Today, I had a great chat with Queensland Prop Massimo De Lutiis. (He has an Italian name by the way!) In between his field and gym training, we had a catch up about his rugby journey, his experiences with the Reds so far as well as his approach to training during his rehab journey this year.
Massimo’s season Super Rugby with the Reds this year was cut short when he suffered a serious quad injury, but he turned it into a positive by working on what he could during his downtime. Soon after recovering, he broke the teams bench press record! (Check out a video of that lift here.) During his games against the Wildknights and the international fixtures against Wales and Tonga, Massimo has shown he is a player to watch next year and beyond!
I hope you enjoy reading our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it!
Hey Massimo, thanks for taking time to catch up in the middle of a busy training schedule.
Do people call you Mass?
Yeah, all the boys call me Mass. Obviously it’s short for Massimo, but sort of has that double meaning, I like it, it's pretty good.
How's all the running going during preseason?
Yeah, coming back from that quad injury definitely was tough, especially with all the running, but I think the heat at the moment is what's getting the big boys tired quicker. But that's really good, I think that's obviously what the preseason's for, earning that fitness and obviously we’ll just keep on running, just getting the k’s in the legs.
What do you love the most about playing for the Queensland Reds?
I just love the culture here. All the boys are so inclusive and I think just the crowd as well, they're really supportive. All the staff here really know their stuff, they’re really knowledgeable and they’re just great at coaching.
Can you tell us about your rugby journey? How old were you when you started playing and what inspired you to play?
Yeah, it's a pretty good story actually.
I started in grade six and started in the D team. And to be fair, I did want to quit. I was really upset. I was like, “I’m not good at this”. I was, like, a terrible player and I wasn't a very sporty kid at all. I was very closed in, on my own all the time. I wasn't, like, any bit athletic. But yeah, after my first training, I got put in the D's, I went home and I was like, "Dad, I want to quit, I don't do this anymore". But he said, "just keep pushing through... just don't stop". "Just keep doing no matter what team, you just keep going". And so I slowly made my way up through the ranks for the year. The next year, I was in the C team, then the B team and then the A's and then the First XV. And I remember that year I wanted to make that team, I locked myself in the basement, put my moved my bed, spent all my money a gym set, worked out, like, every day, I didn't see any friends or anything. And then I shot up in size and got a little bit more athletic and thenI made the First XV that year. And I thought to myself, that really just shows, no matter what you work at, you can get there. After that, I made the development teams and then Aussie under 20s and then this, then Aussie A's. Considering where I came from, it was just crazy.
What's your favourite post game meal?
Wow, that's tough. I love sushi, but if I'm really like hanging for a feed, it's probably either pizza or like a mixed kebab snack pack I reckon, with chips and all that. I love that, probably mixed snack pack a little more. They're good.
You suffered a pretty major injury earlier this year. What was your approach during rehab?
Yeah, well, I had obviously had that quad injury. I think, I talked to Hayley [the team sports psychologist] and she really helped me out. I feel like looking back, I probably could have gotten more ahead and thought “what's the next job now”? It took me a while, one or two weeks, to be like, “oh, this actually has happened”. I was really a bit down in the dumps for a little while, but yeah, all the boys got around me and so then I started to focus on what's next, get my core stronger, or like that bench press.
That's pretty much the outcome of what that injury did. I did, bench like, four times a week and got that little goal for myself.
You've been overseas to play with the Reds, in both Japan and Tonga. What was your favourite travelling experience?
Tonga was good, I really loved it. I really enjoyed the weather there was really nice. But I'm gonna say Japan came out on top just… All the crowds, they're especially interactive. They just do stuff really different over there. Everything's like, really convenient and rugby-wise, they're really big on rugby over there. So is Tonga as well. But yeah, I really enjoyed Japan.
Thanks for taking time to catch up. There's lots happening and cheering you on all the way through to the 2025 season.
Love that. That was good. Good we could do this, thanks Tom.
