Soldier launches brand amid charges

Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, has launched a brand named EPIC 1 TWO with an Instagram video of him on the Gold Coast beach and working out, captioned with the hashtag neveroutofthefight.

Charged with five murders in Afghanistan

Roberts-Smith was arrested in April and charged with murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between two thousand nine and two thousand twelve.

Why he launched the brand

Roberts-Smith told news.com.au he needs to make money for his family and that media pressure prevents organisations from supporting him. He said the brand is about the underdog and never losing hope.

“It's about the underdog, it's about people just knowing that no matter how hard it is for them, no matter what struggle that they face, they are going to get through it.”

The name's meaning

EPIC 1 TWO was named after Roberts-Smith's radio call sign on the mission for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. In a statement, he said the brand represented something very personal to him.

“It is about accepting your personal situations but never losing hope.”

First two charges: Kakarak killings

Charges one and two relate to two alleged murders at Kakarak village on twelve April two thousand nine.

Allegations in the Kakarak incident

It is alleged Ahmadullah, who wore a prosthetic leg, was carried outside the compound walls and shot multiple times by Roberts-Smith with a belt-fed machine gun, witnessed by several Australian soldiers.

Remaining charges: two more incidents

The third charge relates to eleven September two thousand twelve, when Roberts-Smith allegedly ordered a soldier to kill a farmer named Ali Jan.