For Tai ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa, life has always been about enjoying the fight; embracing challenges that come before you as part of the process of achieving your goals.
“I love the battle, I love the challenge. I love it.”
This may sound normal coming from one of the UFC’s premier heavyweight knockout artists, but if there’s one thing Bam Bam makes clear about himself and his outlook on the world, it’s that everything, in one way or another, comes from fighting.
And the fighting started long before he ever stepped into an octagon.
Growing up in Penrith in Sydney's outer west as the middle child of 11, Bam Bam initially stood out on the football field, in his words, weighing “a hundred kilos at nine.” He played representative rugby from an early age and was eventually signed by the Sydney Roosters in 2010.
In 2012, Bam Bam decided to switch to fighting. For a couple of years, he dabbled in mixed martial arts, boxing, and kickboxing to “keep out of trouble.” He was inspired to take his MMA career seriously upon learning he was going to be a father, making his UFC debut less than a year later in 2016. In the lead-up to that debut, Bam Bam had reduced use of one of his arms due to a complication with knee surgery. Despite this, the fight was a resounding success, with Bam Bam winning the Performance of the Night after a flying knee (different knee) knocked Rashad Coulter out cold.
This marked the beginning of a nearly decade-long run in the UFC, during which Bam Bam has become one of the most exciting and beloved faces of the sport. With an iconic celebration and a crowd-popping, stand-and-bang style befitting his nickname, he’s won over fans across the globe. He’s parlayed this success in the octagon into a number of successful ventures, including co-founding Drink West Brewery with Penrith Panthers star Nathan Cleary, and launching his creative space, the Two7 Project.
Now, Bam Bam is embarking on a new challenge: delving into the world of medicinal and recreational marijuana. With the regulations and laws around cannabis loosening in the past decade, plenty of celebrities have been venturing into the weed game, with known stoners like Snoop Dogg, Seth Rogen, and Wiz Khalifa leading the charge. BamBam Budz will quickly find itself at the fore of athlete-owned cannabis brands, thanks to Bam Bam’s fan-favourite persona and his genuine “love for the plant.”
Complex Australia sat down with Bam Bam to discuss his roots, fighting of all kinds, and the future of BamBam Budz. The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.
What is it about fighting that you enjoy?
I love the challenge. I love the battle of me or him. I wouldn’t say that I’m the best martial artist, but when it comes to just the fighting, I love it. When it comes to eating right and training 100% of the time, I’m not always on top of it, but when I’m on, I’m on. And I love to challenge myself. Even if I’m not sure about the result, I just like to challenge myself. Everyone knows how to fight in the game. If we're on the street, you never know, but knowing this person's trained as long as I have, or put as much effort in as I have, and then getting to see who wins, who worked the hardest.
How did the area you grew up in affect your outlook on life, and as a fighter?
Ah man, that was my childhood. It prepared me the best way, because I could either be fighting professionally and travel the world like I've been able to do, or I could be fighting in a cage. The wrong sort of cage. Obviously, now I've travelled the world and I've got to see a lot of things, so it's a little different.
At one time, I suppose it was rough, it was hard, but once I started travelling the world and seeing how other people have it, that changed. I think that's one thing Australians really forget about—how lucky we really do have it. But it made me everything I am.
In a lot of your interviews, you place importance on just being yourself, in all areas of life. Where does that mindset come from, and how has it helped you in your career?
I think that's one thing with me, bro—I know who I am. I've never tried to be someone I'm not. I'm just me and very grateful that I've got to live the life I've lived. But again, it's certainly through fighting. A lot of people think I've done these amazing things. I'm no scientist. I haven't done anything great. I've just tried my best. That’s all.
You were on track for a rugby career before making the switch to fighting. What inspired that change, and how do you think it prepared you for fighting?
Well, I've always kind of been a professional athlete. I was playing representative rugby league since I was really young. So I kind of knew, you know, what it takes to be at that level. But the reason for the change was, I needed to do it my way. In rugby league, I had to answer to a lot of people, and sometimes they weren't happy with what I was doing. And yeah, that's kind of not my thing. If I'm doing the job, if I'm getting it done, let me do my thing. So I left, but I backed myself 100%. Yeah, that's the thing. I've always backed myself.
Are there any similarities in the way you used to approach going into a rugby game and how you approach going into a fight these days?
Oh, they're very different. In rugby league, you get a chance to prove yourself every week. In fighting, you only get 15 minutes—and you can prepare for so long and then go out there and eat shit. You don't really ever know what's going to happen.
What led to the creation of BamBam Budz, and what makes it different from other cannabis brands?
Well, I've always loved the plant. I’ve always loved marijuana, and obviously, it has a lot of benefits for fighting. Helps you feel a lot more relaxed, and that helps with recovery and heaps of other things.
I know a lot of other people who have brands aren’t too involved. But I’m really invested, and it actually really means a lot to me. The team I have now, we've been together for over a year, and I’m really confident they can help me fulfil this dream of mine. Obviously, I’m mainly involved in the promotion, but we have a team of experts running the game. We're getting the best growers.
How do you plan to market the brand, given the restrictions on cannabis advertising?
With marijuana, the marketing is hard. You have to come up with different ways of marketing. Obviously, a lot of the issues are to do with legalities and stuff. It's not as easy as you can just get it and sell it. But I think that's a learning curve everyone has at some point in business. You're always gonna come across things that challenge you. You never know what's gonna happen, and until you learn it, you don't know.
In interviews, it seems that you're unfazed by results—lose, win or draw—but you obviously want to succeed, so what motivates you to continue fighting and training?
I suppose, in my life, and where I'm from, I've lost things that don't come back. So when it comes to losing a fight, it is what it is. Winning and losing will always be a part of life.
Do you have a single moment in your career that you think is your greatest or best moment?
Oh, I’m not sure that’s happened yet. I still think I've got a lot of time to go. I've just been having a break at the moment. I've been in the UFC for nine years—that's a long time getting punched. I still think I'm learning more, and I want to do more, but there's a wide range of fighting when it comes to fighting, not just MMA.