Mark Soderstrom reveals his Legacy
From footy to fighting fires, Mark Soderstrom has taken an unlikely route to becoming a household name. His next project is the most meaningful yet.
I’m in trouble here,” Mark Soderstrom thinks to himself. Sitting in the front seat of a taxi, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the sports presenter glances at his watch and hears a voice tease from the back seat: “Worried about the time, are you?”
John McEnroe, one of Mark’s childhood idols – and among the most intimidating competitors in world sport – is sitting a racket-length away.
“We needed to get to the Adelaide Town Hall for a live interview, but it’s chock-a-block peak hour traffic and we’re crawling along King William Street. It’s looking like we’re not going to make it,” Mark recalls.
“I’d heard about McEnroe’s reputation for being an intimidating, super-intense guy. The station keeps phoning me and I’m trying to act cool because if he sees a sign of weakness, I’m thinking he’s going to eat me alive.”
When the taxi finally arrives, Mark sprints up the stairs to the waiting camera. “But I look back, and McEnroe’s taking his time, I think to test me, make me sweat. He stands next to me with seconds to go, [news presenter] Bruce Abernethy throws to us, and – after all that – McEnroe was fantastic.”
Since that first encounter with McEnroe, Mark has interviewed the tennis star numerous times, proving that sport reporting is exactly where he is meant to be.
But for the former Sturt centre-half-back, it’s a career that came completely out of the blue.
Raised in St Kilda, Mark was lured across the border by Adelaide Crows coach Graham Cornes in the early ’90s. He completed one pre-season with the Crows before finding a home in the SANFL where he played 125 games.
When injury cut his football career short, he focused on his jobs as a schoolteacher and a firefighter. With no media experience, he thought “one of the boys is stirring me up” when the ABC phoned him for a job as a boundary rider.
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“But it was legitimate, and it opened the door. I’d never ever considered being in the media,” Mark says.
In 2004, he was approached by the Seven Network to become a sports reporter. And since 2020, he has presented the station’s weeknight sports news. Along the way, he forged a 10-year career in breakfast radio, first with Mix 102.3 and then SAFM.
But today, when SALIFE meets Soda, he’s not preparing for a live television cross. He’s setting up cameras in the lounge room of a couple in their 80s. It’s part of his new project – The Soda Room Legacy Films – which gives families the opportunity to welcome Soda into their living rooms to capture their precious stories on video.
“It’s a time capsule,” Mark explains.
“I have a photo of my grandfather in his police uniform, and when I look at that photo, I can see my youngest son Otis in him. But photo albums don’t tell you the full story – I want to hear him, see his mannerisms and experience his personality.”
The idea for the concept began with Mark’s friend, the late Rob Gillies. “Rob had leukemia and he was talking to me about how we were going to organise his funeral,” Mark says.
“When we sat down to talk about his life, he revealed all these amazing experiences to me. I said, ‘Would you be comfortable if I film this for your family?’
“Listening to him tell all these great stories was such an emotive experience. I was inspired by his courage and strength. He said to me: ‘You have to do this for other people’,” Mark says.
Rob passed away in February, aged 76, after a three-year battle with cancer. Thanks to Mark, Rob’s family now have a memento of his life.
Now, the Legacy Films project is gaining momentum. “It’s giving me the opportunity to utilise my experience and skills to do something meaningful for others. Getting people to open up and share their stories is giving me great purpose,” Mark says.
“Everyone has a story. Some people have the most amazing stories that make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.”
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Mark is particularly interested in how people overcome adversity, having faced his own personal challenges in recent years.
Mark has spoken publicly about his long-term battle with depression and is still coming to grips with the fallout from the breakdown of his marriage. At the end of 2024, he quit breakfast radio to focus on being present for his three children Felix, Sienna and Otis.
“My number one priority is simply to be the best dad I can be. My priorities and my purpose are very clear to me. I’m still working on it every day.”
Mark continues to love presenting sport on Network Seven – his dream job – thriving off the adrenaline of live television and the buzz of sport. He’s also hosting his own podcast, The Soda Room, where he interviews identities who have achieved amazing things in sport and other realms.
His longer-form interviews – often themed around adversity – are helping him to grapple with his personal challenges.
“When you go through tough challenges, like a relationship split, it can be an opportunity to be reflective. Now I’m picking everyone’s brains for wisdom and trying to implement these philosophies in my own life,” he says.
“There’s often a challenging point in their lives where they’ve been broken and had to rebuild – and come out stronger for it.”
It’s the Legacy Films project, though, that is giving Mark a glimpse into the lives of people carrying decades of hard-won wisdom. “Sometimes there is tragedy or trauma involved, which people will share if you can develop a strong rapport. There’s wonderful courage in vulnerability,” he says.
“I’m interested in how their journey has shaped who they are; that’s the key. No one ever says, ‘Gee, I really wish I had worked more in my 30s’. The number one thing people express gratitude for is their connection with friends and family.
“Most people are just trying their best to have a good life and help the people who are important to them.”
And although he is still working his way through his own challenges, Mark is heartened by the wisdom of older generations. “I still have work to do on myself, but the people I’ve interviewed in their twilight years often admit that they’re still learning,” he says.
“I think that maybe you never get there, which isn’t a bad thing, because you keep striving to improve and evolve.
“That’s all I’m trying to do.”
This article first appeared in the July 2026 issue of SALIFE magazine.
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