See Luca Porro attack the net and you surrender to the rhythm of his body. The preparation, first measured, then electric. The synchrony between the curve of the ball and the human takeoff. The flight. And finally the touch, gentle or violent, finding the intersection of the lines at impossible speeds, or grazing them with a soft, enigmatic caress painted above 2.43 meters.

In the ecstasy of volleyball’s highest expression, the sport resembles a score composed of beats and rebounds, horizontality and verticality, technique and flow. Notes that, in the case of this 2004-born world champion, were first learned at home, inside the familiar geometries of Voltri’s Capannoni, in Liguria, where the Porro name is synonymous with volleyball, before carrying him onto Italy’s most storied stages (Modena), and the world’s largest events: Paris, Ningbo, Manila.

Then, as you dissect his twenty-one years lived at full volleyball acceleration, you begin to understand what lies behind that adrenaline-laced moment repeated set after set, rally after rally. Above all, you discover what it means to ‘possess’ a discipline: its gestures, its grammar, refining it into a personal rhythm.

“Whatever you confide in them, the sea told them long before,” sang Fabrizio De André about the fishermen of his Genoa. A line that resonates with this Under Armour athlete too: someone who has learned to absorb, to listen, to internalize. Drawing from both the songwriter traditions of his homeland and the ever-magnetic aura of Italian volleyball, he has shaped an instinctive rhythm of his own: a way of moving and understanding the game that feels innate, almost pre-spoken. A rhythm through which his discipline becomes a reflection of his identity, and his identity, in turn, reshapes the way he plays.

Hard, conscious work as a tool for self-definition and progress. Balance as the only compass in the sensory chaos of the court, and in the reality of achievements reached ahead of schedule. Roots as heritage and shared lineage, anchored by his two brothers, Paolo and Simone, both pros, as a living, beating center. Borrowing the title of a track by Bresh, a contemporary Ligurian musical icon, volleyball in Luca Porro’s vision is something ‘Altamente Mia.’ Truly mine. Highly meaningful.

His own words tell the story, echoing through the visual gallery captured by our lenses.

Genova, Voltri, and the Capannoni, the gym where you grew up. What role have your origins played, and what role do they still play today, in your relationship with volleyball?

“Right, I’m from Genova, more precisely from Voltri, and I started playing volleyball at the Capannoni. That’s where I met my first real team: mini-volley, the first tournaments… everything began there. It was a family atmosphere in every sense: the Capannoni are symbolic for my entire family. At one point, my aunt even coached me there. Both my parents played volleyball, and my grandfather founded Olympia Voltri, the club we all played for. So the Capannoni were central from the very beginning. That’s where my brothers and I took our very first steps in this sport.”

How did you experience what could be described as a kind of ‘volleyball DNA’ in your family?

“My mother and father never forced us to play volleyball, quite the opposite. Usually, when parents play the same sport, it’s actually unlikely that their children will follow them. Their strength was letting us choose freely. We tried everything: tennis, football, swimming… all the usual kids’ sports. But volleyball was always there, right beside everything else. This shared passion made us feel even closer. We’ve always been a very united family: every milestone we’ve reached, big or small, has always had family as its driving force. And that hasn’t changed.”

The Porro brothers are now scattered across Italy as professionals, yet the bond with Genova and Voltri seems unbreakable. Is it right?

“Absolutely. Paolo left early for volleyball-related reasons; Simone and I stayed at home a bit longer, but now we’re all living elsewhere. Still, the connection with Genova, Voltri, and the Capannoni remains intact, strong. Right now my parents are renovating the facilities to give other kids the chance to play there, to experience those spaces the way we did as children. It’s beautiful to know that place will continue generating memories for others.”

When you think about the relationship between your family and volleyball, what core memories shaped you, as an athlete and as a person?

“My earliest memories, and probably the most beautiful, are from when I was a kid going to watch my father play. He played until he was 41, so we were often in the gym cheering for him. Then there were the mini-volley tournaments: stepping into a gym for the first time, thousands of kids playing at once, this amazing chaos. I loved it. Even going with my older brother Paolo to his matches is part of those memories. They’re images that stay with you, and over time they make you understand why you truly fell in love with this sport.”

You’ve mentioned your brothers several times. Paolo, the oldest, was a reference point for you, and you became one for Simone. What’s it like growing parallel careers within the same discipline?

“To be honest, I don’t know if I started because Paolo played, or if Simone started because I played. What I do know is that volleyball has always been our meeting point. In our family we don’t talk only about volleyball, otherwise it would get heavy, really heavy, but it’s a way to laugh together, joke around, tease each other. To stay connected. Especially in summer, when we return to Genova and Voltri from the various cities we live in: we go to the beach and spend the day together. Volleyball, obviously, is always part of it…”

Zooming out, the last period has been golden for Italian volleyball, and you were an integral part of it. How did your family experience all this?

“We’ve barely been home all together, to be honest: we’re always on the move. But I remember one moment very clearly: during the medal ceremony at the World Championships in the Philippines, right after the match, the first call I made was to my parents. I was still on the court. I wanted to share that achievement with them, a milestone I was lucky enough to reach. Our family has always been the engine behind my success, and my brothers’ too.”

What did it feel like to call home as a world champion?

“It made me really proud. Calling my parents as a world champion, just after lifting the trophy, hits differently. You suddenly remember all the sacrifices, yours and theirs. My mother driving me to practice while juggling work, the trips back and forth from Genova to Rezzano, where I trained for years… we were constantly on the road. Those things stay with you, and that phone call was a way of saying: look at what we achieved, together.”

Growing up in a family so immersed in volleyball, it’s natural to talk about tradition, icons, legacy. How do you feel about being one of the new faces of Italian volleyball? And who inspired you as you grew up?

“To be honest, I never had one specific idol. But as you grow, you naturally start studying the players you like the most, the ones you connect with, trying to absorb their best qualities. I study and learn from my teammates and from my opponents. I take in all those experiences, technical and tactical, and try to use them to improve.”

After the Paris Olympics you said that, to reach that elite level of volleyball, you still had a lot of work to do. Between Paris and Manila, so much has changed: how have you evolved, and how has your volleyball evolved?

“After Paris I was coming off my first SuperLega season with Padova. Going to the Olympics was… a dream, really. A dream you almost struggle to fully grasp while living it. I was 19. During the Games I watched, analysed and understood the level of the players I wanted to compete with, and how much work was needed to reach those heights consistently. The following season, my first real year as a starter in SuperLega, made me truly understand how hard you must work to rise and stay at the top. Not that I didn’t know it before, but now I felt it firsthand. The quality of the work is everything. That’s what an athlete must protect every day. In this sense, winning the World Championship is fuel, pure fuel. It gives me even more drive, not a reason to relax. I don’t want to sit back after one major milestone. I want to keep improving, training, working. That’s what makes me feel good and makes me love this sport even more.”

The outside hitter role is often reduced to raw power and vertical jump. For someone who studies and embodies this position, what truly defines an ideal outside hitter?

“It’s a great question. For me, an ideal outside hitter must be as complete as possible. They must do everything: receive, defend, serve, block, and of course, attack. Completeness is key. Especially reception and attack. Reception is the first act of every action: if that breaks down, it’s hard for the team to play well and win. And attacking is the final act, the one that closes the rally. Putting all these elements together, and caring for each one equally, is what really makes the difference.”

At Athleta Mag, we explore sport as an artistic and cultural practice. From the perspective of a young world champion shaped by the culture of your discipline, where, and how, does volleyball become a form of art?

“I see it becoming a form of art when I think of very precise images. For instance, a clean technical gesture executed flawlessly: something you study and refine in training, and then reproduce perfectly in a match. Or an athletic gesture in its purest form, like a jump. A great jump, maybe captured in a photograph, takes on artistic qualities. Those lines, those shapes… they’re the result of so much work, yet to the eye they’re mostly aesthetics, the harmony of movement.”

And what happens inside you when you feel you’ve executed a technical gesture in its purest, most ‘perfect’ form?

“It makes you feel good. Especially when it happens in a match: a great dig, a perfect reception… these moments give you maximum confidence for the points that follow, especially in the difficult phases that every match inevitably brings. That positive sensation pushes you to perform better: it’s like a voice telling you you’re on the right path, that what you’ve built in training is working, and will keep working.”

In volleyball, confidence appears synonymous with flow: a flow that can be shaken even within a single set, as highs and lows overlap. How do you manage the mental dimension of such a crucial role as the outside hitter?

“Honestly, it’s one of the hardest things to train, because it’s difficult to recreate in practice the same emotions and sensations you feel during a match. The adrenaline isn’t the same. The scenarios, the thoughts, the sensations simply aren’t comparable. But that flow is something you can understand and refine over time. It’s not a detail you fix once and for all: it changes with experience, with growth, with maturity. An experienced player is better at navigating those moments. I think mental management is one of the things that truly makes the difference in volleyball.”

Along this path of maturation, what influence has a refined coach and recognized volleyball educator like Fefé De Giorgi had on you, both as an athlete and as a person?

“A huge influence. The role of the coach is fundamental. You’re the one who steps onto the court, but the coach must help you overcome difficulties and stay close to you especially when things aren’t working. In my opinion, a coach shows his real value when things go wrong. When everything goes well, paradoxically, you don’t feel the same need for guidance: you just ride the moment, the synergy with your teammates. A good coach knows how to manage complicated situations and, above all, understands how to handle each player differently, because people are not the same. Everyone has their own emotional dimension, their own reaction patterns. Fefé is very good at this: he knows which buttons to press for each of us, and he lifts everyone to a higher level.”

Beyond coaching, how much did daily contact with the National Team and your Azzurri teammates help you rise to another level?

“Being around top-level athletes makes you grow in every way: technically, professionally, and personally. You see firsthand how people who have stayed at the highest level for years behave: how they train, how they eat, how they approach rest, how they take care of details… With the National Team, you grow in every aspect.”

Athleta Mag is rooted in visual language: we think in images. Volleyball is full of individual and collective rituals. Which rituals define your way of living the sport?

“To be honest, I don’t have many rituals, and no strange habits before stepping on court. One thing I always do is put on my kneepads in the same order: right first, then left. That’s it, nothing transcendental. On game days, I try to repeat the same things: during warm-ups, for example, I always do the same exercises. It’s not superstition; I just know that routine gets me ready physically and mentally. From the morning on, I try to keep everything as normal as possible: maybe I rest an extra hour, eat a bit better, but they’re things I’d do on any normal day. I avoid unnecessary pressure; it would only make things worse.”

Were you able to maintain this sense of ‘normality’ even in massive contexts like World Championships and the Olympics, even before a final?

“Obviously daily life is different in those situations: you’re not at home, you’re in a hotel, in a completely new environment. But even then, I try to stick to the same habits. I try to rest well, arrive on court as calm as possible. The key is knowing yourself: understanding what makes you feel good and trying to reach the game in the best possible condition.”

When approaching high-stakes matches, do you prefer to isolate yourself, or to immerse yourself in the energy of the team and the environment?

“I try to stay as close as possible to my teammates. Volleyball is a team sport, and I love following the flow of the group. I try to perceive and absorb the sensations and emotions of my teammates: to face the match with them, pushing each other, giving and receiving energy. It’s probably the most beautiful part of the sport.”

Among your interests there’s also music. Is there an artist or a song that describes your relationship with volleyball? And do you ever experience the game ‘musically’, aligning yourself with its rhythms and timing?

“I don’t have one specific song that represents me in volleyball. I just love music, I’m a big listener. Being from Genova, I know how deeply the city is tied to music; it has a legendary history. Among contemporary Genovese artists I listen to names like Bresh, Olly, and Tedua. And yes, rhythm is fundamental in volleyball. It’s a perfect parallel. I associate rhythm with technique: it’s all about repetitions, doing the same things at the right moment. The ball, the feet, the approach… everything has its rhythm. Knowing how to take the ball’s timing in just a split second is essential. In that exact moment, volleyball and music meet.”

Let’s talk about your relationship with Under Armour. It’s not common for a 21-year-old volleyball player to be tied to such a global brand. What does it mean to you?

“It means a lot. This is already our third year together. I’m very happy, because having a brand like Under Armour, so technical, so high-quality, supporting you every day makes a difference. And that’s not empty rhetoric, it’s practical truth. Shoes, for example, aren’t accessories for volleyball players; they’re fundamental. Feeling safe and comfortable in what you wear allows you to take that extra step, which can make the difference on court, or in a single fly at the net.”

Your career has taken you from Pordenone to Padova, your real entry into the pro world, and now to Modena, one of Italian volleyball’s most iconic cities. How do you approach this new phase?

“Before arriving in Modena I was very curious, and I still am. The season has just started, but it’s already a huge source of pride to play in such an important and beautiful volleyball city. A few weeks ago we played Perugia at the PalaPanini: 5,000 people in the arena. You immediately understand that the PalaPanini is a temple of volleyball, a unique place. In this city, you breathe volleyball every day. I don’t think there’s anywhere else like it in Italy. Volleyball is truly the sport of the city. Football exists, but it doesn’t have the same weight. The sport here is volleyball. And you feel the connection everywhere: yesterday a woman knocked on my car window, pulled out her wallet, and showed me two of my trading cards. Little things, of course, but they say everything about how strong the bond between the city and the team is.”

You’ve already lived extraordinary emotions and reached milestones many dream of over an entire career. Looking ahead, what pushes you forward now? What do you still want to experience through volleyball?

“My primary goal is to keep enjoying this sport. To enjoy playing: that’s fundamental. Volleyball has become my job, my life, but it must always remain what it’s been since the beginning: passion and joy. More concretely, I want to keep improving. This year, with Modena, I want to do the best we can: grow individually and help the team grow. With the National Team, it would be amazing to compete in another Olympics, in Los Angeles. And bringing home another medal… well, that wouldn’t be bad at all.”