The death of Liverpool's notorious urban legend known as Purple Aki has sparked a controversial new business venture, with an international sex doll company capitalising on his infamy by launching merchandise featuring his likeness.
From Urban Legend to Unlikely Merchandise
Inferno, a company specialising in life-like romance dolls, has added two Purple Aki products to their catalogue following numerous customer requests. The items include a 'Purple Akidas Predator football' priced at £19 and a 'Purple W-Aki head' costing £1,515, designed for customers to 'use and abuse'.
The company founder Ben Stroud described Purple Aki as 'Liverpool's bogeyman' and explained that the products were developed in response to overwhelming demand after Akinwale Arobieke's death in August 2025. The 64-year-old was found unresponsive in his Liverpool home, triggering an outpouring of stories on social media about encounters with the controversial figure.
The Complex Legacy of Akinwale Arobieke
Arobieke's history in Merseyside dates back decades, with his first major legal trouble occurring in 1986 when he received a 30-month prison sentence for the involuntary manslaughter of 16-year-old Gary Kelly. Though he successfully appealed and was awarded £35,000, his reputation as an urban myth was firmly established throughout the 1990s.
His pattern of approaching young men and asking to touch their muscles led to multiple convictions, including a six-year prison sentence in 2003 for 15 charges of harassment and witness intimidation. The courts imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) banning him from touching men's muscles, visiting gyms, or asking people to do squats in public.
Despite legal restrictions, Arobieke continued to face allegations and convictions, including a 15-month sentence in 2006 for breaching his SOPO and a two-and-a-half-year sentence in 2010 for touching a 16-year-old boy's muscles. He consistently claimed he had been set up in these cases.
Controversial Products Enter Consumer Market
Inferno believes their Purple Aki products could become must-have Christmas presents for Merseyside residents. The football features patchwork pictures of Purple Aki's face and pays homage to the iconic Adidas Predator football boot from the early 1990s. Remarkably, the ball meets official regulation size standards, meaning it could technically be used in professional matches.
Stroud noted that customer demand wasn't driven by sexual interests but rather by revenge fantasies. 'Some people wanted a likeness of him to give a good kick-in or to attack,' he explained. 'But lots more wanted a Purple W-Aki to send to friends as a joke, or to use him in mischievous ways.'
The company plans to release instructions on how to use part of the football as a Christmas tree decoration through their social media accounts closer to the festive season. This move has raised ethical questions about profiting from the likeness of a recently deceased controversial figure.
Arobieke's later years saw some legal victories, including having his SOPO lifted in 2016 after an appeal and receiving a substantial payout in 2022 after suing the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police for malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office.
