Kiwi Yarns

Today’s guest is Man Can Cook - a man, who coincidently, can cook ridiculously delicious food. He does this with his Pug, Fraser. Daniel Rankin’s cooking videos draw you in because he’s always dressed up or Fraser the pug is always dressed up and there’s food being cooked, and Fraser is so well-behaved but it’s hectic and brilliant and I just had to chat to him. You can follow him on Instagram and TikTok, the vibes are fabulous. Daniel is also the owner and head coach of a gym here in Tamaki Makaurau. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is the Co-Founder and General Manager of Voices of Hope, Genevieve Mora. Genevieve is a remarkable young woman who spends a massive chunk of her life, her time, and her energy sharing her story because Voices of Hope believes in the power of sharing your lived experience to create positive change. She is an author, and co-created an app called 'Love your Kite' which aims to support people through their recovery from an Eating Disorder. A truly beautiful soul helping the lives of so many - Genevieve's an absolute gem! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is part of a very very small group of women here in Aotearoa. Chelsea Roper - aka SheBuildsBro is a graphic designer turned carpenter - and makes up part of the 2.6 percent of tradies who are women. She got into a trade after she and her partner packed up and left Auckland for Queenstown, and she wanted to be able to help build their own home! She uses her platform to encourage and educate other women to get amongst it, and is kicking down the doors and holding them open for others to come through, and we love that. Chelsea also shares her story of recently battling Endometriosis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is someone at the helm of a brilliant student organisation we all know and love! The amazing mahi of the Student Volunteer Army has turned it into a nationally-recognised crisis response team, ever since thousands of students mobilised following the Christchurch Earthquakes. Emily Byrne is the chief executive - and is with me this week. Her passion for helping others is pretty inspiring - from being a St John Badger as a kid to fostering 60 kittens over the years! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is Campbell Johnstone. He is the first openly gay All Black - after making the decision to come out on national television last year. Since then, Campbell has become an amazing advocate for inclusion and diversity in sport. And, the title "first openly gay All Black" is one he's happy to sit with if it helps create change. It's also wedding year for Campbell and his fiancé Ben - find out what Campbell suggested for the wedding that's meant he's banned from organising it haha! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is in my opinion - one of the coolest local body politicians you will find. And yes I said cool and politician in the same sentence! Richard Hills has been on Auckland Council since 2016 - he became the youngest person on council and lord knows we need more young people in local government! You can actually hear the passion in his voice - he is genuinely in the job to make the city a better place - it's so lovely to hear! Richard is one of the good ones, and I hope you enjoy listening to a lovely man with a brilliant heart as much as I did! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is a man who knows a thing or two about putting a world class event on. Karl Budge is the man who made the ASB Classic a massive success, and an award-winning event, luring in massive names like Serena and Venus Williams. How he got them to come is absolutely fascinating! Karl played a huge role in the success of the amazing Sail GP event in Ōtautahi last year - and has worked on a number of global sporting events. All this from a kid that left school at 16, because he was a 'dreamer" and his dreams didn't quite work at school. A really really insightful conversation! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is columnist, MC, public speaker and cabaret club vixen Verity Johnson - what an epic array of titles! Verity is an extremely talented writer whose funny, thought-provoking and relatable columns have seen her writing successfully for our biggest news organisations since she was 18 - but her first column was published in the New Zealand Herald at 16. Cabaret club vixen really pricks up my ears too so I’m keen to find out more about that. Clue: she left the media and ran away to join the male strip club! It's a great yarn! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is a man I feel like it’s fair to say we all know and love - Sir John Kirwan. JK had a remarkable rugby career as a World Cup winning All Black, played rugby league for the Auckland Warriors, has been a respected international coach, and of course is a major figure in Aotearoa as a mental health advocate. Being one of the first high profile New Zealanders, to talk about depression and mental health, JK plays a massive role in this space - he is remarkable to watch and learn from. He also has a wine company, is an amazing TV Presenter and Rugby commentator, and really bloody fantastic man. This podcast was EVERYTHING I needed to hear at the moment - so I best let him invoice me for one of the most valuable therapy sessions ever! Hope you get something from it too. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is Auckland MMA fighter Carlos Ulberg - aka “The Black Jag”. Carlos is part of the hugely successful City Kickboxing team - and it's a gym that’s described as "an old warehouse on the edge of the city" but has garnered global attention for it’s impressive array of extremely ridiculously talented UFC fighters - like Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker. He wants to be the best light heavyweight fighter in the world, and listening to him share his story of where he's come from and how he intends on doing it, is a fascinating insight into the mind of a professional athlete. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is a well known Kiwi entrepreneur who's life has been truly fascinating thus far - the yarns do not stop today! Many will remember Brooke Howard-Smith from the consumer affairs show Target - some may have also seen him murder me last year on the first New Zealand season of The Traitors. And there's so much more. He was an X Games medalist and professional inline skater, he got kicked out of the United States once, AND he owned the well known nightclub, The Pony Club. He's more recently been involved in some truly wonderful charity campaigns, he set up a successful talent agency, and he's got skin in the game in the Metaverse (I'll let him explain that haha). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is our super talented New Zealand Sail GP team strategist - Liv Mackay. Liv is also in the New Zealand team for the first ever women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona this year - so a massive year ahead! Liv is a great role model not only for younger sailors, but she isn't afraid to speak about the lack of female representation in the sport too. She spends a lot of her downtime (which she has bugger all of!) at local yacht clubs inspiring others to get involved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Married at First is coming back to New Zealand this year, so if you’re looking for love and would like to bare your soul on national television - this could be your year! And, today’s guest will be right in the thick of helping guide the couples in a show that blew up to one of the most popular Reality TV shows in the world. John Aiken has been sitting on the couch as the relationship expert across the ditch for Married at First Sight Australia since it began and he has absolutely seen it all. And look while he’s here lets take advantage and get some solid relationship advice along the way too! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is one of the country’s greatest and most loved rugby players. A true gentleman of the sport, Keven Mealamu played 132 tests for the All Blacks - just two players have played more. He won the Rugby World Cup twice and made more than 150 appearances for the Blues in Super Rugby. He is loved by those who played with him, those who played against him, and I think it's fair to say we all love him (well you definitely will after this!). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy New Year to all the wonderful supportive humans who listen to Kiwi Yarns! Can't wait to share more epic stories with you in 2024. We're kicking off with an extremely talented young man - Jackie Cheng. He's an actor and stuntman, a Muay Thai fighter, and a very funny and clever creator on social media, with around half a million followers on Instagram and TikTok. A really cool kōrero with a 23-year old wise beyond his years (that's such an older person thing to say haha). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Kiwi Yarns returns for 2024 - here's another oldie but a goodie! Such a beautiful chat with Toni back in 2021. Today’s guest is the wonderful Toni Street - and I’m pretty sure it would be fair to say there’s really not much this woman can’t do. She is an incredibly talented TV presenter and radio host, sports commentator, she’s a dab hand in the kitchen, she’s played both cricket and netball at a representative level, and she’s a superstar Mum to her three beautiful children. We have a lovely chat about her success, but also her strength and resilience through some really tough times. Toni is a remarkable woman with the most infectious smile and it's always a joy to speak to her! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Kiwi Yarns is on a bit of a break, I'm sharing some of my favourite episodes! This interview with Ruby Tui was one of my first interviews on Kiwi Yarns, from back in 2020! She came to my house and we had a great chat - will definitely hit her up for another catch up because there is LOTS to catch up on! Ruby Tui is a ridiculously talented woman who not only lights up the rugby field, but has the exact same effect when she walks into a room. Her warmth, generosity and humbleness makes her one of New Zealand's favourite rugby players. She's always worked incredibly hard to get to where she is - and does not take that for granted. Listening to Ruby's outlook on life and attitude towards the job she loves doing is pretty special. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy New Year! Sharing a couple of favourite Kiwi Yarns while the show is on a break. This is a must-listen. Today’s guest is a remarkable young man with an incredible story. Abbas Nazari was just seven-years old when he and his family fled the Taliban in Afghanistan - and experienced a journey that would last for months - including being stuck onboard the Tampa. This was the boat that Australia horrifically turned its back on resulting in an international stand off 20 years ago. Abbas and his family were accepted to come to New Zealand to be resettled - and it’s from here this amazing man and his amazing family started a new life… The Fulbright Scholar has written After The Tampa: From Afghanistan to New Zealand and it's an absolute must-read, along with this absolute must-listen episode! Available at bookstores throughout NZ. http://www.allenandunwin.co.nz/browse/books/other-books/After-the-Tampa-Abbas-Nazari-9781988547640 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is one of our country’s greatest athletes. Dame Sophie Pascoe is our most decorated Paralympian and is the youngest person to be appointed a Dame - in the 2022 New Year’s Honours for her services to swimming. She is a remarkable woman, a truly special role model - we are so lucky to have her! It’s also been a massive year away from the black line for Sophie - she got married this year, and her and her husband Rob will be welcoming their first child in 2024. This is a remarkable episode, I'm so grateful Sophie shared this with us. X See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is the first comedian I ever saw live and rest assured she’s been a favourite ever since! The award-winning Justine Smith took her first gig as a dare - and to sound cliché the rest is history. But, as you'll hear, the rest took time, patience and bloody hard work. She won the Billy T Award in 2003, and has been the winner of the Award for Best Female Performer from the NZ Comedy Guild an incredible four times. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.