Nick | Ōtara, Auckland

“Bit of both, Māngere and Ōtara. They’re both similar. They have similar traits. I kind of like Māngere, because of all the facilities they’ve got around here with the Pak’nSave and the Te Wānanga courses right there. It’s easy and accessible for the youth out there. My passion is rugby league, and helping out with kids in the community wherever I can. 

When I think of home, I think of family. I think of being with my whole family at home, and my loved ones and my siblings, and just interacting with each other, and spending every minute with each other, because of how we’re always busy working and stuff, you really never get to go back home and feel loved again. Home for me, is about feeling loved with family and letting the next generation know that family is important to our lives, and to our struggles or whatever we’re going through in life. Just remember at home learning new things off our parents, what they are going through just to put bread and butter on the table for you, and just so that they could provide. Looking at that home, just makes me want to go out there and explore, and not go through the struggles in life. That’s for me, anyway. So, growing up in Ōtara for the last 33 years plays a really big part to me, and that’s where I call home, is Ōtara. 

I did schooling in Ōtara. I left school pretty early just to go in the workforce and work, and help my parents provide. I was fortunate to play rugby league for Ōtāhuhu Leopards. My parents helped me out there. Ever since then I’ve never left rugby league. Rugby league’s always been my passion, and now I’ve grown older and had three beautiful boys, and two beautiful boys I’ve got now. That’s just my passion is to help them love league and whatever they want to do in life, and to help any kids out there that play rugby league. Just to share my skills and knowledge with them, and wherever I can help out in the community really. I’m currently going to Life Church. It’s changed my life, after coming out of jail. I’ve been clean and sober for the last two years, and I’ve never looked back, and ever since then I’ve just been so happy. My kids are much happier now. My partner is currently happy. She’s very happy with me at the moment, with my success and we’re both happy, and we’re both in a happy place. I can’t wait to travel. That will be my biggest step. I’ve never been to Australia. I would love to go to Australia and just watch any kind of footy or league around there, and just see what the State of Origin will be like in Australia. Hopefully I can still keep giving more to the community. That’s my biggest passion is giving more to the community, helping the youth, getting them off the drugs or alcohol, whatever they’re going through, and just being a mentor to the community.”