From AFL to Blak Excellence: Marlon Motlop to Headline Blak Business Awards

In just four weeks, the Darwin Convention Centre will play host to the Blak Business Awards 2025, a night dedicated to celebrating Indigenous excellence in business and honouring the achievements of Blak entrepreneurs and leaders.

The event will feature an evening of recognition, performance and culture. Highlights include a runway show directed by Cassie Blak featuring Aboriginal designers, a set from Miss Tina (Ben Graetz), and DJ Spinaf-X spinning vinyl.

But one of the night’s biggest drawcards will be former AFL player turned IPS Aboriginal Engagement Consultant Marlon Motlop, who will take the stage with his band.

For Marlon, his appearance at the awards is about much more than music.

“It’s a night to recognise the advancement and courage of First Nations entrepreneurship,” he said.

“It’s not an easy task to either create business, or support business in the Australian climate for First Nations people.”

“There are several barriers we face just to get to the start line.”

Marlon knows firsthand the power of First Nations enterprise. A business owner himself, he said the awards are unique because they are created by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“The Blak Business Awards is a showcase of the hard work and persistence to show we belong in this space, and it demonstrates the appetite for self-determination and economic empowerment,” said Marlon.

“It’s a nice opportunity to celebrate and recognise First Nations businesses and our peers in a space that is designed and created by Blak people, for people. That’s powerful.”
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While his consultancy role at IPS is focused on supporting First Nations communities and businesses, Marlon also uses his music as a form of truth-telling.

“A party, a vibe, but also truth-telling and getting straight to the point,” he promised of his performance.
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That pursuit of truth has roots in his AFL career, where he said he saw the way people could be spoken to, judged and treated.

“I wanted to make sure that any space I was in was safe for all people, especially Aboriginal people and that they felt supported, empowered and safe,” he said.

Leaving football wasn’t easy. Marlon recalled a low point in 2022 when he pulled his car over, questioning if it was worth chasing a career in music and community work.

“The great Uncle Archie Roach once told me that it’s not always about you,” he said.

“There’s so much that people can take from your music and story, and in a way it’s selfish to keep that from the world.”

At IPS, he now acts as a conduit between First Nations businesses, communities and opportunity.

“I support First Nations people in business and community by being as authentic and genuine as I can when I work and collaborate with them and their country.”

“I play an important role of amplifying the power they hold through their country, and their aspirations to activate their country through economic opportunity.”

The common thread through every stage of his career in the AFL, music and consulting has been empowerment.

“Everything I’ve ever done is centred around the advancement and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, values and people.”

And his message to young people is simple: “If you can become the best listener in the room, learn to work really hard, and apply yourself to whatever dream you have, the roadmap to it will make itself known at some stage.”
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Marlon’s performance at the Blak Business Awards will be another act of truth-telling, from a man whose life’s work is helping his mob thrive.

The Blak Business Awards 2025 will be held at the Darwin Convention Centre on Wednesday, 2 October 2025.

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