WHEN rugby league players retire, some stay in the sport whilst others completely switch the focus of their careers.
For St Helens legend Paul Sculthorpe, he is doing both, with his rugby league broadcasting work with Betfred and Sky coinciding with a whole host of businesses and ambassador roles.
The 46-year-old, it’s fair to say, has a number of specialities.
Sculthorpe told League Express: “I co-own a haulage and logistics brokerage with a friend from Leeds, who has 25 years of experience in the industry.
“Then I have three Brand Ambassador deals with the following, pretty much helping drive new business via my own network and connections: Blok N Mesh Construction (www.bloknmesh.com), Mann Roberts Solicitors (www.mannroberts.com) and then Boardrm Recruitment (www.boardrm.com).
“I also have an affiliate deal with Saints partners and currency specialists Corpay (formerly AFEX- whom I did the initial deal with ten years ago) at www.corpay.com.
“Within the game, I still do quite a bit of work within the media with Betfred (as well as a sponsored column in St Helens Star), Sky and other broadcast channels when requested.”
But, it’s one of his other roles that stands out most in terms of the rugby league world.
Sculthorpe co-owns a business that produces a Mobile Virtual Player – an innovation that was first designed in the US and introduced to reduce player-on-player contact in NFL training.
Now, the 46-year-old filmed a session with St Helens’ men and women earlier in the year with the MVP able to perform many duties of a defender.
The MVP was controlled by Saints head coach Paul Wellens via remote with Sculthorpe telling League Express: “I co-own a number of businesses, MVP Europe (exclusive licence for MVP Sprint across UK, Ireland & Europe).
“We filmed with Saints and Saints Women. It was designed in the USA to help reduce player-on-player contact in training in the NFL who lead the way in concussion prevention/player welfare.
“Obviously with everything that is happening currently in rugby league and rugby union we see a great opportunity to assist with MVP.
“I am currently speaking to a number of different sports including rugby league, football and NFL Europe.
“We are currently demo’ing in a number of sports and there is a lot of interest within the game, just whether that turns into sales remains to be seen.
“We are also looking at commercial partners, such as insurance companies who obviously have to raise premiums to cover claims – so what better to support something that actually reduces the risks of head injury?”
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