'What George Foreman did with grills': Why rugby legend Martin Offiah is getting into bed - literally - with Yorkshire firm

Martin Offiah is best known for a remarkable rugby career which harvested an astonishing 501 tries and established him as one of the greatest league players of all time.

The former Widnes, Wigan and Great Britain winger is immortalised in a bronze statue outside Wembley Stadium and arguably remains higher profile than any current Super League player.

Now, though, London-born Offiah is aiming to create another legacy in the world of business after getting into bed, quite literally, with Heckmondwike-based La Romantica Beds.

Three years ago, the bed manufacturer asked him to become an ambassador and then developed a mattress in his name which promotes the importance of sleep and is selling like hot cakes.

The Offiah Activ mattress range is now used by a number of Super League stars at Bradford Bulls and Offiah’s beloved Wigan Warriors – and all his family too, including sons Tyler and Phoenix.

Tyler is a 20-year-old winger for rugby union giants Bath and 16-year-old Phoenix a promising young striker in Tottenham Hotspur’s Under-18 side.

Leeds-born Ikram Butt, a former Featherstone Rovers and Huddersfield Giants player, introduced Offiah to Siddique Amin, La Romantica Beds’ managing director.

Offiah, 60, tells The Yorkshire Post that they hit it off and soon began working together.

“I needed a new mattress and saw Ikram posting about La Romantica Beds on LinkedIn.

“Ikram introduced me to Sid, who it turns out is a big rugby league supporter and was a huge fan of mine from my playing days.

“I thought ‘well, he’s going to look after me’ and I ordered a mattress from Sid and Ikram, personally delivered it all the way down to my home in London in a van.

“I then ended up doing some social media promotions for La Romantica Beds which gained plenty of traction and I ended coming on board as an ambassador.

“I gave him a picture of me as a gift and said ‘you can put that up next to your picture of Ellery Hanley’ so we became friends.

Amin is a sleep expert who worked in the bed and mattress manufacturing industry for several years before joining La Romantica in 2008.

Previously, he ran a bed showroom for three years, and also worked in raw material wholesale, supplying to the bed manufacturing industry for a number of years.

Amin and his colleagues have used their expertise to create a Sensory range and the Activ range which includes the Offiah mattresses, designed with active lifestyles in mind.

Its innovative new age carbon fibre yarn dissipates the static we build up during our daily lives, promoting deeper and more restorative sleep and greatly enhancing those marginal gains sports people look for.

Offiah says he strongly believes in the product.

“Sid went to a bed expo and had the idea of developing a new mattress and calling it the Activ Offiah, which isn’t just for sportspeople but anyone who has an active lifestyle.

“This is our third year and the mattress is starting to be stocked in more and more shops across the country.

“We’re getting the message out there about the importance of sleep.

“You spend so much money on your car or your television but your bed is where you spend more time than anywhere else.

“Unfortunately, we don’t give it enough thought.

"One of the most important things in life, apart from food and water, is sleep – especially with sportsmen.

“We talk about nutrition, training, rehabilitation and recovery with ice baths.

“But sleep is as important as anything and all the Wigan squad who need a new mattress tend to choose the Offiah Activ mattress from their local stockist.

"A lot of Bradford Bulls players sleep on it too.”

Offiah hopes the mattress will continue to grow in popularity and says he would like to follow in the footsteps of boxing icon George Foreman in creating a legacy beyond his sporting achievements.

The Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, also commonly referred to as simply the George Foreman grill, was promoted by the two-time world heavyweight boxing champion.

Since its introduction in 1994, over 100 million George Foreman grills have been sold worldwide.

Offiah, who receives royalties on every mattress sold, is hoping for similar long-term success with the Offiah Activ mattress.

He adds: “I have my statue outside Wembley Stadium through what I achieved in rugby league but I’m now building the Offiah brand beyond the sporting pitch.

“I’m also involved with Connected Kerb, an electrical vehicle charging company, and becoming involved with La Romantica Beds has been another fantastic opportunity for me.

“I’ve made some bad business decisions in the past, but you don’t give up – you keep going and this is my latest venture.

“My parents came to England from Nigeria in the 1950s and all their hard work helped to provide opportunities for me to succeed in life.

“My late father wrote a book called Understanding Your Emotions which I had republished.

“I turned 60 last year and had a big party to celebrate with loads of former team-mates and friends including Shaun Edwards, Andy Farrell and Mick Hucknall.

“It was a very special occasion and made me reflect on my life, but you can never stand still.

“Professional sport was my life for so long and now I’m watching my sons and supporting them in their respective careers while developing the Offiah brand through my business interests too. I enjoy it.”