Former AFL player Jimmy Bartel’s footy boots business goes bankrupt… four years after he invested ‘his own cash’ in the company
Jimmy Bartel’s football boots business, XBlades, has gone bankrupt just four years after he invested in it.
According to a report by the Herald Sun on Friday, the 36-year-old’s company has been handed over to an insolvency firm.
The company was founded by Bill Spyros in 1989, and at the height of its success, its spiked boots were worn by legendary sports stars such as David Beckham.
Going under: Jimmy Bartel’s football boots business, XBlades, has gone bankrupt, just four years after he invested in it. Pictured at an AFL match in Geelong in June
But Spyros stepped down as director in July, which marked the beginning of the end for the decades-spanning business.
According to the Herald Sun, Jimmy claimed he was just a ‘silent investor’ and hadn’t ‘had any involvement in the company for two years’.
He invested in the company back in 2016, and revealed he’d poured his ‘own cash’ into the enterprise.
Claim to fame: The company was founded by Bill Spyros in 1989, and at the height of its success, its spiked boots were worn by legendary sports stars such as David Beckham
In a statement put out by XBlades at the time, Jimmy exited his ‘long partnership’ with Adidas to take up with the company.
The former Australian rules footballer was appointed product development director, developing the latest ranges of boots.
Jimmy first pulled on a pair of XBlades when he was just 13, and said he wanted to make the brand ‘a bit cooler’.
History: Jimmy first pulled on a pair of XBlades when he was just 13, and said he wanted to make the brand ‘a bit cooler’. Pictured wearing a pair of XBlades during a football game in Melbourne in August 2019
‘I believe in it that much I actually put my own money into it,’ he said at the time.
‘This is not an ambassadorship or “get upfront and spruik the brand”, I really believe in XBlades, and they were my first footy boots when I started playing as a junior at Bell Park.’
He added: ‘I know boots, I’ve spent too many hours in footy boots.’
Hands-on: The former Australian rules footballer was appointed product development director, developing the latest ranges of boots