As brands increasingly explore partnerships that connect with culture and community, Hahn’s latest project reflects a strategic shift into sports storytelling. In collaboration with ESPN, the Aussie beer brand has helped bring to life Lane Violation, a raw and riveting basketball documentary that sees one Australian NBA legend tell the story of another.
Premiering exclusively on ESPN on June 11 at 8pm, Lane Violation is not just a sports documentary. It’s a candid, culturally charged story about legacy, rivalry, and reconciliation.
Lane Violation marks the first time Luc Longley, the trailblazing Chicago Bulls centre and the first Australian to win an NBA Championship, tells the story of Andrew Bogut, Australia’s only No.1 NBA Draft pick, in his own words.
“It didn’t start off great”
For every bit of excitement and every superstar name this story brings with it, what really makes this documentary sing is how it began: with friction.
B&T was delighted to sit down with Bogut and Longley ahead of the documentary’s premiere yesterday to unpack the origins of that friction and how it has shaped their relationship and connection to the game today.
Luc Longley & Andrew Bogut
“It didn’t start off great,” Bogut told B&T. “Luc and I didn’t know each other at all back then. He was in the NBA, and I was just a young kid coming through the ranks. There was all this talk… is Bogut just another big white stiff? Is he slow? That kind of thing. My agent told me, ‘They’re going to try and compare you to every big, slow white guy. You’ve got to push back hard’.
“So with that in my head, a journalist from Australia asked me about Luc Longley, and I went way too hard. Way too harsh. I didn’t understand how the media worked, and suddenly, it was front-page news. It became this whole thing, not just about me taking a swipe at Luc, who’s a basketball legend, but it also shifted focus from what that moment should have been about”.
For Longley, it wasn’t the comparison that stung; it was the delivery.
“At the time, yeah, I was annoyed. I think I was more annoyed about being called a big white stiff than about him saying he’s better than me, because I already knew he was going to be better than me”.
“Those comments actually led us to this project, and it’s ended up being something really fun. We’ve gotten to know each other properly, and in a weird way, it’s all come full circle.
“Even in the doco, Steve Kerr says Bogues is better than me, so I’ve made peace with it… unless we’re counting rings,” Longley joked.
“A cultural moment that’s bigger than sport”
Lane Violation captures more than just stats and highlights. Produced by sports marketing agency Total Sports & Entertainment (TSE) and shot across intimate, meaningful locations, from Longley’s farm to Bogut’s old primary school, the film humanises two towering figures of Australian basketball. It’s less about competition, more about connection.
According to Hahn, the project aligns with its long-held mission to champion social athletes and celebrate the culture that surrounds Australian sport. The brand’s involvement in Lane Violation represents a savvy shift, from surface-level sponsorship to deep, story-driven integration.
Luc Longley & Andrew Bogut
“Over recent years, Hahn has cemented itself as the beer of choice for social athletes and lovers of sport in Australia. This is why we are incredibly proud to have our brand present this documentary for basketball fans. It’s a privilege to have Hahn hold a role in boosting basketball’s presence in Australia,” said Karen Sterling-Levis, brand director at Lion Australia.
“Hahn has a longstanding track record for celebrating Aussie sporting talent, and in equal measure, championing Australia’s everyday social athletes. In partnership with ESPN, this documentary will help bring Aussie basketball-lovers closer to the icons that have shaped the sport as we know it today.
“With Lane Violation, we didn’t want to merely present the story; we wanted to help tell it. Partnering deeply with icons like Luc Longley allowed us to embed ourselves meaningfully in a cultural moment that’s bigger than sport. This was never about visibility, it was about credibility”.
“Lane Violation helps redefine branded content by putting story first and brand second. It’s a beer brand investing not in product placement, but in legacy, identity, and conversation”.
For Longley, authenticity was key to making the partnership work.
“It just has to be real. And this documentary is,” he said. “If it were wall-to-wall branding, it wouldn’t feel right. But Hahn backed us, then let us do our thing.”
The brand didn’t push product shots or scripted slogans. Instead, it helped fund and facilitate the project, then stepped back. That light touch allowed the story to shine, and aligned with Hahn’s recent repositioning as the beer for ‘social athletes,’ those who see sport not just as competition, but community.
“Hahn has collaborated with us in terms of funding it, helping us produce it and helping us find partners for it. But in terms of the beer’s relevance in the documentary, there isn’t a direct relevance, except that they’re supporting, they’re helping support great basketball stories and how those stories often get told when you sit around having a beer. And Hahn has a lot of products that are low carb and low alcohol,” Longley explained.
“Don’t demand integration”
The documentary is also part of a broader strategic shift. As Paul Kind, founder of TSE, explained, the vision is for Lane Violation to be the first of many athlete-led stories that tap into the real fabric of Australian sport.
Luc Longley & Andrew Bogut
“Luc supported some social basketball events that that were done by Hahn that TSE staged and and in reviewing how we connected with social basketballers, which is their [Hahn’s] desire, they want to talk to the social basketball community, with TSE’s recommendation that they allow Luc to story tell and to discover great Australian basketball stories,” he said.
The strategic shift stemmed from a market gap that TSE identified. Both the NBA and the NBL are heavily covered, but the social stories in and around basketball were identified as an opportunity.
From there, TSE placed an emphasis on Hahn to build credibility with the broader basketball community through storytelling and to steer clear of traditional marketing that involves being in consumers’ faces.
“When it comes to the storytelling part, associate yourself with it. Don’t demand that you’re in it. Don’t demand integration. Don’t demand a really strong brand play within the content itself. Leverage the content in your social channels,” said Kind.
“A humble giant who broke new ground in the NBA”
The partnership between TSE and Hahn is only just getting started, with Luc launching ‘Home Court Heroes’ tonight as part of the airing of the documentary.
Luc Longley & Andrew Bogut
‘Home Court Heroes’ is about seeking and telling basketball stories from courts all over Australia. Whether this is an emotionally focused story or performance-based, Longley will be bringing captivating stories to the Basketball community.
“Luc will continue to play a central role in Hahn’s storytelling, whether through mentorship-style content, community engagement, or further collaborations that spotlight unsung stories in Australian sport. We see him not as a spokesperson, but as a co-creator, helping shape what sport means in Australia, and ensuring Hahn is part of that future,” said Sterling-Levis.
“Our social athletes celebrate not just professional sporting achievement but the spirit of casual, communal play, the post-game banter, the mates cheering each other on. Luc Longley embodies that spirit; a humble giant who broke new ground in the NBA but always stayed grounded, approachable, and community-minded,” she said.
“Luc Longley was a natural fit from day one. He’s a pioneer, not just the first Aussie NBA champion, but a thoughtful, humble voice who has always put the team above himself”.
“Basketball’s booming”
Featuring appearances from Steve Kerr, Brian Goorjian, and Bogut’s long-time manager David Bauman, the film is also a timely reflection on basketball’s rising cultural cachet in Australia.
“Basketball’s booming,” Longley told B&T. “And the appetite for these granular, human stories is bigger than ever.”
With Hahn stepping into the cultural lane of sport, not just the sidelines, Lane Violation proves how powerful a branded partnership can be when it starts with a story first.
Lane Violation premieres tonight on ESPN, Kayo, and Disney+.
Joint reporting from Oliver Cerovic & Aimee Edwards.