WHEN Max Bailey started looking for a change from the AFL "bubble", he didn't expect his next move would take him to the foot of Mount Kilamanjaro in Africa.
But next month the retired Hawthorn premiership ruckman will pack his bags and step outside his comfort zone for a 12-month stint volunteering at a remote village in Tanzania.
It will be half a world away from where Bailey made his name and he isn't sure what to expect living the simple life on the slopes of the world's fourth-tallest mountain.
Creature comforts will be limited living in a solar-powered hut with a bed and not much else for furniture, while the staple diet of beans and rice with goat could take Bailey some getting used to.
But it's all part of the African adventure that the 29-year-old can't wait to dive into.
"I'm waiting for the shock to hit me when I get there," he told AFL.com.au.
"People who've done it before they say you can't really prepare, you can have an idea but it's so different to the way we live here that you've just got to roll with the punches when you get there.
"Kind of not knowing is a good thing as well, I just want to get there and have all these different experiences.
"After eight years of playing and coaching (at Richmond) for two years I felt like I needed a bit of a change in what I was doing.
"As much as I love footy and the places footy has taken me and what it's done for me, you're in this bubble environment and that's all I've known for the last 10 years.
"But the big thing as well was trying to feel like you're making a difference somewhere – not that you don't in footy, but you're helping blokes who are already at a very high level themselves.
"The idea of helping people who don't have much and hopefully making a difference for them was a pretty big attraction."
Tanzanian kids learning English. Picture: Supplied by Max Bailey
When Bailey took the advice of friends who also volunteered to make the move to Africa, he was prepared to get to work digging holes and building houses - or whatever else needed to be done.
But after linking up with charity organisation Future Warriors Project, which aims to empower the local Maasai communities, he'll be putting his coaching skills to good use by teaching sport to schoolchildren at Kitenden.
He's taking a bag full of Sherrins provided by the AFL and soccer balls given to him by Hawthorn on his African adventure, and he's hoping sport helps him to break down the language barrier.
"There is a lady in the village who speaks English, so I'll be pretty heavily reliant on her," Bailey said.
"I think the good thing as well though is I'm teaching sports as well, so I'll have some soccer balls and I don't think the classes will be as structured as they are here.
"It might be a case of giving them the ball and away they go. That's going to be pretty cool, taking that sort of stuff over and giving it to these people who basically have nothing.
"Given they're used to kicking a tied-up bunch of rags around, I think it will be a good change."
Bailey is also hoping to raise funds to help Future Warriors build a primary school, a pre-primary and community centre and to provide school supplies to local children.
He's been amazed at the generosity of the people who have helped raise more than $7000 so far and he's keen to keep the ball rolling before he departs on February 1.
"However much money we can get will be greatly appreciated," Bailey said.
School kids in Tanzania. Picture: Supplied by Max Bailey
How you can support Max in Tanzania:
Visit chuffed.org/project/maxintanzania2016 to donate to Bailey's fundraising campaign, or facebook.com/maxintanzania2016 for more information.
Bailey's also hosting a fundraising night featuring a panel including Alastair Clarkson and Sam Mitchell on Thursday, January 21 is at the Flying Duck Hotel in Prahran, starting at 6:30pm.
Tickets are $20 and interested people can email maxintanzania2016@gmail.com.
Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Picture: Supplied by Max Bailey
