Live the Lion
The Story Behind the Roar
Live the Lion
The story behind the roar, from an idea sparked at an auctioneering competition to a character created for the auction community.
Born from auctioneering. Built by the team. Made for the community.
Live the Lion wasn't created in a marketing meeting. His story started where Auctions Live has always felt most at home: in the auctioneering community.
What began as an idea at an auctioneering competition grew into a company-wide project that brought together leadership, marketing, creative thinking and the wider Auctions Live team.
The result was more than a mascot. It was Live the Lion, a character created to represent the energy, confidence, performance and community that surrounds the world of auctioneering.
More than a mascot.
A character with a story, a purpose and a place in the auction community.
Where the idea began
The story of Live the Lion began when Maurie Mazzeo and Riccardo Mennon attended the REINZ Auctioneering Competition in New Zealand.
Surrounded by auctioneers, competitors, supporters and some of the industry's most passionate people, Maurie began thinking about how Auctions Live could become even more involved in the culture surrounding auctioneering competitions.
Auctions Live already provided the technology behind auctions. But there was an opportunity to create something different: something people could recognise, engage with and associate with the brand beyond the technology itself.
The initial vision: create a character that could become part of auctioneering competitions, industry events and the wider Auctions Live community.
That was the spark that would eventually become Live the Lion.
Giving the idea a personality
Over the following months, the concept began to develop. On 30 July 2025, Elesha Nounnis presented a series of ideas exploring what an Auctions Live mascot could represent.
Among those concepts was the character that would ultimately resonate with the team: Live the Lion.
The idea wasn't simply to create a cartoon lion. Live was imagined as having the personality of an auctioneer.
More than an auctioneer. A presence. A persona. A performance.
Half auctioneer. Half showman. All roar.
Live the Lion. Auction Loud. Sell Strong.
Finding Live the Lion
Maurie Mazzeo and Anthony Nounnis took the initial concepts to the wider Auctions Live team.
Rather than leadership simply choosing a mascot and handing it to marketing, the process became a collaborative exercise.
The team considered the different ideas, personalities and directions and discussed which concept best represented Auctions Live, its values and its relationship with the auction industry.
The concept everyone kept coming back to was the lion.
And so Live the Lion was born.
The character was not imposed on the business. He emerged through a shared decision about what best represented the company and the auction community around it.
Watching Live begin to take shape
Once the lion concept had been chosen, the character started moving from artwork into the physical world. This is where the story becomes much more tactile: shape, materials, colours and the first manufacturing decisions all began to turn the idea into something real.
The material selection process
Before the final mascot was produced, the team reviewed the physical details that would define how Live looked and felt in the real world. Fabric texture, colour, softness and the way the purple mane translated from artwork into material all formed part of the selection process.
Together, the material and colour samples show the level of refinement that took place between the original concept and the finished character.
A company-wide project
With the lion selected, attention shifted from choosing the character to refining his identity. The team worked through his appearance, colours, proportions, expression and the way his auction-inspired personality should translate visually.
Live ultimately developed into a friendly lion character with his distinctive purple mane, warm expression and approachable personality, combining the strength traditionally associated with a lion with the friendliness and excitement the company wanted its mascot to represent.
From concept to something you could hold
Once the character had been developed, Auctions Live took the next step: Live the Lion was professionally produced as a physical mascot.
The progression from final artwork to material testing and the finished mascot shows how the character moved from a digital concept into a physical product.
From mascot to member of the auction community
The idea that began at an auctioneering competition could now return to those competitions in physical form. Live could be given to auctioneers, competition participants, clients and members of the wider auction community.
He could sit in an auction office, travel with an auctioneer, appear at events, celebrate achievements and become part of the moments that make the auction industry unique.
Scroll through the roar
Live the Lion continues to appear at auctioneering competitions, client events, office visits and industry celebrations. The gallery below captures some of those moments across the auction community.
Live the Lion out in the community
A growing collection of competitions, auctioneers, clients and community moments.
What does Live the Lion stand for?
At his heart, Live represents many of the qualities Auctions Live sees in the auction community itself.
Confidence
Auctioneers need the confidence to stand in front of a crowd and take control of a moment. Live represents that confidence.
Energy
Great auctions have energy. Live represents the excitement, movement and momentum that make auction day different.
Performance
An auctioneer doesn't simply read numbers. They communicate, entertain, negotiate, react and perform. Live celebrates the craft.
Success
The lion has traditionally symbolised leadership and strength. For Live, that strength is connected to achievement and great results.
Approachability
Despite the roar, Live isn't intimidating. His friendly character reflects a professional but approachable Auctions Live experience.
Community
Most importantly, Live was created to help Auctions Live become even more involved in the auctioneering community. That connection will always be part of who he is.
Every appearance becomes another chapter.
Live the Lion now has an origin, a personality, a purpose and a growing history. But he was never intended to simply sit on a shelf.
He was created to be part of the auction community.
From an idea sparked at an auctioneering competition in April 2025, a new member of the Auctions Live family began his journey.
Live the Lion.
Born from auctioneering.
Built by the team.
Made for the auction community.
And the roar is only getting louder.
Posted 22nd August, 2026