- 3 months ago
In this video, we sit down with Lewi Brown for an exclusive Man of Many interview to break down the EARLS x ASICS "Home" edition collaboration.
After walking away from professional rugby league following the tragic loss of his father, Lewi channelled his grief and passion into building the EARLS fashion brand. His second ASICS release is a deeply personal tribute to his Māori heritage, his family's resilience, and the support system that helped him find his true purpose.
What We Cover:
The Tu
After walking away from professional rugby league following the tragic loss of his father, Lewi channelled his grief and passion into building the EARLS fashion brand. His second ASICS release is a deeply personal tribute to his Māori heritage, his family's resilience, and the support system that helped him find his true purpose.
What We Cover:
The Tu
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:03My name is Louis Earl Brown. I'm the founder of Earls Collection and today we're going to be
00:07talking about the latest Earls Asics Home Edition collaboration. Visual.
00:30What flicked the switch for you, I guess to start this fashion brand, Earls?
00:36I think for me, I didn't really get to flick that switch and I think that's the beauty of life.
00:42Like you sort of get given, I guess, obstacles in life and for me the obstacle at that time
00:48was my father's death and that was due to suicide and when I reflect on that, it was
00:58the universe telling me that it was my turn to let go of rugby league and I had a bigger
01:04purpose in life. Not a bigger purpose, but something bigger to, I guess, accomplish and
01:09that wasn't like, I'm not even talking about like where we are now, but accomplishing, breaking
01:15the, I guess, not the curse, but the pattern of my father's side, like, you know, the suicide
01:22that runs deep. I think that's, for me, that was when the switch really got flicked on and
01:30I always promised myself when my dreams started to become a job, it was time to walk away and
01:35with rugby league it was never the product. It was just that I had a bigger purpose in
01:40life and when you play professional sports and you grow up in that world, you're in your
01:45own world. You're in your own footy world and your own professional sports world. It's like
01:48its own bubble. And so for me, it was, that was my biggest love in life. That's all I
01:54wanted to do. But I think at the same time I use rugby league is maybe like an outlet to
02:01like let go of my dad's stuff as a kid or like learn to like push it down and I
02:07guess grow
02:08my frustrations and my anger and all types of emotions and channel that and like put that
02:14into my game of rugby league. And when I hopped on that field, it just made me feel free and
02:19made me feel like I was never in my mind. It made me feel like it didn't matter if I
02:24had
02:24a mum or dad. It just made me feel like I could flow as a human, as a kid, like
02:28that I didn't
02:29have a worry in the world. And yeah, so that when that moment sort of happened, it happened
02:36pretty fast. And there was a lot going on, a lot of confusion. But when I reflect on it
02:42now, like you, you, you're given things in life because you had the power to overcome
02:49them. And I think for me, that's what I learned. And don't get me wrong, I had my struggles
02:53with it. Like, you know, I went to a place of a dark place where I actually carried suicide
02:57ideation, where I actually thought that was my way I had to go to. And, and, you know,
03:02I wasn't thinking that I wanted to do it, but like maybe life was going to give me something
03:06or toss something up to me or deliver something to me that I couldn't overcome. But I'm very
03:13lucky that I've got an amazing support system in my, in my grandparents and my mum and my
03:18sister. And, you know, and, and, and during those periods, bro, there was times where I
03:23couldn't even tell them what I was thinking on my mind. So for me to have this going on
03:27in my life and my dad, but then also exiting like the biggest love of my life, it was a,
03:32it was like a divorce. Like I had to transition and then understand that the skills and the
03:37way that I'd been programmed as a little boy, because I'd been in rugby league academies,
03:41I wasn't, I didn't have the right skills or the right tools in my mind for real life.
03:46I had the right tools for rugby league to deal with those situations. But, and that's why
03:51I look back now and I think that's what happened. Like I, I needed to sharpen my tools for real
03:57life for the events that were coming. And that's what happened, you know, going back to that
04:01funeral, like it was tough, man. Like, but at the same time, like I'll be put on this journey
04:06for a reason. And whether that's to overcome the obstacles, open doors to other people or
04:12inspire other people, or just spread the message that it's okay to be vulnerable and it's okay to
04:17talk and we all have tough stuff going on in our lives, but we all also all have the power
04:23to overcome that as well. Oh, it's something that I'll, like, it's super cliche, but like,
04:28it's something I've never even forget in my life. Like, you know, like to be able to go home and
04:33like, like, like shine the light on them. And cause I wouldn't be where I am today without the
04:39support of them. They, they believed in me. They made me feel like I belong before I even where
04:44I'm sitting today. Like they installed that in me to believe, to go to these, to think these
04:48imaginations and these dreams that I could take myself to places that, um, and that sort of comes
04:53with your family, your, where you belong. Um, but it's been beautiful, bro, to be honest, like
05:02to be able to see my mom, my Nana. Um, but not only that, just like my, my, my footy
05:08club,
05:08get the light shone on them, the community. And when, like, when I talk about my family and
05:12the Rickett and Knights, they're just representing the people, like the people around them too.
05:18There's so many more people that, in that community that have helped me, helped me believe,
05:23helped me belong, feel like I belong, give me a rise to the training. Like, you know, like
05:27when mom was working three jobs, someone to look after me. So it's for those people as well.
05:32But I also think like a cool thing for me is I put my, the other night I was really
05:38reflecting
05:38on it and I put myself in my mom's position and like, here she is, you know, nearly 65
05:44and my Nana's 90. So, and we live in a day and age today where it's all digital, right?
05:50So it's new to her and it's new to my Nana. So for me, I put myself in my mom's
05:54shoes and
05:55through her lens, but like for her to open up her, like social media and see her mom in
06:01a like global campaign that her son has created the shoe for, but it's also been collabed by
06:08this, uh, Asics that my Nana's, my pop wore his whole life. Like it's, I put myself in her
06:15perspective and for her, that's something I can't even feel, you know? So I look at it from different
06:20angles, not just about myself, but yeah, it's something that, ah, it's changed my life, bro.
06:28Like it's, but in a way I've changed my life of like healing. Like I felt like this, this was
06:33another
06:33level of healing I had to go to. Like I had to face stuff, like reconnect my Nana, like, you
06:38know,
06:38me and my Nana hadn't spoken since my grandfather's death. I would spoken, but it was very like
06:43emotional when we spoke and it was never like that when, before he was like, when he was alive.
06:47But that's just understanding, like we all grieved differently and we triggered each other, but
06:52you know, life gave me an opportunity to read like, not that we ever disconnected, but to be able to
06:57reconnect on this level and like she, out of everyone in the world, she knows like how tight
07:04me and my grandfather, like Bond was, my grandfather would have moved and like, yeah, he was my hero
07:09and like, he was there, like, you know, have him there. Like, you know, people will like think
07:13I'm weird talking about him spiritually, like his wāroa, like wāroa is Māori and, and, and,
07:18in spirit and Māori. And, um, but yeah, I could feel him there. Like he's, you know, he's someone
07:24that I look up to in the sky each night when I see the first star, it's, I talk to
07:28him
07:28and yeah, I just hope he's proud and my dad's proud. Um, but yeah, it's, it's a moment that
07:36not only I've, for myself, but it's like for my team, for Earls, for ASICS, you know, even
07:43the celebration for ASICS, like, you know, like for them to work under the same roof, like
07:48football and sports style, but never, ever like talk to, not, not sorry, talk to each other,
07:53but like, like, you know, collaborate on something, like, you know, we've broken down walls for
07:57them internally as well. And it's not just about Earls, it's a celebration for everyone,
08:02you know, and like, it's a celebration as a, it's a step forward. Like I, the other day,
08:08I went and like met up with Paddy Carrigan and Jordan Rickey and presented them the, the,
08:12the lethal testimonial. Um, and I sort of said to them, when you wear this and you take your
08:16first runner, if you decide to wear it, like, don't, don't think of this as like, this is about
08:22Earls and ASICS, this is, you're taking a step forward for rugby league in general. Like it's
08:26for the game, like, you know, like it took me to retire, to get a boot and I never ever
08:31thought
08:31I'd get a boot, but some things you're just given a life because you've got the, the power to execute
08:37it and you can deliver it in a way where it's touching and it resonates with people. And maybe
08:42that was the reason they gave it to me, but they obviously saw a vision in me, they gave me
08:47an
08:47opportunity. And when it comes to this stuff, um, I, I just want to throw, I always throw the
08:54kitchen sink at it. And for me, that's the, that's the small things like the details, you know, the,
08:58the box, you know, the three shoelaces, you know, the box of this, you know, the carpet inners,
09:03like that's the small things they lead to the big things. You stack them enough, you know,
09:08that's the small things I enjoy seeing. And that's in life you do the, you do the one percenters,
09:12right? The rest take care of itself. And the one percenters is turning up for yourself,
09:16understanding that like, you have to put yourself first to make your family better because you're
09:22like, if you don't put yourself first, then what good are you to them? You got to be the
09:26best version of yourself to help support them as well. And at the moment, like, yeah,
09:32I'm really reflecting on that and just like really, really embracing it. Like there's, there's people
09:36out there that actually like, like know, obviously know my grandfather and the way he was in human
09:41form. Um, that's him very much into, excuse the pun to a tee. Um, but yeah, he's, he's a cheeky
09:49man,
09:49bro. And he was the type of dude that like had the type of energy when he walked to the
09:54room,
09:54he just lit it up. He's quiet man, humble, um, soft. Um, yeah, it was that, that shot. Like,
10:05yeah, that was like, and mad, it was like, I needed that bro to like, I don't look on it
10:11now. And it's
10:11like, yeah, you are with me. Like, but to give you context. So like that, that shot was not on
10:17the
10:17shot list. So anyone that has been on a campaign or like, you'd know, bro, like, like it's shotless.
10:25And anyone that knows me on a shoot, like my head falls off, like, you know, but that's because I
10:29work best in chaos. I work best under pressure, you know? And so that was a real impromptu shot.
10:37And that was probably me, um, probably at the time thinking I could do something I couldn't do.
10:42And that's kick the boy over the house. So we actually set it up so that I just sort of
10:46said to
10:47Liam, um, wall, my, uh, my videographer, um, let me try and iron for one of the windows. Cause I
10:52think
10:53that'd be even better if I could like, like kick it out the window. Um, so we set it up
10:58cause I used
10:59to kick out of my granddad's, uh, shoe as a kid. Sometimes he'd have brand new shoes and I'd kick
11:03and come with grass stains in and I'd get told off. But, um, yes, I impromptu shot it. And I
11:09like,
11:09to be honest with you, I just came up on the spot. Like I just did like, and sometimes that's
11:13just what
11:13happens in the lights. Like if you, it's the moment you feel right. And so I set it up one
11:19take and to give
11:21you context over the other side of the house with that camera gear. So you can imagine a five day
11:25shoot. Um, you know, we, and, and with this project, I wanted to throw the, like throw the kitchen sink
11:30at it. And when I say kitchen sink, I mean like everything at it, like leave no stone unturned
11:34because that's how I've been raised. And, and that's how I treated myself with preparation of
11:38rugby league as well. Like during the week, maybe make sure the one percenters were done right.
11:42So I can be in the best shape for, to play. So yeah, obviously kicked it over. Um, and if
11:50you see
11:51the shoe, anyone that's kicked out of a, out of a, like a ball off a shoe, like the shoe
11:55doesn't go
11:55very far forward. And also people, it's so hard to kick off a shoe and then a tee and the
12:03way it
12:03went straight. So as soon as it went straight, I think Maddie, um, my photographer, my good mate,
12:08um, Maddie Nielsen, he wasn't probably expecting me to get it over. And so he's like, yeah, I was
12:15like, bro, my camera get. And because that, like he must've had it backed up. And so I've run off
12:20to kind of, um, see if all the cameras good, even maybe grab the ball. Then when I've come back,
12:28like everyone's sort of gone, like, like looked a bit, not pale, but like everyone's a bit quiet and
12:33they're like, you need to see this. And I watched it and like, my first initial thought was like,
12:38we, like we've, we've, we've captured this whole thing raw, like emotion, vulnerable.
12:43My Nana take, I've showed a vulnerable side of myself that, you know, like I'm healing,
12:49I've healed, like admitted peace with my dad, you know, like, so I said to them,
12:53we have distinct, a word in our, um, culture called tapu, where if we've ever taken this
12:58approach to this campaign, it's been all raw or really authentic. Why go now and like flip
13:04the shoe back up and touch it. And they all looked at me and said, what do you mean?
13:09I said, and when will we have time to flip it up? We didn't have this on the script.
13:15We didn't have any fish in line or anything. And the editing video, it's like, we had to
13:21edit it so that it, cause it actually stays like the real footage I've got, it stays on
13:25its side for nearly six, seven seconds. And when it flipped up, bro, like, yeah, I was
13:35just like, that was my sign that I just knew like, our campaign was done, like done. Like
13:41I like, it was like perfect. Like this was going to be special. You know, like that was
13:45like him talking to me saying, son, like I'm so proud of you, you know, and then to then
13:50go look for the ball. Cause it was an asset heritage ball. Cause they wanted it back.
13:55And the craziest thing is around the grounds. My little, my, my pop used to help me try and
13:59find my footy balls when I was a young boy. And that's the type of stuff that he would
14:02do to me. Like we couldn't find the ball. And I'm talking like, we had like a gaffer.
14:06So we had ladders, we're on the roof in the bush. Like we had six adults looking for it.
14:10Like, and it's a ball within all this greenery. Like we, and it got to the point where Matty,
14:15my photographer, it came up to me and he said, bro, I think it's a sign we just leave
14:19it and reached out to the real estate, reached out to the tenant, still can't find it.
14:26And for me, Goosebumps have watched that, like that, that clip thousand times, you know,
14:34and, but I think the coolest thing for me is my Nana, she's 90, right. And she doesn't
14:38know technology. She doesn't know social media. She doesn't know tech scene or anything, you
14:43know, but my mum was 15 minutes away from her and at least 12, twice a week, she makes my
14:49mum drive out to watch that video. And the craziest thing even about that is earlier
14:55on in that morning. So that was the afternoon on the Saturday, early in the morning, my Nana,
14:59we interviewed her and I said to her like, Dan, what do you think Pop would be thinking?
15:03And she's like, nah, he wouldn't be thinking. He's here. I can feel him. I know he's here.
15:07And then like, obviously because the day was so helloskelter and a lot going on and it was
15:11our last day, we're trying to get different things that we needed to polish off the round
15:15off the whole campaign. And for that to happen at the end, it was just, yeah, it's something
15:20that, it takes a certain type of person to like, believe in that stuff. Yeah. And like,
15:26but my Maldi, with our Maldi culture, we're not religious, but we really lean on our culture.
15:30And that's like the universe talking to us. That's like mother, mother nature, the earth,
15:35the ground, the, just the energy we feel in this world. And yeah, but that was, that was
15:39definitely him though. Yeah. And it's, I've actually had people reach out and say, like,
15:44how did you get it flipping up? Like, I'm being honest, like I'm not, I wouldn't lie, I'm
15:48not, there's nothing to lie about. Like why would I do this beautiful campaign and lie about
15:52that? It's just like AI doesn't do it. And my approach to the campaign was like, we make this
15:59war because we're living in such a fake, like there's a lot of fake news out. There's a lot
16:03of like negative stuff going on, a lot of war. I want this to be touching. I want people
16:08to feel like they can ring up their family, tell them they miss them, reconnect with people
16:12that they think they can't reconnect with, you know, like, so why take this raw approach
16:17to it? Then all of a sudden add this AI at the end, we wouldn't do that, you know, and
16:21AI doesn't give you goosebumps, you know, and I want the people to feel that. So like, yeah,
16:25honestly, I didn't like, whether you believe it or not, that's up to you. But yeah, I did
16:30not touch that. Like, no one touched that story. Yeah, I think like that interaction or
16:36how it like started, I feel like that built us for this moment, right? And yeah, my granddaddy
16:45wore assets his whole life. And yeah, the day after he passed away, it was his anniversary,
16:52let's say crazy was like on Sunday. So it's the timing of this has been weird. And so
16:57four years ago on the Sunday, he passed away. And yeah, literally the day after or two days
17:04after they, they sent an email saying, can you please come out to our Mars in the Park
17:08head office? We want to meet with you. And I was like, amazing. Like they're going to
17:12give me shoes to like put on my photo shoots and that, you know what I mean? Not, and that's
17:17at this time, I didn't even have an office. I didn't have anything. Like, you know, I was
17:20working from home at my dinner table and then to walk into that room and see TK, Zach and
17:28Sam from Asics Sports Style Australia. And then for them to sit me down and say, I was
17:35like, oh, what shoes am I going to like get the shoot? They're like, no, no, like we want
17:40you to do a collaboration. And like those words came at me in slow-mo. Like I was like, and
17:46because I'd been back to my granddad's funeral or tangi, we call it in Māori, we had a lot of
17:53family or whānau come. So like, and you look at me, I don't look Māori and it's something that
17:57I've probably been not insecure about, but like, you know, I love my people. I love my culture,
18:03what it stands for. And the way I guess I did that in the sports lane was I replicated by
18:07how I carried
18:08my people was wearing the Kiwi jumper, doing the haka, play for the New Zealand Māori. So for me
18:15to get this project the first time, the GT2160, and that's the crazy, the other crazy thing,
18:19right, is so I had a photo of my granddad from a year earlier before he passed away.
18:27And in the photo, he's wearing the GT2170. And when I went out to Marsden Park, there was three
18:35shoes or four shoes on the table. And it was the GT2160 that was talking to me. When I say
18:40talking to
18:40me, it was giving me its energy. And because for me, I looked at it and I didn't even know
18:47about
18:47the GT2170 my granddad was wearing a year earlier, but I looked at the GT2160 and thought that spoke
18:53to my life in terms of the way it looked. It looked fashionable, but it also looked, had that sporting
18:59element. So that was reflecting me, like in terms of the two lives I've lived or the two careers I've
19:04lived. So it was no hesitation in picking that one. And then basically, I went home, got stuck to work
19:12straight away. And I've always wanted to showcase my beautiful culture on a global scale, on a global
19:18stage. And I don't look at that as a shoe. I look at it as a piece of art. And
19:24that represents my
19:25people, whether it's from the green to the pounamu that was found in the rivers of the South
19:31Island where my whakapapa runs back to, my Ngai Tahu side. And then also, you know, the
19:39colourways and then also the representation of me and my granddad's favourite kaimawana, which is
19:43seafood, pāwa, which in Australia, we call it abalone. But back home, we call it pāwa. And that's
19:50when you take it out. And that was the inner souls group. And that was my dedication to him.
19:53And it felt like that moment, like, it was crazy. I designed the shoe in two. I'd never
20:02designed a shoe before. I designed a shoe, yeah, designed a shoe in my head before many
20:07a time in life, but never actually physically done one, right? So to like be able to do that
20:12at my dinner table, I got a shoe before I go to office and I designed it at my dinner
20:17table.
20:17I felt like it just put me in a flow state. And then that, that was basically the beginning
20:22and the joining of, of Earls and Asics moving forward. Yeah, the Cumulus 16 home edition, we'll
20:31start, we'll start with the meshing, as we just touched on, Ngāwiri. So Ngāwiri was that
20:37first shoe, which we spoke about, but Ngāwiri translates to tread softly, tread gently in Māori.
20:45And that kind of marries up with Asics mantra, sound mind, sound body. And obviously with
20:52the background and the foundations and the flooring of Earls being about mental health
20:57and my dad and the battle I had with the middle name running away from it, my grandfather on
21:03my dad's side taking his own life as well. So generations. So I wanted to really give
21:12owed to the past. I've really been brought up to like pay respect to your elders and pay
21:17respect to the people that are giving you an opportunity to walk on the path that you're
21:22on now. And I treat, like I said before, I treat Ngāwiri like art and a human as opposed
21:29to a shoe. So that was like in a world I felt like Ngāwiri was the human, the shoe that
21:35set
21:35this whole thing up. So I had to pay respect to that because that was the one that gave
21:39me my opportunity. That's the one that set the foundation for this relationship for us
21:44to actually walk on this path together, us and Asics. So I felt like that's just the way
21:48I've been brought up. And also when you play rugby league, when you're given a jersey, you're
21:53neither the keeper of it. You're respecting it for the people that have been in it before
21:56you. And then you're also living in a better position for the generations to come. So that's
22:01where the mission comes from. And then we go to the grained material that runs, the black
22:07that runs through. That's a representation and like a tribute to my mum. Like growing up
22:16with my mum, single mum, she worked three jobs. And the reason why it's grained and it's tough
22:22is because my mum's been a butcher her whole life. And she's worked and worked and worked.
22:29And my mum's a lady that would never tell me to work hard, but she'd show that through
22:35her actions and where she'd work at the butchery all week. And then on the weekends, she'd go
22:40share sheep or she'll scan sheep just to provide, put a roof over here, just to put, you know,
22:44food on a table, on the fridge. Like, you know, like when I was a kid, like we had to
22:49make
22:49sacrifices just in terms of that and normal life, you know, like what could we have this
22:53week? What we couldn't, you know, there's some weeks I'm not even scared to say it. There's
22:56some weeks we didn't have toilet paper. So I'd have to do a newspaper. That's just putting
23:00things in perspective, you know, like, but that's the representation of her because of
23:04and like the hard work that she's put in. And the reason why it's grained is because
23:09your road in life is never smooth. It's always grained, but that's what shapes us, right? That's
23:15what makes us the people we are today. That's what adds our point of difference. That's what adds
23:20our character. So that's a tribute to my mum. And then we sort of go around to the brown
23:26suede and to the, the brown grained, um, tiger stripe, obviously being raised with one side
23:32of the family. Um, and they've all, they've all had played their part, you know, whether
23:38it's good or bad. Yeah, obviously the brown, um, represents the one side of the family
23:43they've been brought up with and that's the brown side. Um, and I like, they've all, they've
23:48all impacted me in some way. Um, and they all instilled the belief in me that I still could
23:57do anything in this world. Never them, none of them ever try to water it down. But that
24:01was also because my granddad, my grandfather was very protective of me as well. And I guess
24:07he saw something in me that, uh, like he saw a little boy that had a big dream to get
24:13out of Christchurch, make something bigger of his life. And you know, like, so that's
24:17a massive representation of the brown family, whether that's Christchurch, um, leading back
24:23to the Chatham islands, it's just a representation of all my people. Um, and they all know who
24:28they are. Um, then we sort of go, um, you know, to the orange, um, obviously the orange
24:36is always been a, one of my favorite colors, um, that had, have had grown up and, you know,
24:42it's a little bit of a color palette of the, of the home as well. Um, and it's also something
24:48that I feel like represents me where it stands out, like, or not, sorry, not stands out, but
24:54you want to be individual, like you want to be different. You want to, you want to create
24:59your own lane, not going and ask someone else's. You want to test yourself. You want to be
25:06uncomfortable and grow. You want to take like chances, risks. You want to throw yourself in
25:12the deep end because that's where growth's made. That's where you learn about yourself.
25:17Um, so that's what the orange represents. And then we sort of go to the, the silver, which
25:22is just a representation of performance. Um, obviously of the two lives I've lived and then
25:28the carpet, obviously the carpet of the inners on the inners. And I just want people, when
25:35they wear the shoe, no matter where they go in this world, what like path they walk on,
25:40what like country they're in, that they'll always feel like they've got a piece of home
25:44with them and they always feel protected. Um, so that's the cumulus, um, home 16.
25:53Right. And yeah, I'm like obviously comes with two shoelaces as well, brown and the cream.
25:58Um, but it's such a, yeah, I love it. It's, yeah, it's such a beautiful shoe.
26:03Go shoe. And I think like the biggest thing for me, the challenge for this project was like,
26:08how do I get a shoe that's been done before, but then also be given a silhouette, a performance silhouette
26:16that has never, ever been collabed on or ever been touched before. And so it was the world first.
26:23And I think the biggest challenge for me was like, one, how can I do it justice?
26:28Two, how can I give something like to the market that no one's ever seen before or thought about?
26:37Yeah. And three, how do I get these, these two beautiful silhouettes of shoes slash footy boots,
26:43not just to talk to each other, but to stay in the same family if we put them next to
26:48each other
26:49and had the same energy together and tell the same story about the two lives I've lived.
26:54So if we go to the testimonial for Earl's edition home, this is designed through the eyes of me as
27:06a young boy.
27:06I want to really take myself back to that time of where things seemed untouchable.
27:12Things seemed out of my world. Things seemed like a dream. And back then, before the NRL dream,
27:19it was, I want to wear a white boot dream. Not wear, like have my own white boot of design,
27:26but just wear one.
27:27Um, so like that. And cause when we were a child, that's when our emotion, our imagination grows so much.
27:33And that's where things like mean so much to you. So for me, a bit like you with your cars,
27:39bro, the white boot in my head as a young boy, that's all I wanted.
27:43That was my vehicle. That was my way of like, if I had a white boots back then, bro, I
27:48would have worn him to school.
27:49That's just the type of mindset. So I really wanted to take myself back to that little boy that used
27:55to pretend he was in white boots,
27:57even though he was wearing black boots. Cause I didn't get a white boot until I was 16.
28:02Then we have the brown that obviously wraps around. That's an ode to my family as well.
28:07Um, once again, they've all uplifted me and empowered me and made me believe that I could do anything in
28:12this world.
28:14And probably my favorite part of the shoe. And that's at the back.
28:19It's just linking these two shoes up and also a tribute to my mom again, my mom has been my
28:25rock.
28:26She's always had my back. She's my, the strongest point of your foot and performance or any sport is your
28:34Achilles heel.
28:35She's the Achilles heel of me. And when you actually put your boot on, when you slip it in, it's
28:41the last thing you feel.
28:42And, you know, for me, I just wanted to have her represented on this boot and also have these boots
28:48be able to be in the same fam,
28:50sorry, these shoes in the same family. And then obviously I think the coolest part of this is like,
28:56obviously some embroidery under here, but also the offering of three pairs of shoelaces.
29:01So you've got the, the black, it comes with the white in them.
29:05So you've also got orange and that's my way of allowing or giving the option or opportunity for people.
29:12players in team environment to still be individual. And when I mean individual, not be selfish, but I mean, express
29:19themselves.
29:20We can all be in a team, but we can all be different at the same time and still have
29:24the goal, same goal moving forward.
29:26And once again, I go back to that. It's all about the small things, like the small things, the small
29:32attention to detail.
29:34And that's the same thing on the rugby league field, you know, like in a set of six.
29:38But when you're marching on the field, it's the small things that you've got to do that build for the
29:45big moments.
29:46You know, and I wasn't a superstar when I played footy. So I was the person that helped do the
29:50one percenters to allow the superstars to have their moment.
29:54And, but that was my job within the team. And for me, I think that's what represents this boot. You
30:00know, like I like, I admit, I'm not, I was never a superstar footy.
30:04There was a lot of players that deserved their own boot and more than me, but maybe I was just
30:09the one that had the power to execute it.
30:11But what I'm most proud of, I think at the end of the day, is being able to open up
30:20a door that wasn't even in the wall and found it like I found that wall.
30:24We, we, we sketched out that door and together with Essex, we walked through it with, we, we both, Earls
30:32and Essex, we walked through that together.
30:34And I think that's what I'm most proud of the most. It's a world first, but what we're doing is
30:39we're just laying foundations for the next young girl or boy that wants that white boot to walk through and
30:45what they want to do with that imagination.
30:47And I think that's, for me, as I've retired from sport, opening up doors for other people and opportunities.
30:55That's what I'd be given in life by my family, by the Rickerton Knights.
31:00Like why, like that's my job now. And that's my, my responsibility in this lane is to help other people
31:06realize, one, what they want in life.
31:10Two, you can dream as much as you want. Three, you don't have to be a superstar to get anything.
31:15Like you can be yourself and still dream and get what you want in life, but it's about turning up
31:19for yourself.
31:20And it's about not, not swaying, not, not like staying true to who you are in a core, like at
31:27your core, you know who you are, but you're going to go through those tough times.
31:30But that's when you find out who you are the most. That's what shapes your character.
31:34You can't have all the good times without the tough tonics because life would just be boring.
31:38Like tough times I understand are hard, but that's when we find out who we are, what we're really made
31:44of and we really shape ourselves.
31:46And that's the battle scars we carry with ourselves for the good times.
31:49Yeah. And this whole project has been a lead up of all the small things.
31:55And now the big thing is, it's come to life. And now people can now touch and feel this whole
32:03project itself.
32:04The Earl's Asics home project, you know, like, and if anything, if I've inspired people to get outside their comfort
32:14zone, do something that they want to do as opposed to like, you know, I'd rather fail at something I
32:21want to do than I don't want to do.
32:22And there's nothing wrong with failing. Like, that's how you pick yourself up, right?
32:27And the craziest thing goes back to your, like, one of your first questions, bro.
32:32Probably one of the biggest movements I've ever done in my life, or probably like, has got off the ground.
32:39You know how many times I've been tackled in my life? Like, I've had to get up and get up
32:43and get up.
32:43So I'm good at getting up. But also, the thing I linked that back to is the shoe.
32:48It was on its side for seven seconds, but it refused to stay down. It got back up.
32:53And that represents me, my family, and my community at the Ricker and Knights.
32:58But I want people to know as well, like, for this boot, this isn't just about Earls, this isn't just
33:05about myself or my family.
33:08This is a step forward for the game of rugby league, but also for a step forward for sport in
33:14Oceania.
33:16Like, this is for everyone that's been through it and understands how hard it is to get to this place.
33:25And it's also for that athlete that, when the whistle's gone, retired.
33:31You can still do stuff. You're more than just an athlete.
33:35You know, and don't get me wrong, I've been that place. I've been to that place where I thought I
33:38was just an athlete.
33:39But this is what this journey was about the last six years of understanding that I am more than just
33:43an athlete.
33:44And this is why I guess I've been given this project.
33:47And I want people to understand that when you retire, like, your next career can be just as big, if
33:53not bigger, than your professional career.
33:55You know, it's not all about the big stadiums, the bright lights, you know, playing in front of 100,000
34:01people.
34:02Sometimes it's just working by yourself and chipping away, doing those 1% of things that you stack, you stack,
34:08you stack, that lead to the big moments.
34:11And I feel like that this Essex Earl's Home Edition is made up of all those small things.
34:17And those small things that get turning up for yourself, keep picking yourself back up, that's led to this big
34:21moment.
34:22It's a beautiful way to finish, I think.