KNOW WHEREyou come from.
Some things stay with you, wherever life takes you.
BORN AND RAISED
IN Newcastle.
Will Smith was born and raised in Newcastle, NSW. Family, community, culture, Country and sport shaped his early years. Some of his strongest memories are of cultural dancing and going bush with his grandfather, father, uncles and cousins.
Those people and places are part of what he carries with him today. ProudGround began with a wish to make something of his own, with family at its centre.
Family sits at the centre of everything.
Will is husband to Pauline and father to four. Home is where his favourite coffee moment happens: a slow Saturday or Sunday morning, the house quiet, sitting with Pauline over a cup. ProudGround is something he hopes to build with his family in mind.
COUNTRY
RUNS deep.
Will is a proud Indigenous Australian man. Memories of cultural dancing and time spent going bush with his grandfather, father, uncles and cousins belong to his own experience of family and Country. They are not a visual shortcut for the brand.
There is more for Will to tell in his own words. ProudGround can make space for his connection to culture without claiming to speak for anyone else.
For Will and his family, the eagle is a personal symbol of strength, freedom, protection and connection to Country.
For years, Will’s life revolved around professional rugby league. It took him places he dreamed about as a kid, tested him, and taught him plenty about resilience.
He achieved the childhood dream of playing professional football, including in the NRL. That career matters, but Will wants ProudGround to stand on its own. There is more to know about him than where he played.
One chapter. Not the whole story.
But eventually the stadiums stopped being everyday life.
Work changed. Routine changed. Life got quieter.
Family remained.
Culture remained.
Where he came from remained.
WORK CHANGES.
WHAT MATTERS DOESN’T.
After football, Will went to work in the mining industry. He became, in his words, “just another person on the crew.” It was a different working day, with its own routine and responsibilities. The job changed; the people and values he carried into it did not.
LARGE CAPPUCCINO.
OR A LONG BLACK.
usually with honey.Will has been a proper coffee drinker for more than a decade. It was part of his days in professional sport and remains part of early mornings and long shifts. At home, he uses a Breville Barista Touch. A large cappuccino or a long black, usually with honey.
His favourite moment is simpler than any coffee setup: a slow Saturday or Sunday morning with Pauline, while the house is quiet. Time to sit together over a cup. That connection is at the heart of ProudGround.
SOMETHING WORTH
PASSING DOWN.
“dad built that.”That’s what Will hopes his kids can say one day. A brand with his family behind it, and coffee people want to come back to. Something built with care, from the things that have always mattered: family, connection and knowing where you come from.
EXPLORE THE COFFEE