.aesthetic talk
Soft Power
SAM SALTER
written + interview Chidozie Obasi
31-year-old Sam Salter is damn good at making wraps and cookies. His top picks? “Chicken fajitas, oh my Lord, I love them! I'm honestly obsessed with chicken and beef wraps at the moment,” he shares. “I also like an Asian-style sweet potato mash with fish, like salmon; I have a very sweet tooth.”
But it isn’t his proclivity for a double dose of carbs that landed the London-based dancer his fearless gumption and a great path in the making; that was all down to his impressive creative chops.
coat FLORENCE BLACK 1954
sweater DIOR MEN
shirt PENCE 1979
pants DOLCE & GABBANA
necklace LAG World
loafers CHURCH’S
blazer FERRAGAMO
gilet FENDI
shirt HARMONT & BLAINE
pants LABO.ART
“I'd say I'm a living and breathing artist, and my path has been like an umbrella made of different avenues that I've been pursuing over the last three-to-four years.”
Sam Salter speaks with Chidozie Obasi
for LE MILE .Digital
jacket ZEGNA
blazer TELA
t-shirt CHB CHRISTIAN BOARO
pants FERRAGAMO
necklace SWAROVSKI
“I’ve been dancing since I was the age of eight, and I always wanted a life of variety,” he opines, the moment we begin to settle into our conversation. “I always wanted to push my boundaries in my career, and I never thought I would be in the position that I'm in now with what I've accomplished—coupled with the things that happened in my life—but it all came with a lot of hard work. I'd say I'm a living and breathing artist, and my path has been like an umbrella made of different avenues that I've been pursuing over the last three-to-four years.”
The first moment that Salter realised dance was the key element needed to kickstart his creative career was very early on. “I was eight years of age, and it was an amazing moment that I remember my mum asking If I wanted to go try a dance class,” he says. “It just felt like the most incredible moment where something clicked in my body and brain. And I mean, don't get me wrong, I was probably terrible. But I just remember absolutely loving it.” Before that, Salter was a really competitive horse rider. “I would horse ride every single day after school. I loved it. And I was good at it too, like I was a really strong candidate.”
Salter wasn’t a kid that grew up watching dance on television or across the media. “However, there was a programme in America called So You Think You Can Dance, which I remember when I started getting into dancing. And watching American dancers felt great, because they’re incredible,” he says. “Funnily enough, in recent years I've connected with them online.”
Salter trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London and the Delay Theatre Arts in Surrey, projecting into roles across the spheres of musical and ballet—namely, Mary Poppins, Wicked, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker—that marked few turning points from an early stage. “I suppose there were two,” he reflects. “The first one was when I was at Sylvia Young, and my peers in my year never thought of me as very talented. But I worked my absolute arse off and I just remember being obsessed with it,” he says. “Then there was this one class where I got picked out to do a solo: all my friends were like, ‘Oh my god, Sam, you're like a really good dancer!’ It just happened, and I remember everyone came up to me, which made it a really special moment.”
jacket TOD’S
shirt DUSAN
polo TOMMY HILFIGER courtesy of ZALANDO
pants TOD’S
shoes SEBAGO
total look LOEWE
“I'm a very proud out gay man, and I will always fight for the community and believe that we should be treated just like everyone else.”
Sam Salter speaks with Chidozie Obasi
for LE MILE .Digital
blazer TAGLIATORE
shirt TOMMY HILFIGER
shirt + tie TOM FORD
tank top CHB CHRISTIAN BOARO
pants JIL SANDER by Lucie + Luke Meier
Moving on to deeper territory, Salter has spoken openly about the struggles with mental health, which led to phases of addiction. Years on, he feels he’s on a good path and on a good ground, both emotionally and physically speaking. “I feel amazing right now in terms of my sobriety, and I feel like I'm in a really great flow with it: I've been in and out of sobriety for a long time,” he opines, with unguarded honesty. “And what I can say is that whenever I'm sober, I feel my ultimate best in so many ways; truth be told, my personal life hasn’t been great in the last few months. I felt a bit flat, uninspired, and lost because I hold my career to a really high level. I'm a workhorse.”
Salter has hustled hard with his goals between dance and social media, trying to build branding and working with luxury households. “It took years of trying to get this. So when things are quiet for me in terms of work, I feel my mental health dips.” But what is really special for Salter right now is his sobriety. “Even though I feel like I'm having a little bit of a life dip, which happens, I'm still thriving overall because I am clean and sober and I'm not getting myself into any sort of trouble.”
As we walk through the emotional depths of his inner self, I cannot help but wonder where these complex phases of his life stemmed from. “I think addiction stems from a lot of stuff like growing up and not feeling quite good enough, as I was a very shy kid and I always wanted to feel more confident. And we all know that certain substances can make you feel more confident. So they were hand in hand for me; I was finally this confident, attractive in a way guy. And I’m actually naturally quite a shy person and insecure. I have insecurities.”
Salter’s been in therapy for years, trying to untangle these emotional complexities. “I think if people looked at me online they would have a different perception of me. I would work on no sleep and it was dangerous for my body. I was doing these crazy shows, you know, with no sleep. But I don't think that the entertainment industry really was the catalyst into all of this kind of stuff.”
On the entertainment industry’s hardships, he speaks openly. “I've definitely worked on jobs where I haven't been the happiest because of egos,” he admits. “I remember I once got booked on a tour to be the leading man, and I found out through a show fan that I'd been cut. I don't know why they ended up getting rid of me, but that was like a tough pill to swallow. And that was something that I found quite challenging. Like this is, it was just done in all the wrong ways.”
shirt PRADA
blazer TAGLIATORE
cardigan CANALI
tank top DIESEL
shirt TOMMY HILFIGER
shoes CHURCH’S
However, his reckless pursuit of optimism took Salter to new heights, bringing forth a major deal that sparked an equally major moment. “One of my favourite jobs I've ever done was the Wonka dance buddy,” he says. “I looked after Timothee Chalamet on Wonka: I'd help him rehearse the role, I would dance his double, step in, give him notes on dancing and so on. That was super special because I love being on set. Films are so exciting, and I'm a big fan of his work.”
Salter also made his acting debut, a short film titled I Need You To See Me: in this project, he plays a substitute dance teacher navigating a complex and intense relationship with his mentee. “It was like a two man scene happening in a dance studio,” he recalls. “It was really intense and a lot of work, but it was an incredible experience.” The director reached out to him a few times and Salter ignored him at first. “I always wanted to try it, but I was a little too scared and I thought there were things in my way and I had a lot of worry and fear about it.”
Navigating the dynamics of LGBTQ+ storytelling is key for Salter. “I'm part of it, so I always advocate to push for it,” he asserts. “I'm a very proud out gay man, and I will always fight for the community and believe that we should be treated just like everyone else.”
Soulful and vibrant in equal measure, Salter spills further doses of joyful optimism and hope as we draw our conversation to a close. “I plan to continue training, and I want to keep doing my castings for acting as I’d like to keep pushing my boundaries,” he concludes. “I'm really proud of the work I've achieved so far, and I want to keep pushing as much as I can, whether that's as an actor or a choreographer or a dancer or all of them. I just want to be giving it my everything.”
team credits
seen COSIMO BUCCOLIERI via STUDIO REPOSSI
fashion director + stylist CHIDOZIE OBASI
head of production JESSICA LOVATO
fashion coordinator DAVIDE BELOTTI
make up KIM GUTIERREZ via STUDIO REPOSSI
hair ALEXANDER MARKART via BLEND MANAGEMENT
talent SAM SALTER
photography assistant ANTONIO CROTTI
fashion assistants LUCA MICELI + LORIS VOTTERO + CLOE RUBINATO + ALICE CANNITO + ANNA REGAZZONI + JORDAN MAX BAGLIONI