- Wyatt Crockett, the most capped Super Rugby player, has transitioned to a real estate career.
- Crockett sought advice from former teammate Casey Laulala, emphasising authenticity and leveraging rugby skills.
- He started with Harcourts Nelson, applying his sports discipline and business experience to real estate.
When the country’s most capped Super Rugby player Wyatt Crockett made the decision to become a real estate agent last year, he asked a longstanding teammate for advice.
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Crockett, who made his name as a prop for the Crusaders and a member of the national squad, found himself at a crossroads after he left the game in 2018.
He had enjoyed buying and selling the odd do-up over the years so real estate seemed like a good bet.
Crockett started selling real estate for Harcourts Nelson this month. Photo / Supplied
First, he called his long-time friend and former Crusaders teammate Casey Laulala, who was finding success as an agent for Harcourts Gold in Christchurch.
Laulala told Crockett the most important thing was to be himself. “That’s something as a rugby player I thought was really important because as soon as you start trying to compare yourself and trying to be someone you are not, you come across as unauthentic,” he said.
“In rugby, you may not have the same sort of skill set as that person but you might have other positive attributes. And I feel like that’s the same in real estate.”
Crockett spent 15 years playing professional rugby, including a long stint for the Crusaders. When he retired, he had played in 202 Super Rugby games – making him the most-capped Super Rugby player of all time.
Last year he found himself co-coaching his son’s Under 15 rugby team at Nelson College with Harcourts Motueka business owner Leeon Johnston, and he started thinking seriously about starting a career in real estate.
He did his training with Harcourts Nelson and officially started in the office this month.
Crockett said he had been blown away by the level of skill needed to become an agent. “I’m not sure what it’s been like throughout history, but from what I can see there’s just been so much that goes into being a good real estate agent and how thorough you need to be.”
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He has started working with several buyers looking for their next property and is excited about running his first open home for a colleague this weekend.
He’s still waiting for his first listing, but is hoping that won’t be too far away.
Crockett has drawn on the marketing, sales and management skills he developed running the two Stirling Sports stores he owns with his wife Jenna, but rugby still looms large in his thinking.
“In rugby, you have to be fully committed and I see the same thing with real estate. You have to be 100% committed and work really hard to get good results.
“When I step into something I’m all in. I understand the mindset of chasing something and doing it to the absolute best of my ability.”
Crockett follows a raft of professional sportspeople who have embarked on successful real estate careers after retiring from their respective sports.
Crockett’s friend and former Crusader teammate Casey Laulala is a Harcourts agent in Christchurch. Photo / Getty Images
Harcourts Gold managing director Chris Kennedy, whose agency employs four former professional sportspeople including Laulala, Olympic cyclist Hayden Roulston, Olympic swimmer Lydia O’Loughlin and rower Mark Brownlee, said the skills developed in professional sport were invaluable in any business and especially real estate.
“It’s really clear that you don’t become an elite athlete without having discipline, without having a set of really strong goals, without having an unwavering focus on what you are wanting to achieve and where you are wanting to head in your sporting life.”
He said they were all also very kind people who were continually giving back to the community. “They are not arrogant, they are not full of their own self-importance because of being elite sportspeople. They are there doing a wonderful job and bringing all of those disciplines they learned as young sports stars.”
It didn’t come as any surprise to him that there were so many elite sportspeople wanting to move into the real estate industry as there were similarities.
“When you are at an elite level it never stops, it doesn’t matter whether in sport, in life or business. Elite people know the steps to take to create a wonderful life.”
Other elite sports people turned real estate agents in other parts of the country include former professional athlete turned TV host Jane Kiely, ex-Warriors player Logan Swann, and former All Black captain Andy Dalton. Ben Castle, who played rugby for various teams including the Chiefs, currently heads up Tommy’s Real Estate in Wellington.
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