EXCLUSIVE
Former NRL star Chris Walker has won his battle with the bottle so convincingly that he is now the teetotaler of a thriving vodka company, having once needed a stint in rehab to combat his toddy addiction.
The ex-Queensland, Broncos, Roosters and Titans winger is one of the men behind it Sunny Days Distillery, which produces a range of products including Ariane Premium Vodka.
It's an incredibly surprising field of work for a one-time try-scoring machine who had a career full of highs on the field and alcohol-fueled lowlights off it.
In 2007, Walker – who has admitted drinking 100 drinks during a two-day binge – was put through an eight-week rehab program to treat the drinking and anxiety problems that ruined his football career.
Walker (pictured with his wife Courtney) has gone from being a problem drinker to a workday going from pub to pub without touching a drop
The former Queensland Origin winger (pictured playing for the Brisbane Broncos in 2001) excelled on the field but was a trouble magnet away from football as he drank.
The 43-year-old once joked that he 'played in more clubs than Slim Dusty' after being sacked by the Roosters and Melbourne Storm over his drinking – but today he is a completely changed man and couldn't be happier.
Walker is now so confident in his ability to resist the temptation of the bottle that he has no problem going from pub to pub selling vodka in his role as Sunny Days' roving ambassador.
When asked how someone who once couldn't control himself around alcohol can now make a living from it, he has to think for a moment before answering.
“Very good question – the simple answer is: I don't drink anymore,” he told Ny Breaking Australia.
'I've been sober for almost fourteen months. At some point I came to a realization and my conscious and subconscious aligned and I gave it away.
“Having that realization, starting a vodka company and not drinking, is one of those things in my life journey and I feel very comfortable with where I sit.
Walker (pictured with Bulldogs great Willie Mason) was still drinking when he and some friends started the Sunny Days Distillery business, but he soon reached a turning point in his life
The 43-year-old is the traveling ambassador and seller of Sunny Days' range of vodkas, including Ariane Premium (pictured)
“I had that conversation with Wayne Bennett [his coach at the Broncos] about six months ago and he was very proud of me for going down that path.”
Walker was still drinking when he first started the company three years ago, but he eventually reached a fork in the road.
“At 43, there was a point where I had to grow up,” he said.
“There are certain guys in the industry who can go for a drink and function the next day – not that I couldn't function the next day, but I found it a little harder to increase my productivity at a point where I needed it needs to be to get this company running.
'I know what the products taste like, so I don't have to keep drinking them to sell them.
“I talk to these big, independent retailers and owners – most of those guys [who own] In the 50, 100, 200 pubs I deal with, I find they don't drink. They are drinking 100 percent of the time, just like me, and they don't drink because they are businessmen.
Teetotalism has not only helped Walker with his business life, he has also put himself in excellent physical condition
“That's the lesson I learned.”
Walker – who also made headlines during his playing days when he dated Home and Away star Kate Ritchie – said his family and friends were “very supportive” of his move into the vodka business, despite his checkered past with toddy.
Not only has his teetotalism helped him expand the business to the point where Ariane and its sister brands Pink Dot Vodka and Sunny Days are sold in as many as 3,000 locations nationwide.
He is also in excellent physical condition, as evidenced by his training videos on Instagram, where it looks like he can still run outside and play in the first grade.
“It definitely helps if I wake up at 5 a.m. instead of coming home at 5 a.m.,” he laughed.
But since starting the company in 2020, things have been far from plain sailing for Walker.
He said he “cheated death” after suffering horrific leg injuries when a shipping container fell on him while he was selling his vodkas in far north Queensland in December 2021.
The former tryscoring machine was crushed by a shipping container in December 2021, suffering shocking leg injuries (pictured) that left him in a wheelchair
He gave back to charities that support people struggling with alcohol problems and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety by spending €71 walking from Cairns to the Gold Coast from April 2021 – and loves inspiring others
“I can tell you now that the last two years have been the hardest of my life,” he said.
'I had to turn back the clock to two or three years old and learn to walk again.
'When I was in a wheelchair for two to three months, I was relieved that I was still alive and still had my legs.'
Walker spent 71 days from April 2021 walking from Cairns to the Gold Coast to raise money for Beyond Blue, RizeUp Australia and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, and is now proud to be seen as an inspiration by people who endured the same struggle as he went through.
“Waking up at 5 a.m. on that walk and seeing messages from an abundance of people wanting to see how I'm doing for the day and saying I'm giving them the strength to get through the day was humbling,” he said.
“People still contact me today and tell me I changed their lives.”