Sam Kerr credits Perth for her success, and is paying tribute to the city with a brand new Nike boot

We all know Sam Kerr as a sporting and as an Aussie icon. For years, she was steadily building her reputation as one of the world’s best. In 2023, her reputation skyrocketed from sporting superstar to national hero.

With a legacy as storied as hers, it’s no wonder Nike gave her the honour of launching her own Player Edition Mercurial Superfly 10, the centrepiece of a brand new Sam Kerr Player Edition range, including a lifestyle and apparel collection.

The Mercurial Superfly 10 is a tribute to not only where Sam as come from, but where she’s going, and the community that’s helped her every step of the way.

“I've always had this underdog mentality,” Sam tells SPORTbible Australia.

“Being a West Australian, I think maybe that's just drilled into us. You have to do a little bit more to get seen, you have to do a little bit more to make the team. I think the underdog mentality has served me pretty well throughout my career, because it always just makes you feel like you’ve never actually made it. You've always got to show more and I think that's helped me throughout my career because I've never settled for where I am.”

Perth comes up a lot when Sam talks about the boot. In fact, Sam credits a huge part of her entire career to simply growing up there.

“I've achieved so much because of the people that have supported me, the people that have helped me, even things down to how the state has supported me,” she says.

“I'm really lucky to be from here and I thrive in that community feel, and I've always been a big family person. To be able to come home to Perth and feel like this is one big family for me has really pushed me throughout my whole career.”

“I feel like my family knows everyone,” Sam continues, “every second person is related to me.”

“It just has this feel of home and community. It's really sports driven and my family have obviously been really involved in the sporting community. I’ve always felt like there's been a huge amount of support for myself from Perth, even from a young age.

“It's always just felt like a small community within a big city and that for me makes whenever you come home so special. Walking down the street, people come up and kiss me on the head like they've known me. They know me because they've watched me from when I was 12 years old.”

That inspiration is embedded into the very fabric of the Mercurial Superfly 10. Crafted with a clean, neutral base, the boot explodes with bright pops of teal, pink, and orange. This isn't some random colour scheme—it's straight from the city Sam loves so much. For her, the colours tell the story of her home and the beach she grew up on: teal for the Indian Ocean, pink and orange for the rocky coastlines, and a sandy upper to represent the iconic beaches, which she says are the best in Australia.

Sam says she wanted to bring a piece of her life to the pitch, and everyone can now embody that Perth Swagger that’s made her such a star.

On top of that, she also feels this is the perfect moment in her career to launch this boot.

“Honestly, this is a dream come true,” she says.

“I never imagined I'd have my own player edition boot. It's crazy; it still hasn't sunk in. It feels like a full-circle moment for me—not so much a reward, but a recognition of all the hard work, commitment, and time I've given to the sport and to Nike. It just feels like the right time. I still can't believe it. I'm stoked that I get to not only wear my own boot but also share a deeper part of my story through this design on the pitch.

“It's more than just a boot; it means something to me.”

The full collection is available now at Nike.com and in select stores around the country.

This article originally appeared on SPORTbible Australia.