Tai Tuivasa: Aussie UFC cult hero who went into the beer business with Nathan Cleary gets into the drug trade – legally
Tai Tuivasa is known to UFC die-hards as the hard-drinking, hard-hitting cult hero who owns a brewery and sinks beer out of his shoes after a win – and now he’s branched out into producing another recreational drug.
The heavyweight knockout artist owns Sydney’s Drink West beer business with NRL superstar Nathan Cleary and octagon star turned pro boxer Tyson Pedro and is trying to grab a slice of America’s lucrative legal marijuana trade.
Nicknamed ‘Bam Bam’ due to his all-or-nothing fighting style, he revealed his new business venture, Bambambudz, in an Instagram post late on Thursday.
Tai Tuivasa posed with huge bags of marijuana as he launched his new cannabis business on Instagram on Thursday
Nicknamed ‘Bam Bam’ due to his all-or-nothing fighting style, Tuivasa (centre) owns a western Sydney brewery with footy superstar Nathan Cleary (front, second from right) – with the pair teaming up with music star Shannon Noll (holding microphone) to advertise their beer
The 120kg fighter posed for photos while holding three huge bags of marijuana and giving a double V for victory sign in front of a greenhouse full of cannabis plants in the post, which also featured a look at workers getting the product ready for distribution.
He added the caption ‘COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU us’ – with the venture selling the weed in US states that have legalised its consumption, such as Colorado, California, Illinois and New York.
The American legal marijuana market was valued at $US15billion in 2022 and is projected to grow strongly.
According to the Bambambudz Instagram page, the business will also soon be selling ‘high quality products’ and opening dispensaries in Thailand, where cannabis was legalised in 2022 before the government pledged to restrict its use to medical purposes in 2023.
Tuivasa poses in front of a greenhouse full of cannabis, which his company will be selling in the lucrative American market
Tuivasa, Pedro and Cleary’s brewing business got off the ground in 2022, with its lager announced as the official beer of UFC Australia.
Drink West beer unashamedly celebrates its western Sydney heritage, which is a big part of Tuivasa’s life.
‘I represent the west, I represent houso kids, that’s my testament. Have a crack, you’re either going to lose or win,’ Tuivasa told Daily Mail Australia shortly after the brewery opened.
‘We represent normal people, normal workers. I’m a normal c***. Of course I’m famous, but if you be a d***head to me I’ll slap you in the mouth.’
Drink West launched with a hilarious ad that features Tuivasa, partner and fellow UFC fighter Tyson Pedro and Penrith Panthers captain Nathan Cleary singing Shannon Noll’s iconic anthem What About Me.
Bambambudz also plans to sell cannabis and open dispensaries in Thailand
Tuivasa (pictured left in training) has knocked out 13 opponents in spectacular fashion on his way to a 14-7 MMA record
Tuivasa and Pedro, who admitted they come from families of singers, shocked the audience with their pipes but it was Cleary’s awful voice that stole the show.
‘The producers were telling us to sing over the top of Nathan to cover up his vocals, we said, “Nah, f*** that, turn him up!” It was hilarious, it made the ad,’ Tyson said.
Tuivasa was the ‘genius’ behind the commercial, that eventually sees Noll burst through a crowd of tradies and locals singing his cover of the Moving Pictures classic.
‘I’m pretty good on the marketing side of things. Shannon Noll is from Condobolin, that’s where my family is from. Also it’s the best song, that’s Australian fun,’ he said.
‘I’ve walked out to that song, it resonates. It’s a f***ing Australian song, it’s a beer song. If you’re at the pub and that comes on, everyone’s singing.’
