Reece Walsh is a big supporter of teammates off-field wealth building efforts including Jack Gosiewski’s new Chargrill️ Charlie’s outlet in New Farm. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh.
As State of Origin star Reece Walsh geared up for the big game, he quietly amassed a staggering $520k from an unexpected source, with the rugby league sensation accelerating his off-field income.
The Queenslander who turns 23 on Thursday has the perfect setup for twin success on and off field, leveraging his sports superstar status, appeal to younger fans and digital nous to make a fortune off social media – including his own YouTube channel @officialReeceWalsh where he has already secured 13.7k followers. Though that’s not where the $520k rolled in from.
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Reece Walsh at the Queensland Maroons State of Origin squad training session. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.
Screengrabs from Lil day in the life, coffees training & The Grand Opening of Chargrill Charlie’s. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh
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His “lil day in the life” video posted June 28 amassed 77,193 views since it was loaded, and given those in the YouTube partner program make between $5 and $15 for every 1000 views according to Descript, that would be an easy $385 to $1,155 – though it could be halved after YouTube takes their cut.
What that ‘lil day in the life” video did highlight was the real MVP for Walsh this past year – apart from his game contract – which was his quiet achiever, his home.
It rewarded him just for holding on to it throughout one year with a massive bump in value.
The stunning Ormeau four bedroom house – bought for $1.88m one year and three months ago – is today worth as much as $2.4m according to valuations – a staggering $520,000 rise without him needing to do a thing to the property.
Letting fans in on his beautiful home. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh
His ‘lil day in the life’ video was welcomed by fans. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh
Reece Walsh out and about after a haircut is the kind of content fans lapped up. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh
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The home is on a massive 5,433sq m block where a 206sq m house was originally built on the site in 1992 – a decade before he was born.
Today there are three distinct homes on the site – the main residence, plus two self-contained apartments in a second dwelling, one of which is a one bedder and the other a two bedder, accessible via two separate driveways.
One of those apartments had been put up for $499 a week rent after the pandemic, and the whole property was once listed for tenancy for as much as $900 a week as far back as 2012.
Walsh may not be keen on being a landlord with tenants on the same property just yet, but he could easily leverage his equity to buy another rental property elsewhere.
Broncos star players at the opening of Jack Gosiewski’s business. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh
Billy Walters at the opening of Jack Gosiewski’s business. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh
Ezra Mam at the opening of Jack Gosiewski’s business. Source: YouTube/ @OfficialReeceWalsh
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Clearly the move to the Gold Coast has paid off for the young Bronco, who still has loads of room on site to develop more side hustles or home-based businesses, a zoom room or even some zen yoga space.
His fan love rose dramatically off his insight into his life via the YouTube video, with many saying they loved “this kind of content – showing us the behind the scenes so we know the type of lives these guys live and how the top of the top do things” while another said it was “inspirational” seeing how amazing the young player was off field.
Gen Z rugby league players have shown much more financial savvy than most with Walsh’s June 28 ‘lil day in the life’ video showing starstudded support at the launch of a teammate’s business venture – Chargrill Charlie’s New Farm which is owned by second rower Jack Gosiewski and his partner Avalon McRae. Billy Walters and his baby turned up, as well as Ezra Mam, captain Adam Reynolds and a host of others to uplift the off-field effort.