A hallmark of Williams’s career was speed, a quality he has transferred Fab Four, the new coffee company founded with three other giants of the Welsh game: Lee Byrne, James Hook and Phillips.
As Williams explains: “When you’re playing rugby, you get all these ideas but nothing ever comes to fruition, and before you know it you’re ten years down the road, all grey and old!
“About three months ago James and I were doing a rugby gig together and we were saying how we never see each other any more. ‘We should do that idea we had about coffee’. We started organising it then, and in a short space of time we’ve managed to get a lot done.”
Indeed they have, with their various coffee brands – tailored to each of the Ospreys, Wales and Lions stars’ personalities – and accompanying merchandise already flying off the (virtual) shelves. “It’s been a lot of Zoom calls, emails and disagreements too, as you can imagine,” he says. “We’ve all got our different personalities and traits, and with that comes different ideas we’ve brought to the table.”
Far from merely lending his name to the product, Williams’s role is very much hands-on – befitting a player who loved to come off his wing looking for work. “The last two weeks I’ve been very busy with orders, postage and the Fab Four brand itself.” He admits that it’s been testing. “I’ve got a busy day ahead of me today as it’s the last guaranteed day to get postage before Christmas, so that’s going to be a big push.”
Williams is frequently going back and forth to the Fab Four suppliers, the Welsh Coffee Company, whose roaster works out of a reclaimed barn in the Gower. Which leads Williams to another of the quartet’s aims: “Everything we’re doing is Welsh. That was a big part of what we wanted to do from the outset. From logistics, branding, to the orders themselves, to where the merchandise is being manufactured, and of course we’re working with a Welsh charity in Velindre.
“We’ve honestly been overwhelmed with the support, feedback and orders. It’s just been absolutely amazing. We’ve got a brand that works and it’s something we want to move forward.”
He’s still very much in recovery mode from his November Challenge for Velindre that saw him run a staggering 465 miles last month. Not that he’ll be giving up on the endurance events. If anything, he’ll be ramping it up for 2021. “I’m doing the Iron Man, London Marathon and the Three Canyons next year,” says Williams. “To be able to contribute to Velindre from my house is a little different to what I’m used to, but it all counts.”
For the immediate future, though, it’s all eyes on the Fab Four. After he’s finished his long shift today, Williams, Hook, Phillips and Byrne will all finally get the chance to meet up in person.
“One of the great things about this is that it gives us a reason to meet up again because we’re the best of mates. We’ve got this lovely opportunity to give something back and to get together at the same time.”
