How a larrikin leg-spinner became a pop culture icon

It is not uncommon for a sporting figure to be mythologised in their lifetime,but Shane Warne’s influence will be etched into Australian culture for generations to come.

Wonderfully approachable,unforgettably blonde and a lightning rod for charisma,Warne was the cheeky Melbourne leg-spinner who became a true global celebrity. His tactical prowess for the game was matched only by his authentic brand of larrikinism that made him a marketer’s dream.

Cheers,Warnie.

Cheers,Warnie.Getty

We may be a nation of sport lovers,but it takes a special kind of athlete to cut through the world of fashion,music and arts,inspiring storylines onKath&Kim,clothing lines,and an entire musical production. “His life had everything;success,failure,love,loss,scandal,resurrection. He was completely and unapologetically himself,” Eddie Perfect wrote in a social media tribute following the news ofWarne’s death at 52.

Perfect,who spent three years writingShane Warne:The Musical,said Warne originally detested the fact a musical was being written about him. Of course,he came around in the end,even taking a bow at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre on opening night.

It was far from a career aspiration for the sporting legend,who once dreamt of playing Aussie Rules football for his beloved St Kilda Football Club. But Warne possessed an energy that generated its own spotlight far beyond the cricket pitch. After all,this was the man who was once told by Kerry Packer to “lay low for a while” and sell his blue Ferrari,only to buy a silver one.

Shane Warne in Kath and Kim.

Shane Warne in Kath and Kim.Supplied

His top deck hairstyle was the mullet of its day for pre-Eshay lads,and his penchant for a dart was the ’90s equivalent of a vape. He was tanned,zinced and ready for a good time.

Just Jeans was among the first fashion brands to approach the cricket star,sending him down the runway alongside Claudia Schiffer and Helena Christensen,who was dating INXS’s Michael Hutchence at the time. Warne,a catwalk novice,got schooled by the Danish supermodel for talking to her on the runway,a memory he jovially recalled to Hutchence later while backstage at one of his shows. A picture of Warne’s runway debut alongside Christensen was hung proudly at his Melbourne home.

From his debut international match until his tragic death,Shane Warne always lived a large life.

A deal with Nike saw him launch a range of footwear marketed as “the best cricket shoe ever made”,catapulting him into the realm of sporting royalty alongside Michael Jordan,Tiger Woods and David Beckham. It was an exclusive club reserved for sportsmen who were pop culture icons in their own right but more importantly,who could move product. Because if you wore Warnie’s shoes,maybe you too,could reach GOAT status. “In the States,in the UK and at home I was invited to everything – concerts,grand prix,exhibitions,” he wrote of that period in his book.

He was also preparing to marry his childhood sweetheart,Simone Callahan,following their Lake District engagement shortly after Warne’s ball of the century. On September 1,1995,the couple wed in front of 200 people at a park in Melbourne’s South Yarra. They were both 24. In his 2018 autobiography,No Spin –dedicated to his parents and children,Brooke,Jackson and SummerWarne wrote of his respect for his ex-wife and the challenges they faced because of his infidelity. “The pressure became more and more intense for both of us. We just grew apart.”

Despite his cheating antics being splashed across the tabloids,Warne maintained he only ever had two relationships in his life:his former wife and British model and actor Elizabeth Hurley,whom he was briefly engaged to in 2011.

“The Warne impulse was in action,” he wrote in his book,when recalling the impromptu proposal on James Packer’s superyacht,naturally. “I didn’t have a ring,nothing,but the moment was right.”

Warne credited Hurley for getting him in shape,but his weight loss became tabloid fodder. Still,while attending Royal Ascot together in 2013 he played up in front of the cameras by wrapping his mouth around a beer. He was the celebrity who never forgot where he came from.

But amid his many “good-time boy” party tricks and celebrity friends (he counted Coldplay’s Chris Martin as one of his best friends,as well as Ed Sheeran) he was a dedicated father.

In the epilogue ofNo Spin, his children speak fondly of their famous dad. “I hope the book sells well. He’s achieved a lot. Australia should be proud of him.”

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Julia Naughton is the Head of Life - Culture,Lifestyle and Travel

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