About Me – "a Snapshot"
![Picture](/uploads/7/8/6/9/7869304/1473925234.png)
Ko Mauao te Maunga
Ko Tauranga to Maoana
Ko Ngati Ranginui te iwi
Ko Tamatea Pokaiwhenua te Tangata
My journey through life has been a real roller coaster and if I had to sum it up I would have to say “colourful” would be the best word to describe it. I am grateful for all my experiences however uncomfortable they sometimes were at the time.
I was born the third child of a family of six consisting of three boys and three girls. My place of birth was Sydney though for the first 19 years of my life I was raised in New Zealand and my parents are both Kiwis. That-said, though I have dual New Zealand & Australian citizenship, I have always associated myself more with my Maori heritage (Ngati Te Arawa, Tuwharetoa).
We grew up in a lower socio-economic and multi-cultural region of (South) Auckland and while on one hand it was known to be a rough area, there were just as many pluses, especially the closeness, warmth and acceptance that comes with living amongst many cultures.
As a child I was curious and adventurous, keeping my mother on her toes. Again, while I lived with my mother who barely made ends meet, I also had a grandmother who spoiled me – so life wasn’t all that hard.
I was fairly introverted at school though excelled academically. Unfortunately as a teenager I developed various addictions that ended these pursuits and I found my life going around in circles for about three years until I moved to Australia. I loved it – another exciting chapter of my life had unfolded and in between working in hotels and bars, I surfed and enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle that comes with living around Sydney’s well known inner city beach areas.
At the age of twenty four, I decided to pursue my life-long dream and joined the Australian Army. I was trained as an Infantry solider and posted to the 1st Battalion in Townsville, Queensland where I spent the next ten years of my life. For most of my career I enjoyed my military service and the subsequent training. I also was lucky enough to travel to Asia (Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore) and was deployed on operations to East Timor for a six month tour. I transferred from life in a Infantry Battalion after Timor and became a Medical Assistant which is where I spent the last two and half years of my career.
Unknown to me and the other soldiers on our Timor deployment, we were used to trial a new anti-malaria drug with serious adverse side effects. For a long period after Timor, I battled numerous health issues and consequently sought refuge in drugs and alcohol. Amongst all of this I completed a Diploma in Remedial Therapy after which I worked as a Therapist.
In mid 2006 as a result of my addictions, I experienced a very traumatic and life changing event which turned my world upside down.
This event was a major wake-up call for me and I found myself doing a lot of soul searching, after-which I began a process of healing and gradually pulling my life back together. This is also when I started to develop the spiritual aspect of my life. When you can’t find the answers to your problems outside, there’s only one other place to look – within, which is where most of your answers always are.
I cleaned myself up and moved from Townsville to Cairns to start again, pursuing a career in Real Estate. I was reasonably successful, however I felt a pull towards wanting to help others more and this led me to my current position in life, working both as Support Worker and Coach whilst continuing my personal development.
I have had an amazing life and have been right to the bottom (homelessness) - which ironically helped shape my true self and on the flip side, have had just as much fun and enjoyed many successes. Now I hope to help others find their path and guide them through their challenges as I have had many life/soul learning experiences to draw upon. As the Buddhist saying goes, “to truly understand the great mysteries of life, one must first experience them.” This is how I believe I can help others, possibly you – through the understanding gained from experiences of life. Thanks for taking time to read this.
"Challenges Define Your True Character"
Ko Tauranga to Maoana
Ko Ngati Ranginui te iwi
Ko Tamatea Pokaiwhenua te Tangata
My journey through life has been a real roller coaster and if I had to sum it up I would have to say “colourful” would be the best word to describe it. I am grateful for all my experiences however uncomfortable they sometimes were at the time.
I was born the third child of a family of six consisting of three boys and three girls. My place of birth was Sydney though for the first 19 years of my life I was raised in New Zealand and my parents are both Kiwis. That-said, though I have dual New Zealand & Australian citizenship, I have always associated myself more with my Maori heritage (Ngati Te Arawa, Tuwharetoa).
We grew up in a lower socio-economic and multi-cultural region of (South) Auckland and while on one hand it was known to be a rough area, there were just as many pluses, especially the closeness, warmth and acceptance that comes with living amongst many cultures.
As a child I was curious and adventurous, keeping my mother on her toes. Again, while I lived with my mother who barely made ends meet, I also had a grandmother who spoiled me – so life wasn’t all that hard.
I was fairly introverted at school though excelled academically. Unfortunately as a teenager I developed various addictions that ended these pursuits and I found my life going around in circles for about three years until I moved to Australia. I loved it – another exciting chapter of my life had unfolded and in between working in hotels and bars, I surfed and enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle that comes with living around Sydney’s well known inner city beach areas.
At the age of twenty four, I decided to pursue my life-long dream and joined the Australian Army. I was trained as an Infantry solider and posted to the 1st Battalion in Townsville, Queensland where I spent the next ten years of my life. For most of my career I enjoyed my military service and the subsequent training. I also was lucky enough to travel to Asia (Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore) and was deployed on operations to East Timor for a six month tour. I transferred from life in a Infantry Battalion after Timor and became a Medical Assistant which is where I spent the last two and half years of my career.
Unknown to me and the other soldiers on our Timor deployment, we were used to trial a new anti-malaria drug with serious adverse side effects. For a long period after Timor, I battled numerous health issues and consequently sought refuge in drugs and alcohol. Amongst all of this I completed a Diploma in Remedial Therapy after which I worked as a Therapist.
In mid 2006 as a result of my addictions, I experienced a very traumatic and life changing event which turned my world upside down.
This event was a major wake-up call for me and I found myself doing a lot of soul searching, after-which I began a process of healing and gradually pulling my life back together. This is also when I started to develop the spiritual aspect of my life. When you can’t find the answers to your problems outside, there’s only one other place to look – within, which is where most of your answers always are.
I cleaned myself up and moved from Townsville to Cairns to start again, pursuing a career in Real Estate. I was reasonably successful, however I felt a pull towards wanting to help others more and this led me to my current position in life, working both as Support Worker and Coach whilst continuing my personal development.
I have had an amazing life and have been right to the bottom (homelessness) - which ironically helped shape my true self and on the flip side, have had just as much fun and enjoyed many successes. Now I hope to help others find their path and guide them through their challenges as I have had many life/soul learning experiences to draw upon. As the Buddhist saying goes, “to truly understand the great mysteries of life, one must first experience them.” This is how I believe I can help others, possibly you – through the understanding gained from experiences of life. Thanks for taking time to read this.
"Challenges Define Your True Character"