The money and magic of Suaalii Inc

The Age

18-07-2025

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii made the short walk to his parked matte black Land Rover Defender on Lansdowne Street in Sydney's trendy inner-city suburb of Surry Hills. He'd just spent the day at a photo shoot for GQ magazine, dressed in more than $35,000 worth of luxury fashion goods and was carrying three tangerine-coloured Louis Vuitton shopping bags full of clothes back to his car.
In a video uploaded to his Instagram from that day, the 21-year-old flashed more than $140,000 worth of goods in just one minute and 49 seconds. Though he's paid millions to play rugby, he likely kept the clothes for free.
He'd arrived at Debut Studios earlier that day wearing a $225 jumper – a bargain compared to the outfits he would change into. In one shot, Suaalii wears a $3,500 baby-blue mohair sweater paired with jeans worth $3,150 and sneakers that cost $845 for each shoe. On his wrist, a stainless-steel watch worth $35,000. In another, a rugby polo, only this one costs $2,620, described as taking a 'chic twist' on the sportswear.
In an ironic detail from that day, Debut Studios sits in Suite 61 on the sixth floor of the building. As Suaalii walks into frame, he looks out of an open window, offering a direct view of the Sydney Roosters club grounds he left last year for a deal with Rugby Australia worth $5.4 million. He turns back around, fixes his $2,000 shirt and faces the camera.
Although being a teen sporting prodigy and achieving early career success on the field has increased the commercial value of Suaalii's name, there's more that separates his brand's capacity for profit from his teammates.
Professor in sport management Adam Karg said what you look like, who you know, and how you behave are also significant in a brand choosing you to work with, especially one worth as much as Louis Vuitton's $51 billion brand.
'In order to be able to commercialise that brand, you do need, rightly or wrongly, a really strong set of eyeballs. Essentially, you need to be able to generate media interest,' Karg said.
'Now, that can come through physical appearance. It can come through, obviously, on the field, performance being a degree of that as well, and then really you need a brand to see something in you that connects with them and their audience.'