At the beginning of 2020, while the rest of the world was coming to grips with the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rulla Kelly-Mansell was coming to grips with something else.
The Tulampanga Kooparoona Niara Pakana man was a football player for the Glenelg Tigers when he was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer.
Initially stunned, Kelly-Mansell was at first stumped, but endeavoured to not let it get him down.
"Particularly when you've put so much into your craft for so long, to transition to anything else really can be overwhelming and daunting," he said.
"I think for myself, I kind of looked at it as once sport would finish in a playing sense I could put it in the review mirror and put all my energy into something new.
"(Being diagnosed with cancer) it kind of sped up that process and put, not necessarily footy, but life into perspective."
Making the change from football to being diagnosed with cancer to eventually turning to music is what Kelly-Mansell will discuss in a panel talk on Sunday.
Speaking at Parrtjima - A Festival in Light, Kelly-Mansell's talk titled 'After the Game Sports Talk' will discuss his life after footy, cancer and now music.
His transition into music came along alongside his friend and fellow footy player Marlon Motlop.
Motlop came over one day before footy training to record the song now known as Black Swan and it all blew up from there.
Now known as Marlon x Rulla, the duo began with a makeshift recording studio in Kelly-Mansell's house.
"He kind of pulled up and walked in and there was a camera set up, a mic and a guitar and he's like what the hell's going on here," Kelly-Mansell said.
"So we recorded what is now Black Swan I just uploaded it to social media the next night.
"That was before we even played a show and then our third show we were playing WOMADelaide opening for Midnight Oil."
Since then the duo have only gone from strength to strength.
They have a run of shows in Melbourne, are finishing up their first EP and will be playing at Treaty Day Out alongside names such as Thelma Plum, Jessica Mauboy and Yothu Yindi.
But first, Kelly-Mansell will be in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) for Parrtjima. He said his talk at Parrtjima will detail the good, the bad and the ugly of his life thus far and what his life in a music duo with Motlop looks likes now.
"We're both ex-footballers and so I think our story transitioning into music is quite a serendipitous story and experience and quite unique," he said.
"(My talk) is kind of centred around that but then also diving into my health battles, being diagnosed with cancer was kind of the catalyst to stopping sports and transitioning into music.
"So you know all those things are going to be involved."
Kell-Mansell will be speaking at Parrtjima on April 16.
Parrtjima is currently running in Alice Springs until April 16.
