Tai Tuivasa: Aussie UFC cult hero who went into the beer business with Nathan Cleary gets into the drug trade – legally

Tai Tuivasa is known to UFC die-hards as the hard-drinking, hard-hitting cult hero who owns a brewery and sinks beer out of his shoes after a win – and now he’s started producing a new recreational drug.

The heavyweight knockout artist owns Sydney’s Drink West beer company with NRL superstar Nathan Cleary and Octagon star turned pro boxer Tyson Pedro, and is trying to get a piece of America’s lucrative legal marijuana trade.

Nicknamed “Bam Bam” for his all-or-nothing fighting style, he unveiled his new business venture, Bambambudz, in an Instagram post late Thursday.

Tuivasa (centre), nicknamed ‘Bam Bam’ for his all-or-nothing fighting style, owns a brewery in western Sydney with superstar Nathan Cleary (front, second from right) – with the pair working alongside music star Shannon Noll (in hand microphone) to advertise their beer

The 300-pound fighter posed for photos while holding three huge bags of marijuana and gave a double V for victory sign in front of a greenhouse full of cannabis plants in the post, which also showed workers preparing the product for distribution.

He added the caption ‘COMING TO A CITY NEAR US’ – with the company selling the weed in US states that have legalized its consumption, such as Colorado, California, Illinois and New York.

The US legal marijuana market was valued at $15 billion by 2022 and is expected to grow strongly.

According to Bambambudz’s Instagram page, the company will also soon sell “high quality products” and open pharmacies in Thailand, where cannabis was legalized in 2022 before the government pledged to restrict its use for medical purposes in 2023.

Tuivasa poses in front of a greenhouse full of cannabis, which his company will sell on the lucrative American market

Tuivasa, Pedro and Cleary’s brewery operations launched in 2022, with the lager announced as the official beer of UFC Australia.

Drink West beer unapologetically celebrates the heritage of Western Sydney, which is a big part of Tuivasa’s life.

‘I represent the West, I represent houseo kids, that is my will. Be crazy, you’re going to lose or you’re going to win,” Tuivasa told Daily Mail Australia shortly after the brewery opened.

‘We represent normal people, normal employees. I’m a normal asshole. Of course I’m famous, but if you’re mad at me, I’ll punch you in the mouth.”

Drink West launched with a hilarious ad featuring Tuivasa, partner and fellow UFC fighter Tyson Pedro and Penrith Panthers captain Nathan Cleary singing Shannon Noll’s iconic anthem What About Me.

Bambambudz also plans to sell cannabis and open pharmacies in Thailand

Tuivasa (pictured left during training) has spectacularly knocked out thirteen opponents en route to a 14-7 MMA record

Tuivasa and Pedro, who admitted they came from families of singers, shocked the audience with their pipes, but it was Cleary’s terrible voice that stole the show.

‘The producers told us we had to sing over Nathan to cover up his singing, and we said, “No, damn it, turn it up!” It was hilarious, it made the ad,” Tyson said.

Tuivasa was the ‘genius’ behind the commercial, which ultimately sees Noll bursting through a crowd of tradies and locals singing his cover of the Moving Pictures classic.

‘I’m pretty good at the marketing side. Shannon Noll is from Condobolin, that’s where my family is from. It’s the best song too, which is Australian fun,” he said.

‘I walked to that song, it resonates. It’s a fucking Australian song, it’s a beer song. When you’re in the pub and that happens, everyone is singing.’