits and getting 1% better each day.
“For me, that’s how I got confident and the game started to slow down as the season last year went on. The more experience I got, each snap I played, the game was getting slower and slower.”
His performance last season led to a training camp battle between Mailata and Andre Dillard, a 2019 first-round draft pick, to take the starting spot entering the new campaign.
Mailata came out on top, and takes that confidence into his second season as an active member of the roster.
“It means a lot,” he says. “To be a starting left tackle in the NFL, it’s a tough gig and a tough job to earn.
“For the team to have faith in me just gives me a lot of confidence to go out there and play on Sunday’s with an extra boost, knowing that I earned the spot to start for this organisation and represent this city.”
It also means being held to higher standards - something Mailata has always been keen to achieve since he first arrived in his new surroundings.
“It was just an identity thing for me,” he says. “I know that deep down inside I’ll never forget my rugby league life, but in terms of where I am in my life now, it’s one thing for me to be accountable and being a professional in the sport I’m in now.”
Family has continued to fuel Mailata thousands of miles away, particularly the opportunity to play for the name on his back.
“I didn’t want to fail, I didn’t want to fail my parents, because it’s a pride thing,” he explains. "Being a Polynesian, wanting to represent that last name on your back.”
COVID means that Mailata is still waiting for his biological and Eagles families to meet, with high hopes his parents and siblings might be able to make it to a game this season.
“When COVID hit, I knew straight away my family wouldn’t be able to see a single snap,” he recalls.
“I’m hoping and praying for the day that I can bring my family over so they can finally see a little bit of action live and just show them around.
“The city I’m in, the city I’m representing, meet the people I have in my circle, the coaches, owners.
“Hopefully we get to that day where the borders open up and I can bring my family here and show them what I’ve been doing the last four years.
“My old man means the world to me, I never really knew that until I became a little bit older.
“The lessons that he taught me growing up are finally clicking for me, he’s someone that I missed the most.
“The way I was raised, tough love, now I’m becoming my own man here in the States, it just means everything, what he’s taught me.
“I just thank him for the way he was and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Whether or not they get to Philadelphia, Mailata’s family can watch safe in the knowledge that he is now swimming in much calmer waters than a year ago.
“This time I’m going in with floaties!” He jokes. “I have some tools in my bag to help me stay afloat this time!
“I worked on my craft, and I’m more confident going into this year just because I know how much I’ve given to this game, especially the last eight months.
“I’ve given so much just to be where I am today, to hone my skills and try and really solidify my position here in the league as an ex-rugby player, Samoan-Australian just trying to make his name in the NFL.”
