25/11/2025
High School Strength Sports Team
Mā te huruhuru, ka rere te manu.
With feathers, the bird can fly.
It’s been a real privilege supporting these young guns on their journey into strength.
Earlier this year, during a kōrero, me and Lorenzo realised we shared the same dream, getting youth into lifting, and passing on the positive impact strength training had on our own lives.
As it turned out, he was working at Tāmaki, and I was coaching… so we were in the perfect position to make it happen. Lorenzo led this kaupapa with support from Mike Manu, creating the space, and driving the vision, and I was fortunate to support through coaching and programming.
When I was a teenager, I had a lot of energy to burn, a bit mischievous, headstrong, and at times it felt like “me against the world.”
Strength sports gave me strong male role models, and as the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.
Through my father’s guidance, and the many tūakana, matua, and kaumātua I met through strength sports, I was able to grow into the man I am today and avoid a bad path.
Lifting helped me build confidence, belief in myself, and a sense of worth. The tools I learned carried into every part of my life - study, fatherhood, being a husband, coaching, everything.
So it’s always been a passion of mine to pay it forward and support the next generation, just like others supported me.
This year, we finally got to do that in a formal setting, and I’m incredibly proud of what these young guns achieved.
I’ve watched them grow in confidence, value themselves more, back their own abilities, and express their creative minds.
It’s been truly rewarding to see, and I hope they continue to develop and thrive. I’ll support where I can, for as long as I can.
In 2026, best believe me and Lorenzo will be looking for more ways to back our young guns, our teenage youth, helping them harness their energy and put it into strength.
