Footy Fanatics Driving Family Business Success

Thursday, December 7th 2023

Footy Fanatics Driving Family Business Success

Retired rugby union star Salesi Manu and his partner Brooklyn have proven their love for rugby union by devoting their family business to building the next generation of footy fans.

Sport fanatics are known to prove their dedication to their chosen sport in many ways; from painting their faces in team colours to blocking out every Friday night to attend a game - rain, hail or shine.

Retired rugby union star Salesi Manu and his partner Brooklyn have proven their love for rugby union by devoting their family business to building the next generation of footy fans.

Salesi and Brooklyn are the power couple behind Gold Coast born and bred business 1st Fives Rugby, a grassroots program for kids eager to play rugby union that fosters a love for the game that stays with them for a lifetime.

Brooklyn said the idea for 1st Fives Rugby came to fruition following the couples move back to the Sunshine State from abroad.

“After Salesi retired from rugby union, we came back to Australia and wanted our son to play rugby. Being only three years old at the time, we couldn’t find any programs for him to join,” Brooklyn said.

“We saw this as an opportunity to create an awesome program that fills this gap in the market.

“This realisation prompted Salesi to combine his knowledge of rugby union with his sports development degree to develop our play program, 1st Fives Rugby.”

Being rugby union fanatics themselves, the pair knew there would be plenty of locals who would be eager to have their children involved.

“We knew there were a lot of passionate rugby parents just like us who would love to see their children develop a love for the game while learning new skills and having fun, which was really the driving force behind the program,” Brooklyn said.

As their first business anniversary approaches, Salesi and Brooklyn have plenty to celebrate given they now have over 200 children learning through their program and building their love for the game every step of the way.

With 1st Fives Rugby taking off, Brooklyn and Salesi thought it was time they purchased some Personalised Plates to showcase their business.

“I am always spotting Personalised Plates and love figuring out what they mean and stand for,” said Brooklyn.

“As soon as we saw that you could design your own Business Plates, we knew that we had to have them.”

Naturally, Brooklyn and Salesi chose 01FFR as the letter combination to perfectly complement and represent their family business.

“Our plates show our commitment to our business, to rugby union and most importantly, our family. The little cartoon character is actually our son Titus,” Brooklyn laughed.

1st Fives Rugby is the couple’s full-time passion, and their personalised plates showcase their lifetime commitment to achieving ambitious goals.

“We want to grow the game of rugby union, one child at a time. That is our mission and it always will be,” she said.

“Having the plates makes us feel proud that our business supports our kids and rugby union and we want everyone to be part of it. It’s the best job in the world in our eyes.

“No doubt we are building some remarkable players for the future of rugby union, but most importantly, we are building character in all the children who attend and keeping families together.”

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