OnTap Magazine

ontapmag.co.za | Autumn 2025 | 15 " Life after rugby?” Steven Kitshoff poses the rhetorical question to me as we sit beneath the old oak tree at Lilypatrick Craft Brewery on a warm summer’s morning in Stellenbosch. “Often players only really think about what happens next when they retire,” he continues. “We wanted to plan a bit.” And of course, there are good practical reasons why you would want to plan for your retirement froma sport that usually ends in your mid-to-late-thirties. Steven has had a particularly successful career, taking part in two successful world cup campaigns. With a severe neck injury that at the time of interview, had left an unclear future for the “rugby player”, perhaps this was the reason his mind was already clearer than most on the need to retire “into” something. (Since the interview, Kitshoff has in fact been forced to retire from playing.) Steven grew up in the Helderberg area, his father having worked as a liquor license consultant and owner of a restaurant in Gordon’s Bay. As a bystander he was aware of alcohol brands, albeit innocently. “I remember thinking, I would love to own my own alcohol brand one day.” A thought that seemed to resurface throughout his adult life. But of course, rugby held his imagination while playing for Hendrik Louw Primary School in Strand. “I love Somerset West, but my childhood was massive in Strand.” It set certain things in motion that would turn the boy into the sportsman that has been representing the Springboks since 2016. “I was offered a bursary to Paul Roos [Gymnasium] after I playedUnder 13Craven Week. There was a big group of ‘Strand’ guys that all ended up in Paul Roos.” Paul Roos Gymnasium having produced quite a few Springboks over the years, is a natural step for young rugby players to take. “The year above and below [me] had a mix of guys that ended up playing professionally,” he continues. During his high school years, he was scouted by the Stormers, where he spent five years, during which time he met his future wife Aimee Steenkamp. (Aimee now works on the social media and marketing side of the Bomb Squad brand, but spent many years in tourism.) On the other side of the world, Malcolm Marx is playing in Japan and commuting back and forth to South Africa, where his wife, Kirsten, a qualified doctor manages the day to day of raising their young kids. We chatted by phone while he travelled to the airport to catch a flight home for a break. He is very open about life, missing his wife and kids, rugby and the ambitions for the Bomb Squad beers. Malcolm is two years younger than Steven and thus likely to play a little later, injuries permitting. They come from very different backgrounds, yet they followed similar paths into professional rugby. Malcolm grew up in Johannesburg and upon seeing the 2007 Springboks win the world cup, he decided he wanted to pursue a career in rugby. He too, competed in the Under 13 Craven Week, from which he was offered a bursary to attend King Edward VII high school, locally known as KES and known for producing top sportsmen in both rugby and cricket. Malcolm and Steven became very good friends as both roommates on extended tours, and of course in their roles in the famous Bomb Squad of the Springbok Rugby Team. On the many nights away from home on tours, sharing a room for a large part of their careers, the two men started playing with ideas of businesses they could pursue after retirement. The aim was to build the foundation of whatever they decided to pursue while they were still playing rugby. They consideredmany ideas, including clothing, but eventually settled on Bomb Squad beer, as the idea they were most passionate about. “We were both big Castle Lite drinkers,” Steven says as he recalls why this inevitably became the focus. “I didn’t really know a lot about wine, or didn’t see much appeal in owning a whiskey or vodka brand, but Malcolm and I were both passionate about beer. I told him [that] I had always been keen to own my own beer brand.” The teammates thought, “Why don’t we do it together?” He described the logic of their timing. “At the moment we have the name and power behind the brand, so let’s get this going now, get the right people to help and then we build the brand while still playing. When I retire, I can go into it full- time and when he retires, he can too.” And of course, much like the inspiration that followed out of the 2007 world cup being lifted above John Smit’s head, here another focus started to take shape. Steven