Rohan Marley is opening up about his multimillion-dollar business empire that wouldn’t have happened if his older brother, Ziggy, hadn’t given him an “ultimatum.”
The entrepreneur and former soccer player recently appeared on “Drink Champs,” explaining how he and his siblings keep their father’s legacy alive. As one of the late Bob Marley’s 11 children, Rohan is one of the few Marley brothers who carved his path on the business side rather than in the music industry.
The Jamaican native initially had his sights on playing professional football for Jamaica after playing for the Canadian Football League team, the Ottawa Rough Riders, in the mid-90s. But following an injury, a real-life talk with his brother Ziggy helped to put things into perspective.
“This is when I got into business. My brother Ziggy asked me a question one day. He says, ‘Lemme ask you something. What do you wanna do? Business or football?’” Rohan recalled. “Because I thought that after I rehabilitated myself, I was gonna move to LA and try out for LA Galaxy.”
Just 31 at the time, Rohan had already gotten started on his Tuff Gong Clothing line that he launched with an $8,000 investment. Ziggy used this to motivate his younger brother to explore a career in business rather than sports.
“I was designing Tuff Gong Clothing at the time. So he said, ‘Business or football?’ I gotta make a choice. So in my mind, I think ‘I’m like 31 years old,’” Rohan explained.
“So I had to make a decision. But what made me think even faster was, I’m f-cking too old…They’re gonna bench me. I’m gonna be frustrated… I can’t go through that again.”
He continued. “So I had to choose business, and that’s when I became an entrepreneur. It was when I had
that ultimatum right there from my brother Ziggy. And that’s from like Tuff Gong Clothing, Marley Coffee, RoMarley Beach House. I got my own cannabis company now, Lion Order out of Michigan, Detroit. So I’m doing a lot of things.”Since then, Rohan has amassed a net worth of $20 million through his various business ventures, which include his clothing company, coffee company, cannabis line, and his beachside hotel in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, RoMarley Beach House.
In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Rohan helps carry on his father’s legacy
by running the Marley family’s charitable organization, 1Love.“We all made from Love and you have to make love to produce,” he said of his family’s Rastafarian beliefs, which advocate for peace, unity, and a connection to the Earth.