League star swaps footy for fashion
EX-MAROONS hard man Michael Crocker has traded the footy field for the sewing machine, revealing a red-hot passion for fashion.
The Gold Coast-based sportsman has teamed up with Gold Coast brand Body Science to create a “fashionable” activewear collection – the first collaboration in the nutrition business’ 20-year history.
It is a drastic change for the former Australian representative player, who is better known for his fiery onfield antics than his creative flair.
“This is a guy who used to take it up the first ball of Origin and he’s sitting there getting really into the feel and the stretch of materials, I was p-ssing myself laughing the whole time, it was really fun putting it together,” Body Science founder Greg Young told the Bulletin.
Crocker said the Coast was the perfect place to launch the new product: “The Gold Coast is activewear 24/7, we’re in it all the time, it’s not just for the gym so it had to be classy but functional.”
He said it was a proud moment to see the models wearing his designs for the first time in the flesh yesterday ahead of today’s launch.
Fellow former NRL player and Ninja Warrior competitor Eloni Vunakece has teamed up with local model, Lucciana Beynon, daughter of the infamous Candyman Travers Beynon to promote the collection. Mr Crocker has had a good fashion mentor in his partner Kiri-Moana Proctor, whose children’s label Duke of London is a favourite with high-profile celebrities including the Kardashians and the Hemsworths.
“We needed to tap into what Body Science has always done but Duke of London is known for edgy prints so functionally they work for athletes but they also had to be fashionable,” he said.
Ms Proctor said she had wanted to “push the barriers”.
“We were meant to make one pair of shorts and it turned into a whole (ninepiece) collection!” she said.
Ms Proctor told the Bulletin it was a “big moment” in her career when the Kardashians began wearing her brand, just a year after it launched.
“That was pretty big,” she said. “I told my sister that in one year’s time I’m going to have the Kardashians wearing my stuff and she told me I was crazy.
“They must have bought it the first time and then they contacted us and now I deal with Kourtney’s executive assistant.
“The Hemsworths are friends of friends and (Elsa Pataky) loves our label and gets one of everything, we’ve got quite a good little rapport.
“Gwen Stefani is really good – her boys were quite selective about what they wore when they were younger but they always chose our stuff, she would send me videos to tell me they’ve chosen their ‘London’ shorts.”
THIS IS A GUY WHO USED TO TAKE IT UP THE FIRST BALL OF ORIGIN AND HE’S ... GETTING REALLY INTO THE FEEL AND THE STRETCH OF MATERIALS BODY SCIENCE’S GREG YOUNG