‘Built for the underdog’: Ben Roberts-Smith starts supplements brand amid criminal charges

Ben Roberts-Smith’s partner has posted a gushing video to social media a day after the former war hero announced his new business venture.

Mr Roberts-Smith and Sarah Matulin on Sunday launched a workout supplements business that they hope will be a source of income after the Victoria Cross recipient was charged with five counts of war crime murder.

Promotional videos show Mr Roberts-Smith wearing a shirt with a picture of him being arrested by federal police at Sydney Airport earlier this year.

The 47-year-old’s partner on Monday night posted a video with dozens of photos and clips of Mr Roberts-Smith and discussed their entrepreneurial motivations.

Ms Matulin said the pair wanted to build a business for financial stability.

“Working for someone else was never going to be sustainable. Any employer risked media pressure simply for giving you a job. So we had to build something of our own,” she posted

“But then came the *what ifs* What if the media backlash was too much? What if we gave it everything, only to fail?

“And the biggest WHAT IF … what if this witch hunt ended in the unthinkable?”

The former SAS member faces five counts of war crime murder related to alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He has yet to enter pleas to any of the charges.

He has long maintained his innocence in relation to the allegations, which were the subject of an unsuccessful Federal Court defamation suit against Nine Newspapers.

Any potential criminal trial could take years. The matter is next scheduled to be called in court in December, and three days of non-publication and suppression order hearings are pencilled in for August 2027.

Mr Roberts-Smith and Ms Matulin considered trying to generate an income for themselves overseas, she said in the post.

“We waited. Sought legal advice. Explored opportunities overseas beyond the Australian media’s reach,” Ms Matulin said.

“I don’t know how I’ll handle the media onslaught or the nasty comments. But I know we have each other. And I’ll be damned if we spend another two, five or 10 years wondering *what if* while the court process takes its course.”