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“It’s a consistency in my life, going to the mountains and exploring. I grew up in the Carpathian Mountains, and one of the most spectacular national parks in Poland – Tatra National Park – is not far so I could go just for a day trip. I loved just going for long walks in those mountains when I was a teenager.”
Read More“I moved to Christchurch in 1993. I was 14 years old, [and] came over with pretty much the whole family. My father’s brother moved to New Zealand a long time ago, like, 50, 60 years ago. I’ve got two older brothers. They went straight into the workforce, but I was lucky enough to get educated in New Zealand. I’ve done a couple of diplomas. I found myself a job at a construction company as a draftsman, and then I worked for an import company where I took up the role of a manager.”
Read More“I probably spend a couple of hours a day building. My favourite Lego part is the two-by-four brick – I’ve always had a fascination for two-by-four bricks. One day, I was just randomly building with them, and I came up with the idea of a series of characters, and that’s the only brick I’ve used to build them.”
Read More“Well, I worked for the firm that built the stadium, the AMI stadium. That’s now gone. Yeah, we did a lot of work up here. I can go around Christchurch and say I built the foundations of that. The old courthouse, [I] did all that up.”
Read More“We always joke that we have two seasons back at home, ‘hot’ and ‘hotter’. You deal with ‘hotter’ with a lot of sweat. You open the doors of the car, and you feel a sauna inside. Some people here tell me like ‘oh, it’s 25 degrees, it’s so hot!’, but to me, that’s winter.”
Read More“Ken Maynard was having a yack one night about the mischief they got up to down at Scarborough when we were kids. And I said, ‘but Ken, we had to go straight home’. We weren’t allowed to dilly dally like that. Your parents had to know where you were.”
Read MoreThis started off with me wanting to get into rowing. My teacher said this is gonna be bloody expensive. So, I looked at ways to find money; I was looking at getting some sort of minimum wage job.
Read More“In March 2020, I packed everything up and had three months of backpacking planned before arriving in London. I had a job interview lined up at Chelsea Harbour, working in one of the showrooms there. I was in Nepal when things were really happening with the virus.”
Read More“I lost my boy in the mosque. He was 14 years old. A tough bloke, he had dreams of being a goalkeeper. It’s been a hard two years. I’ve got through it with my faith and belief and knowing where he is, knowing that there’s an afterlife, he’s there, enjoying life.”
Read MoreMatt “I’m an electrician – and then I just enjoy doing the band; it’s my creative outlet, aye. We’ve all got day jobs, so we don’t play that many gigs, so we look forward to each one.
Robbie “To see Matt get up on stage and play a big gig, I just felt so good for you.
Read More“I’ve always needed to do things with my hands. When it comes to creative work, if I’m not doing it, I’ll be thinking about it. I had my business pre-earthquake, but it looked a lot different back then, and it evolved as I’ve evolved. It started when I filled my house with too many pieces. I literally had no more room, so I had to sell some.”
Read More“I ended up playing rugby, played for Queensland a few games and then snapped my collarbone in 1995. So left collarbone, right shoulder. I was desperate to come home; I really missed New Zealand. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy Australia, there are just too many things that will kill you over there.”
Read More“I came to New Zealand when I was 19. I was looking for work, but the owner of Everybody’s Butchery didn’t have a job for me, so I bought his business instead! There were a few people who didn’t like the idea of a female taking over and changing things, but I think change is often a good thing.”
Read More“As a child, I was extremely self-reliant and very responsible. I think I was very good at convincing myself that I just cope really well with things. It took me a while to realise I had struggles with mental health because I think [there are] a lot of things we internalise as being normal at a younger age.”
Read More“People don’t take you seriously if you are wearing a bowtie these days, do they? Especially in NZ, you get double-takes – is he wearing a bowtie and a pocket watch?”
Read More“I’m an intentional creativity artist. Intentional creativity is like my navigation system. It’s a step into the unknown. For me it’s about having a way, navigating both the inner and the outer journey of life.”
Read More“I’ve always been a bit of a sci-fi fan. I got into electric vehicles when I learnt about Tesla; I found out about Tesla through Space-X and Elon Musk.”
Read More“When I was travelling, I spent three months living in a barn on an organic farm, and I just fell in love with the lifestyle. Having that deeper connection with nature, slowing life down. So, the yurt is pretty perfect. I like living in a more simplistic manner.”
Read MoreI was born and bred in Christchurch. When I was twelve, I was groomed and assaulted by a hospital orderly. Back in those days, we had stranger danger – but he wasn’t a stranger.
Read More“I’ve always been my own person and I think Unlimited (Ao Tawhiti) has suited me best
for that. I’ve never enjoyed uniforms or the formality of most schools and Unlimited gives me the freedom to pursue what I’m actually interested in.”
