Growing up in Coventry not long ago, Asher Opoku-Fordjour watched videos of Kobe Bryant on the eve of every rugby match; idolizing the American basketball superstar who practiced shooting in the Palisades High School gym until the sun came up.
“I would go to bed and watch videos of him on YouTube,” the 20-year-old, known as “Ash Beast”, explains to his Sale team-mates. 'I watched clips of him talking about what he called the Mamba Mentality. The way he was just locked up. Everything in his life was based on being the best and how to be the best. He taught me that if you really want to be the best, you have to be locked in.
'The night before a game I would watch videos of Kobe Bryant, then I would watch videos of Ellis Genge and then I would watch videos of rugby's biggest hits. Things to get a feel for the game and give me something to replicate. At night I was in my bed thinking, “Yeah, I'm going to try to do this.”
He laughs. 'Normally I didn't. But I tried.
Nowadays, the young prop no longer needs to watch videos of Ellis Genge the night before a game. They are now teammates on the England pitch and Opoku-Fordjour is quickly racking up enough moments for his own YouTube highlight video.
One of rugby's laid-back characters, he reclines in a leather armchair at the Sale training ground and offers a potted family story.
Asher Opoku-Fordjour idolized Kobe Bryant when he was young and watched clips of him before games.
The young prop is known as Ash Beast to his teammates at Sale Sharks, where he has flourished.
However, he no longer needs to watch Ellis Genge videos after joining him in England.
“My mom and dad are from Ghana,” he says. 'They moved here and lived in Croydon for a while, before moving to Coventry. I've only been to Ghana once, when I was 15, and it was a sickening experience. The food; jollof rice, fufu, banku.
'The people are very kind but you can see their struggle. That difference between rich and poor. I'd like to go live there for a year to really understand where you're coming from.
'The genetics there, they have the constitution to be rugby players. It's just a matter of learning the skills and the rules. Ghanaians are not that tall but they are quite burly.
One of his three brothers, David, plays as a full-back for Coventry in the Championship. “I used to be faster than him, but I've slowed down a little bit,” he says. 'It's fast. It's very fast. “I would probably follow him for the first 20 meters, but then he would be gone.”
Leaving his brothers behind, Opoku-Fordjour moved north to Manchester after Wasps went bankrupt. He lives in the academy house in Sale and, locked in the Mamba Mentality, is quickly becoming a household name.
'We didn't work much on the speed itself, but I still feel like I can move. We have GPS trackers and my top speed is 9.2 meters per second (20.6 mph).'
To put it in context, Jonny May, the devastatingly fast English winger, recorded a top speed of 10.49 mps (23.5 mph). Good enough for an accessory? “Some might say, some might say,” he replies with a knowing smile.
With a bench press record of 155kg, Opoku-Fordjour focuses more on scrum than sprint times. He is capable of propping up both sides of the scrum, but his main goal is to establish himself as a tighthead.
With his rise to the top of the game underway, the 20-year-old is becoming a household name.
Despite focusing more on the scrum than the sprint, Opoku-Fordjour is still fast
England have few options in the number 3 shirt and Steve Borthwick has tipped him as a long-term option. He is slowly bulking up with age, transitioning to senior rugby after winning the Under 20 World Cup last year alongside stars such as Henry Pollock and Junior Kpoku.
'Last season I played at 108 (17th) or 109 kg (17th 1 pound). Before the games I'm hitting 113 (17st 11 pounds). I want to get to 115 (18.2 pounds) by the end of the season, but I don't want to just carry a lot of weight and then not be able to move.
'Slowly but surely. The day before a game we load up on carbohydrates. I try to gain 2kg (4.5lbs) by the end of the week. It's a bit like boxers. Eating pasta, rice or whatever you have.
'Doing scrum is a matter of pride. It's a test of men. They are eight against eight but individually it is a matter of pride. In my head I think, “I'm not going to back down here. “I don’t want to go back and I’m not going to go back.” You have to support yourself and I have also learned that you have to prepare.
“I was having a good run and then something happened against Northampton Saints. Tarek Haffar, he's my age, but I couldn't do anything against him in the scrum.
'You need those games to look back and learn. That week I didn't prepare like I normally do. Maybe I was getting comfortable. You can't get comfortable because then you'll get caught. It's like that Mamba mentality. You can't relax in what you're doing.
He lists Springbok flying winger Cheslin Kolbe (5ft 7ins and just under 12kg, for the record) as one of his rugby idols, but it seems closer to home for his scrum gurus. “Nick Schonert and Si McIntyre have helped me a lot.” Without a driving license in your name, help sometimes extends to transportation home after training.
Opoku-Fordjour signed a new three-year deal at Sale this week and will mark his first appearance on a senior contract with a start in Sunday's Champions Cup tie against three-time European kings Toulon.
Earlier this week, Opoku-Fordjour was named in Steve Borthwick's 2025 Six Nations squad.
The youngster admits before the matches that he hopes to gain around 2kg by the end of the week.
Opoku-Fordjour signed a new three-year contract with Sale, having made his England debut in November.
“Now this club feels like home,” he says. “I want to win something here.” They've given me opportunities to play at this age and they trusted me, so I hope I can help them win something.
'I want to do everything in the game. Who doesn't want to do it all? I want to play for the Lions, I want to win as many caps as possible, I want to win a Premiership with Sale. I want to do it all.'
On Tuesday, he was named in England's squad for the Six Nations. He made his Test debut against Japan in November, recalling the moment of panic when he boarded the team bus to head to Twickenham. There he was, alongside Genge and his rugby idols, when he suddenly realized that something wasn't right.
“I listen to Dave a lot,” he explains, pausing to consider our age difference. 'You don't know who Dave is, do you?
'He's a rapper from the UK and I listen to him on the bus before a game. Then I'll listen to some softer tunes, like Adele, and then I'll listen to gospel music to really calm me down.'
The problem was, when I needed him most, Dave had gone AWOL. “We were getting on the bus and I realized I had forgotten my headphones,” he says. 'I had left them in the room but I didn't want to run back and be late. It would have completely baffled me.
'I just had to go without them, but looking back I was lucky. You get off the bus at Twickenham to go in and there are so many people. That sound, you need to hear it. It was a surreal day. It seemed as if everything was moving in slow motion. Just wow. I felt like I wasn't really there. I loved it.”
I have no regrets, he introduced himself, the new English mainstay who loves gospel and has quick steps. Cap number 1,464, locked in the Mamba Mentality.