David Pocock is defying the world's most powerful sports manufacturers, religious lobbyists, and his parents.
By launching his own brand of football boots to protest against slave labour, and campaigning for same-sex marriage, Pocock has gone well beyond rival players and referees to take on the church and a multi-billion-dollar empire run by Nike, adidas and the rest.
It is an unparalleled stand by one of the world's best rugby players, but Pocock says: "Desmond Tutu, who was huge in South Africa in fighting apartheid, said that to be neutral in injustice is to merely support the status quo."
The Wallaby flanker's stance is sure to infuriate the influential sports manufacturing industry but Pocock welcomes the attention to his cause.
Being raised in a Christian home does not stop Pocock highlighting the hypocrisy of his own religion. And it won't compel him to legally marry partner Emma Palandri unless their gay friends have the same rights - even if the law is not changed by the time they have children.
"Witnessing the injustice upon a minority group, and to have the opportunity in some small way to stand in solidarity with them, was really important for us," Pocock says.
Pocock is sitting at a cafe that serves only fair trade coffee, wearing a self-designed T-shirt featuring reggae musician Lucky Dube, and carrying a university handbook on the health benefits of indigenous food.
He runs his own charity, EightyTwenty Vision, which helps a remote community in Zimbabwe. He freely admits that sport is the one section of the newspaper he doesn't read. Not your average 23-year-old star athlete with global adulation.
In an era of tailor-made fluorescent boots, Pocock chooses to ignore six-figure sponsorship deals, instead painting over the logo of his boots.
His brand, Heroes Boots, will be releasing rugby balls in two months, with the ethically produced boots to follow later.
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