Forgotten AFL star has ‘a million dollars' stolen in car smash and grab

Perth Now

5 days ago

Former AFL star Koby Stevens has revealed his car been broken into and he has lost 'over $1 million in documentary footage.
Stevens, who retired in 2018 due to concussion injuries, is filming a documentary called Thrive which was expected to be released this year.
The former footballer, who played for West Coast, the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda has called the documentary an 'extraordinary cinematic journey that spans continents and showcases real-time evidence of brain healing'.
'It's been a long road raising finance, overcoming challenges, and telling a story that is as much about hope as it is about healing and building out a global media company,' he has previously said.
Famous Aussie actor and St Kilda superfan Eric Bana has been involved in the production (he is the narrator), and it also includes key people from the movie industry.
But now an emotional Stevens has revealed the footage has been stolen from his car in a smash and grab.
'My name is Koby Stevens. I played AFL for ten years and had to retire in 2018 due to concussion. You might have seen the story around,' he said in social media post, shared by sports presenter, Jacqueline Felgate.
'We have been shooting a huge documentary the last four years, travelling the world about concussion, and following some of the biggest athletes in the world and their healing journeys ... doing so with Eric Bana.
'This morning in St Kilda I loaded one of the huge hard drives and camera gear into my car and it was smashed into before I left and stolen.
'The hard drive is backed up but it has over a million dollars worth of footage on it from all over the world for the film, and some pretty important people in it like Eric Bana, etc, which is obviously extremely important and sensitive and hasn't been put out to the public yet because we are still in production.
'It's pretty distressing someone has this now.'
Stevens, who only managed 91 games in a nine-year career due to his injuries, has previously said he is obsessed with 'brain health and repairing'.
He said his obsession started because he wanted to do the things he loved 'well into the future and live without fear of breaking down' as he aged.
'I explored everything from functional neurology to psychedelic-assisted treatments, plant medicine, TMS, hot-cold, mindfulness, week long fasts to repair my guts from smashing painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills for nine years,' he said.
'If there was research to back it up, I was all in, now, life's never been more beautiful.'
And he said he wanted to share his experience to help educate others.
'I've always been a big believer that our stories should be used as education for those next in line,' he said.
'I planned to deal with the fallout privately, hide it and just escape. I was embarrassed and angry, and like most men wanted to deal with it alone.
'My belief was (that) pain was just part of the game and respect was earned that way – you kept moving and didn't talk about it.'
Fans were shattered for Stevens after he went public with the crime.
'This is devastating,' one fan said.
'Heartbreaking,' said another.
And another: 'I'm so ashamed of what Melbourne has become 😞so hoping you get this back.'