Keith Mason is living life to the full since he retired from rugby league a decade ago. The 42-year-old has starred in films, created his own comic book and even has his own merchandise – the drive to be successful has clearly not left him since hanging up the boots.
Where that drive comes from through has now been revealed by Mason, who had to go through several knockbacks to get started in rugby league – a sport that would eventually give him all the life skills to make him who he is today.
Bradford Bulls, Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos were among the clubs to reject Mason in his youth, revealing that then Cas coach Graham Steadman told him “he wasn’t ready” for a career in the sport.
Leeds coach at the time, Dean Bell, went one further than Steadman, going out of his way to tell Mason: “you will never be a Super League player”, before instructing him to give up on becoming a professional.
Speaking to Serious About Rugby League, Mason revealed how those words shaped his career and how it’s led to him having more persistence, motivation and determination in every aspect of his life.
“At the time, there were two ways in looking at that, even though at the time it crushed me; I felt like if I listened to the narrative of what he said to me, I wouldn’t be here speaking to you now.
“Sometimes in life, you’ve got to grit your teeth, and when things don’t work out in life, you just have to persevere, and that’s what I did throughout my rugby league career.
“It’s made me who I am today and whenever tells me something isn’t possible now, I think the opposite, it makes me think it is possible, because they are just words, negative words, that are there to be proved wrong.”
After the three rejections, Mason managed to land on his feet with Wakefield and he maintains to this day that Trinity’s decision to bring him in is the highlight of his whole career.
“To be honest, when I first signed for Wakefield, after three clubs turned me down, that’s probably my proudest moment because I overcame a lot just to get to that point.
“John Arkins just brought out the best in me and John was probably one of the best mentors I’ve had in my career – that and my performances for Wales led to Melbourne Storm signing me.
“I was only 19 when Melbourne signed me which was massive; they came in after I made my debut for Wales against England. Believe it or not I turned down Leeds to go over to Melbourne, which was ironic given they had rejected me before.
“To this day I would urge any young player who can go to the NRL to do it because it is a great experience for a player, and I learnt a lot. It made me ten times the player when I headed back to Super League to play for St Helens.”
Though injuries hampered Mason during his time in the NRL, as mentioned he still earned a big move back to England when he became part of a star-studded St Helens team that included Paul Wellens, Jamie Lyon, Sean Long, Kieron Cunningham and Paul Sculthorpe.
It’s unsurprising then that Mason would win silverware with Saints, tasting success in the 2004 Challenge Cup Final against arch-rivals Wigan Warriors at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
“The best day of my rugby league life was winning that Challenge Cup in 2004,” said Mason. “It was a proper rugby league match with 76,000 there that day.
“I had just turned 22 at the time, and winning that trophy felt like I really achieved something massive. Before, I watched loads of Challenge Cup finals as a kid, watching the likes of Widnes, Wigan and all these big teams and winning it yourself was a great achievement.”
Mason spent 14 years playing at the highest level in rugby league; he retired in 2013 having played over 250 first-grade games combined in Super League and the NRL.
Spells with Huddersfield Giants and Castleford Tigers followed his time at Saints, playing 149 times for the Giants before ending his career with a season at The Jungle.
Since retiring a decade ago, Mason now has his own non-profit merchandise, comic book series and has featured in several films, including crime thriller ‘Imperative’, where he plays the lead role.
His success off the pitch undoubtedly mirrors what he achieved on it, coming back from adversity after suffering with severe depression following retirement.
Now Mason lives to tell the tale and is a leading advocate for men’s mental health and physical wellbeing on social media – again proof of how his rugby league career has shaped him to overcome the seemingly impossible.
