Instead of selling other people's things, sell our own things.

Well, no, just sell something.

Because I thought that once we've made a website, it's almost like having a shop on the high street.

People would just find their way there and someone would buy something.

And no one did for months.

There was not enough stuff on the website.

So it was supposed to sell supplements.

Are there entrepreneurs now that you sort of, I won't say model yourself after, but you look to and be like,

Instead of selling other people's things, sell our own things.

Well, no, just sell something.

Because I thought that once we've made a website, it's almost like having a shop on the high street.

People would just find their way there and someone would buy something.

And no one did for months.

There was not enough stuff on the website.

So it was supposed to sell supplements.

Are there entrepreneurs now that you sort of, I won't say model yourself after, but you look to and be like,

That didn't work very well for David Kibble at all, did it?

No, exactly.

And then I think even at the last World Cup, Samoa made the final for the first time ever, which was a real historic occasion because it was sort of like, other than the big three in France, I think, were the other team that had not made a final.

So I think they were outclassed that day.

But I think...

Overall, we've seen these teams get stronger.

I think they will have to improve, though, from what we saw at the Pacific Champs last year, because I felt both were a little bit underwhelming.

Is it still a touch of that or not?

Should it even be an influential aspect of it?

well you were down there right we were standing on the field pretty much and when we're interviewing the players and it is like a it's quite intimidating when you are looking up at it and a lot of the guys haven't played there before some have i know they've done the training there but i guess when you're going to see it fully packed it's going to be completely different and it's going to be a whole new experience so we'll see um as i said the warriors haven't got the best records there you look back at the biggest crowd they've had in new zealand which was about 38 000 in the season opener in 2011 And unfortunately, that's how the game's remembered, but Glenn Fissiahi had a horrid debut to forget, and the Warriors really struggled in that game, and then the grand final rematch in 2012 was another, I think, 35-odd thousand, and they didn't really live up to the occasion then.

So, we'll see.

I know those are long, long in the memories of Warriors fans, but...

I mean, I can't see why they can't bounce back.

They've pretty much bounced back from every disappointing defeat all season.

But as we know, the road now to the final gets harder going through Penrith, should they beat Newcastle this weekend, of course.

Very, very different.

What's changed in the past few months? How have things snowballed with this?

I think lots more people want to be involved in the project.

It's been great.

The more we've talked about it, the more people that wanted to jump on board and working with the Lighthouse charity, Brave and Determined, Make Some Mind and MindFlow has really opened some doors.

And actually, I think now most people are kind of on the track that lots of people are aware of mental health.

So mental health awareness is great, but actually now it's kind of It's taking action and I think a lot more people are saying, okay, what can we do to start conversations within the construction industry?

Is it a similar sort of thing?

It's kind of a similar sort of thing.

it won't happen.

Yeah.

I mean, I want it to be at Mount Smart because since they knocked down the media box and we're in a shoe box smaller than the chamber we're in.

Eden Park would be better from that perspective, but that's me being selfish.

Back to the point.

If the Warriors lose to the Dolphins, they will most likely play South Sydney.

That'll be my pick because I think South Sydney will be Newcastle.

We say strong, can't get much stronger than what they named yesterday, can you?

And Aaron Clark.

And Aaron Clark, too.

So, I mean, I think both of those guys probably get a rest.

I know there'll be lots of question around the Harbs, but I really get the feeling that you want...

Probably Chanel and Tamati Martin, if available, to have another run before the finals.

And the kind of way I view it is, as we know, the Warriors, being in the top two, they host week one, which we are suspecting will be Friday week.

And that's based on the fact that the Panthers play their final regular season game on a Sunday and the NRL are not going to give them a five day turnaround.

How valuable is that going to be come finals time? A guy that can pretty much stick it through the horns

Who's left that actually could?

Well, that's the thing.

If we're looking at it right now, the only one who could probably put his hand up would be Jackson Ford.

But that also depends how he starts next year, what Matt King, who's the new Blues coach, thinks of him.

I'd say Kurt Capel's probably done with Origin now that Billy Slade is not coached.

Yeah, we'll see.

You never know what's going to happen.

That's massive.

Oh, man.

Exactly but I think if the Warriors just stick to this game plan that is working now and it's quite incredible because two weeks ago it was all panic stations including from myself after the loss to the Bulldogs and how bad it was but they've really turned it around and I think the key for beating Kenrith was the fast start so the Panthers if we include the game on the weekend have conceded a try in the first five minutes of their last four games including the Warriors game.

But if you look at the game they played the week before against the Raiders, who are not the same team as the Warriors, the Panthers had the ability to get back in the game.

But with a team like the Warriors, with all that momentum, especially the energy from the Haka, they dominate early.

Panthers don't get that far off the ball.

Warriors go score, and then they keep that intensity up, and there's just no way for Penrith to get back in the game.

And for a brief moment, late in the game, you thought...

They didn't leave it on at the park, did they, Ben?

This is his time," and I, I'm not disagreeing.

I, I think part of the, his journey as well, it kind of shows you about kind of just sticking to it because he, he touched on in the press conference yesterday how he sort of is around like 25 and he ne- nearly gave it up.

And he's like, "I don't know if I can actually do this," but he's kind of stuck to it.

He's kind of burst onto the scene a bit later than other people in terms of being someone on the PGA Tour and being a regular.

But it's, uh, I think it just all adds to the story and, and how ama- amazing it is.

And just touching on the whole nice guy thing, there was a, a post online today of him checking in at, uh, Manchester Airport flying to London, and he's got the, the c- the case of the Claret Jug and he's just putting it in the checked baggage.

George.

I think, I think this is ...

They, they did what everyone thought they would do, and the French had no answers, did they?

Exactly.

It's, you know, Fr- France, they, they've got so many great attacking players, and they tried to throw everything they could at, at Spain, and they just couldn't get through.

Uh, ev- it seemed like everything was just gelling.

And it actually kinda reminded me the way, there were times where Spain's defense was kinda shifting back and forth ocloc- across the, the edge of the field, and kinda reminded me of almost, like, y- you know, you know who's like handball, good old handball, like you see the Europeans play? Kinda reminded me of, like, when you see the goals near, like, defenses continually, like, shifting around the whole thing.

But it was, it was just fascinating to, to see and how, you know, you've got these superstar players, like Mbappe, for example, Dembele, and they just couldn't do anything.

They were almost just strangled out the game.

[laughs]

Where do you lean on all of this?

I tend to have to agree with you actually, and it's, you know, funny watching the, the World Cup on at the moment and, you know, 32 teams going through for that, and got teams that, you know, have barely scored a couple of goals going through.

And it's ...

You've got the similar sort of feeling, that whole thing like, "Oh, this is surely too many." Like, it, it really needs to be four, especially in a 10 team competition.

It just, it, it just doesn't make any sense.

Like, I feel like that you're gonna get a lot of teams that are just gonna be going like, "Look, we're not gonna compete with the Hurricanes.

We're not gonna compete with the Chiefs.

[laughs]

How tall an order within the culture and construction is it to get people talking openly about their feelings?

I think that we're turning a corner and that guys are opening up.

I seem to, because I've got about 20 guys that work for me directly on and off and the younger ones seem to be a little bit more open to now sharing their feelings and letting people know what's going on.

I've certainly become a go-to for the guys that I work with since my uncle passed away because I think they know that I kind of, I understand it and that I want to be something somebody that they can turn to and also just point them in the right direction as well if they do need help and point them out to the likes of Brave and Determined and the Lighthouse Construction Company if they need help.

But there is still that slight taboo, I think, that is in the construction industry, especially amongst the older guys as well, that have always kind of just plotted on and carried on in silence.

So it's just kind of it's trying to make that change so that, you know, that now and the next generation feel that it's OK to open up and that, you know, there isn't strength isn't in silence.

It's in talking about things.

How do you write a song about something like this when it's so close to what's happened in your family? It

What did you make of him?

Yeah, look, he, he's been absolutely fantastic this season.

I think he's probably been the Warriors' most improved player.

The one thing which really impresses me with his gameplay is his leg speed in terms of when he, you know, makes-- when he gets tackled and his ability to kinda just get those extra meters.

There was one point during his, that first stint where his post-contact meters were half of his overall run meters, and that kinda just highlights how impressive he's been.

The other ability that he has as well, which is really strong, is his ability to almost not get rolled on his back.

And so in terms of when he gets tackled, he's usually on his stomach or on his knees, so he, uh, generates a quick play the ball.

What did you think?

What did you read into that? I'll tell you, it's not a story of redemption to me, it's a story of, "I'm gonna be me, and it's actually okay."

I think it's just a perfect...

It's like a human perfect, human per- sorry, a perfect human story, right? Because you see the emotions of him being a human.

Uh, we all feel emotions in different ways and how we express them, but it was literally like that whole weight of the world had lifted off his shoulders.

And he mentioned in the interview that, uh, at the time of that it had been recorded, he hadn't told his parents.

But he said by the time that it would air, they would know.

His mum has been unwell, so, uh, he was, you know, a bit nervous to tell her about that.

When you look at the Manly situation with the jerseys, the, uh, rainbow jerseys and the like as well, it's still very much in that space, isn't it?

But can you talk about him and I guess some of the other stars who, who might be knocking on the door?

Yeah, look, uh, as you touched on, uh, Tafua, he, he's, he's a really promising up and coming hooker, uh, from Christchurch.

I would suspect he will be included in the squad, uh, for, for this coming weekend 'cause of Sam Healy's injury, regardless of, uh, even if Wade Egan gets Origin called up or not, because the Warriors have been operating that two hooker system which has been really effective, and I think that's one of the reasons why we've actually seen the best out of Wade Egan, because he's only playing about 60 minutes every game and I, I think that's probably more beneficial for his game.

And he hasn't really been injured this year, which is promising.

But look, he's a, look, he's, he's a real promising hooker.

Um, he's got good speed out of dummy half.

He's played some, um, he played a couple of the pre-season games for the Warriors as well.

Now if you had to give the team a mark, I know you've given the players sort of, uh, marks out of 10, but if you had to give them, you know, A, A plus, B, C, C minus, w- what mark for the season so far do you give them? Second on the ladder, I hope you're not harsh, as harsh as you were in the piece.

So, I mean, we've

got long-term visions and we've sort of stuck a yardstick in the ground as to where we think that's going to go.

I won't tell you the long, long-term vision, but in the next few years, we...

And we made this decision, by the way, a fair few years ago.

And we all sat down around a table and we said the future of brands in general, not just in fitness, will be community focused, direct to consumer, agile brands.

And that was really powerful because we thought really carefully about that.

And we thought about all the reasons why we think that's going to be true.

How do you feel about that?

Is that right? I mean, w- was your sort of head moving in that direction already at that, at that age?

Yeah.

The, the, the thing for me was when things "failed," it never felt like a failure.

So when I was, when I was about 14, I...

Everyone here does work experience, so you, you go away, you do work experience for a little bit, and you know, you find out what it's like to actually go into an office or a factory or something like that.

So when I was 14, I went and did work experience with, with my granddad.

He basically had his own business, or he has his own business.

Yeah.

But before we get into all of that, for those that have been living under a rock and don't know the Gymshark story, it would be great for you to tell a little bit about the origin, how the brand started, and where we're at today.

Yeah, so I started the brand in 2012.

And it was funny, really, because I never really thought it would be a big business.

So before Gymshark, I started lots of different things.

And they're all very small, so iPhone apps, websites, things like that.

And having done lots of different types of businesses, The ambition for Gymshark, which is going to sound really boring, was just to sell one thing online.

That was it.

You went into the business, and you kind of like worked in the different roles before you ended up, like, what's your thoughts on that?