‘I DESERVE A STATUE AT THE END OF CAVILL AVE’
Warwick Capper quits Coast after three decades
IN the words of the man himself, “the golden boy of the Gold Coast” is cutting his final formal ties with the city that helped cement his fame.
After an almost three-decade love affair with the Glitter Strip, including stints as a meter maid, male stripper, stop-and-go man, accidental porn star and unbelievably talented footballer, Warwick Capper is selling his self-labelled “famous bachelor pad” at Surfers Paradise.
The reason? Business and pleasure in AFL-mad Melbourne.
“I came here almost four years ago but I’ve kept the place at Surfers just in case,” Capper says from the Melbourne home he shares with partner Lisa.
“I love the Gold Coast and do miss it. That’s why I come back four times a year. I miss the sunshine, the vibe, the hot bunnies (women) – even though I’ve got one here.
“I’m a bit sad but Lisa’s from Melbourne and the opportunities have been great for me down here so I’ve decided to put the money into my life here.”
For casual observers of the Capper story, the nature of that life may come as a surprise.
A walking publicity machine, the 53-year-old continues to portray himself as a flamboyant, heavy-partying playboy. “I’m a bit like the Hugh Hefner of Australia,” he told the Bulletin in 2012.
The reality is somewhat different. He’s not a big drinker, he’s been with the same partner for a decade and he’d rath- er hang out in a gym than a bar.
“If there was a party happening, Warwick would be in the middle of it but it’s like he’s on a natural high,” says Gold Coaster Andy “Toggsy” James, who’s been friends with Capper since the 1990s.
“It’s more that he’s just partying inside his own head ... he has this unique ability to think in his mind that it’s still 1986.”
THE FOOTBALLER
Capper arrived on the Gold Coast in 1988 as AFL’s first million-dollar man.
Having soared to incredible heights with the Sydney Swans, he was a prize recruit for the Carrara-based Brisbane Bears and one of the biggest names in Australian sport. Just ask him. “I had a good 20 years,” he says. “I started playing when I was eight, kicked 100 goals (in a season), played in the finals and got in the (Swans) Hall of Fame. What more could you want? At least I left a mark on the game.”
The mark he left on the Gold Coast was arguably greater. In a city that prided itself on not taking itself too seriously, Capper was the ultimate ambassador when he made it his home after retiring in 1991.
“I deserve a statue at the end of Cavill Avenue,” he says.
“A gold statue in the Meter Maids shorts taking a Capper mark on someone’s shoulders. Put thath i in theh Bulletin.B ll i Th They’ll ’ll love it.”
That’s Capper – always looking for a laugh.
But even he struggled to find one a few years ago when his son spoke to a women’s magazine.
THE FAMILY MAN
“(He) just won’t grow up … he’s a disgrace … he has no respect for women at all. He thinks that impresses my mates but they laugh at him, not with him.”
They were the words of then 16-year-old Indi Capper in 2010, a serve his famous father says is the thing in his life that has caused him the most heartache.
More than his divorce from Joanne, Indi’s mother. More than a leaked sex tape. More than being the first contestant voted off The Celebrity Apprentice.
“It wasn’t great but we’re all good now,” he says of his 23year-old son, who calls the Gold Coast home but is on a working holiday in North America.
“He rings every two weeks and comes to Melbourne every three months (when he’s home).”
What of his very public critique?
“He was 13 when we divorced and that’s a tough age for any kid ... it was hard on him,” Capper says. “It was also Joanne getting back at me. He was just copying what she was saying. I think she got paid a fair bit for that interview but that’s showbiz.”
Capper’s move to Mel-
bourne has also allowed him to be closer to his own family.
“My sister had open heart surgery 18 months ago,” he says. “I’ve only got one sister so I don’t want to lose her. I hope she’ll see old age like my parents. My old man is 87 and Mum’s 85 and they’re still kicking.”
Then there’s partner Lisa, the investor he met a decade ago and moved states for. “I used to be a playboy but I’ve changed a bit,” Capper says. “It’s one dog, one bone, big kennel.”
“Lisa’s great for him,” says friend Toggsy. “He’s very lucky but she is too because they have a lot of good times.”
THE FUTURE
As he has for decades, Capper trades off his famous name. He and Lisa are two of 10 shareholders in Capper’s Big and Tasty Food Diners, a container shop business launching this year.
He’s selling his unit to help fund a property venture.
Then there’s the dozens of functions and parties he attends each year simply because he’s Warwick Capper.
“I can charge them $2500 for two hours,” he says of the fundraisers, buck’s parties, hen’s nights and birthday bashes. “They just want to get a photo taking a mark off my back yelling ‘Capper!’.”
And his old mate Toggsy says it’s a sight to behold.
“He gets them all in the palm of his hand and I just sit back in amazement,” he says.
“I’ve had people say ‘Isn’t he a dickhead?’ but when you hang out with him that quickly disappears and you realise he’s just filled with fun energy … (and) he’s so sincere.
“One of the best qualities you can have is to make people laugh and he does that all the time … whenever you’re with him you’re laughing – either with him or at him.”