Why singer Nick de la Hoyde gave soccer the boot

NICK de la Hoyde was heading for a career as an international soccer star, until he discovered a new passion — music.

Musician Nick Le La Hoyde with his Roland SPD-SX sampling pad at his Kenthurst family home. Pictures: Danny Aarons

• WHO: Musician Nick de la Hoyde

• WHERE: Family home in Kenthurst

• FAVOURITE THING: When I first got into music, I started playing drums. There are quite a few drum samples on my songs

• INSPIRATION: I like a cosy room with dark curtains and fluffy mats on the floor. It’s also important to have a big TV to watch Netflix

• HOME IS: I spent a lot of time living in Barcelona, but Kenthurst is always home

NICK de la Hoyde was heading for a career as sports star when he flipped and went in a completely different direction.

At just 15, he was already attracting the attention of international soccer clubs and was trialling with a team in Barcelona. The next four years were a blur of training before and after school between intermittent visits back to his family in Sydney.

“I thought football was what I really wanted, and I went over to Barcelona with not one word of Spanish, which was crazy,” Nick says.

“I was on my own, which was pretty tough, so as a way of venting I would write my thoughts and feelings down. I didn’t know I could do anything musical, but I taught myself to rap and from there I started singing.”

AT HOME WITH MATT DE GROOT

Now 23, Nick says his focus changed from soccer to music, and he found his happy place.

“The last six months in Spain had been a struggle, and I realised I wasn’t as passionate about football as I used to be,” he says. “It had taken a toll on me as a person.”

Using the same determination that got him noticed on the sports field, Nick enlisted his older brother Joseph, who is also his producer and collaborator. The career change has paid off.

Nick recently smashed his US performance at the largest hip-hop festival in the world, Rolling Loud, where he premiered his new single Mirror Mirror. He played alongside a who’s who of rap and hip-hop acts including J. Cole, Travis Scott, Future, Wiz Khalifa, Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne.

With an Instagram following of more than 400,000, Nick is hitting the right notes with audiences. He is also taking part in the R U OK? suicide prevention campaign, with a performance on R U OK? Day on Thursday, September 13, at Barangaroo.

More:nickdelahoyde.com; ruok.org.au

Shoes: ASKS sent me these shoes. I opened the box, and thought, “I am never going to wear these,” but I put them on and loved them. Now I wear them to most of my shows.

Rolling Loud pass: This is an all access pass to one of the most respected hip-hop festivals in the world. I can’t even describe what it was like playing there and meeting some of my idols.

Microphone: I have great parents, ones who never want you to move out, so they’re quite happy for me to make as much noise as I need to when I’m practising singing or rapping.

Harry Potter book: I was obsessed with Harry Potter and as a kid I wrote a letter asking if I could be in the next movie. My mother promised she sent it to Hogwarts, but weirdly I never got a reply.arry Potter book, At Home with musician Nick Le La Hoyde at his Kenthurst family home.

Beats headphones, At Home with musician Nick Le La Hoyde at his Kenthurst family home.

Drone: The drone was a birthday present and I’m in love with it. The cinematic shots you can get with it is unreal.

Xbox: Xbox sponsored the Rolling Loud event and each artists got one. Unfortunately,
I spent more time playing Fortnite and Call of Duty than exploring Los Angeles.

Binky the budgie: Binky is an absolute menace, and friends with my cat, believe it or not. He mimics her and meows when she goes past. He also refers to himself as Pretty Binky.