Australian PR guru found dead

Australian entertainment and PR guru Jai Evans has been found dead in his Sydney apartment, aged just 43.

A well known Australian PR expert and socialite Jai Evans, 43, has been found dead.

Evans died on Sunday but his body was not discovered until Wednesday.

The 43-year-old’s cause of death has not yet been determined.

Police attended and there were “no apparent suspicious circumstances”.

“Officers from Kings Cross Police Area Command will prepare a report for the information of the Coroner regarding the death of a 43-year-old man at a unit in Darlinghurst on 4 September 2024,” a police spokesperson told 7News.

“Police will not be making any further comment about the matter.”

In a post to Facebook, Bondi fitness entrepreneur Dan Wootton paid tribute to his “beautiful friend” alongside a picture of Evans.

PR guru Jai Evans posing with Australia’s Next top Model contestant Simone Holtznagel. Picture: Supplied

“RIP Jai Evans,” he wrote.

“Another beautiful friend taken much too soon before his time. Your vibrant energy & eagerness to help was second to none.

“Rest easy Jai, love you mate.”

The renowned publicist founded his own business in 2005 at the age of 24, Evans Media.

During his career he worked with global brands such as Vogue, Ferrari, Gucci, as well as media companies such as the ABC, Channel 10 and Sky News.

Back in the 1990s, Jai had a brief acting career and appeared in Home and Away in 1997.

He also rubbed shoulders with the likes of Lara (Bingle) Worthington, Mark Moon, Lucia Labbate and Anastasia Fai Kogan, wife of Kogan.com founder, Ruslan Kogan.

Fellow PR guru Roxy Jacenko revealed that she had only been in touch with Evans a couple of months before his death, and said the Sydney personality was “a rare find” in the industry.

“Terribly sad to hear of the passing of Jai,” Jacenko told Sydney Confidential.

Lisa Stockbridge and Jai Evans at the Daffodil Day Luncheon at Glass Restaurant, Sydney. Picture: Supplied.

“He was like me, one of a new wave of PR’s when I started in the industry 20 years ago.”

“He always had the best looking bevy of girls to bring to events and a real networker. Always up to try something different. A rare find.”

Included in the many business testimonials on his website are Special Forces commando Heston Russell and former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

“I commend the team for your incredible level of dedication to improving brain cancer survival rates through research, you have done a wonderful job in bringing hope to many Australians,” Mr Turnbull wrote on behalf of Brain Cancer Group.

Originally published as Australian PR guru found dead