Luke Burgess | London Model | 4B | Clothing Collection
July 14, 2020 • • Luke Burgess
Luke Burgess releases his own clothing line '4B' along with his brothers George, Thomas and Sam. He reflects on life after Rugby in an article on the 4B website. Keep reading to find out more!
It’s a very commonly asked question to all professional rugby league players, “Have you thought about what you are going to do after football?”
I remember the 1st time someone asked me that. I was 22 years old and into my 3rd season of 1st grade in the UK. To even think about life post-football at that age seemed outrageous and so distant. Being young and naive, I brushed off the thought of retirement with the generic answer of, “Umm, I’ll probably look at doing some studying within the next few years or try and get a trade under my belt, but I’m not too sure yet. I just want to focus on my footy for now.”
The Next Chapter
Fast forward 9 years, and there I am…RETIRED at 31 years old. My career cut short a few years earlier than expected after deciding that I physically couldn’t get the performance levels out of my body that I had experienced throughout the duration of my career. I made a decision to play out the 2018 season with the Salford Red Devils in the English Super League and that would be my final year, even though I was contracted for the 2019 season. I wanted to finish on my terms, playing to a standard that I had maintained throughout my career. The long list of injuries and surgeries had finally taken their toll on my body.
Since late 2016, 4B had been moving along slowly in the background. We found it hard to get together as a group whilst we were playing football, as I had moved overseas for a couple of years. Since retirement in October 2018, I have returned to Australia to be with my family. Now…that question I was asked 9 years ago REALLY hit home. What am I going to do now?
It was time to reignite the 4B fire. By chance, I met someone at a charity event who ran a digital agency building websites and creating social media strategies for brands. We went through our original material and content we had previously created, made a few tweaks, and began with the build of our website. As Sam, Tom, and George were all still playing football, I floated the idea to my brothers that I would take the reins and push the brand to a position where it could be launched. I would report back to them regularly to keep them up to speed with each stage.
Click here to read the rest of the article and visit the 4B website!