Inside AFL star Max Gawn’s Glen Iris home wellness retreat

Premiership-winning ruckman Max Gawn is one of the AFL’s most recognisable players. Standing at more than two metres tall, Gawn’s stature and signature “bald head groomed beard” look might have something to do with it, but his honourable leadership as captain of the Melbourne Football Club for the past five years and his steadfast sportsmanship have secured his reputation off the field, too.

Since he made his AFL debut in 2011, Gawn’s life has centred on the game. So, when he and his wife Jessica bought their Glen Iris home, he already envisioned one particular space being transformed into a dedicated wellness room: a sun-drenched, indoor-outdoor area that opens onto the backyard.

“Being a wellness lover, I thought, ‘That’s a perfect room’,” Gawn says. “My home, from a holistic point of view, is just my little sanctuary. I’m someone who likes to get everything in my house to make sure that when I’m [here], I don’t need to leave.”

That meant introducing a sauna to the wellness room, then a Your Reformer Pilates bed, and finally an ice bath. The 33-year-old takes recovery just as seriously as he does training.

“Pilates is a regular – early in the week post-game [practice] when you’re struggling a tiny bit,” Gawn says. “It simulates what you can do in the weight room anyway, if not better.”

Some days he’ll spend an hour on the reformer. Other times, it’s core work, followed by stretching, a sauna and an ice-bath dip after the kids are put to bed. Occasionally, teammates will come over for a group rotation as well.

It’s as much a space for social connection as it is for solo recovery – a reflection of Gawn’s ambivert nature. “You can chuck a few candles on, no TV at all, phones away, and it’s just genuine relaxation and a mental reset,” he says. “Then you can use it for the complete opposite [and] bring your friends in – that’s the connection piece.”

Gawn and his brother, a builder by trader, brought the space to life from design to construction. “I really worked hard to be able to nail it,” he says. It’s the latest in a growing list of projects, which includes co-owning two restaurants and hosting podcasts.

Design-wise, the open-plan room is pared-back and unfussy, grounded by a generous fiddle-leaf fig that gives Gawn’s height a run for its money.

“I’m a bit of a timber lover, and a bit of an old-school sauna lover,” he says. It’s why the AFL player was adamant on installing a Finnish sauna from Drip Saunas over an infrared version. He’ll use the sauna about four times a week – two or three times at home, then once or twice at luxury wellness club Saint Haven.

Gawn’s big-picture wellness goals? A fully decked-out home setup: a wet room, steam room, a float tank and a red-light room. “I’d put it all in there, but I don’t have a big enough space.”