Aotearoa Creative

Once again. A cool person doing cool stuff :) Bernice Mene is an athlete, teacher and former Silver Fern Netball Captain. She is currently running a kaupapa called the Pinnacle programme. Which is a unique mentoring programme for passionate teens between 15- 18yrs old. Hope you enjoy it :)

Here is another example of cool people doing cool and exciting things. Kiri Dell is a poet, blogger and scholar whose research looks at why Maori struggle to realise their whenua aspirations, while also being interested in entrepreneurship and strategy. Enjoy :)

Lee Timutimu is the founder of Te Reo Wainene o Tua. A Māori story telling initiative. In 2010 he applied for funding for an initiative that would encourage the art form and medium of traditional Māori storytelling. The basis was simple, Māori is primarily an oral language. Generations of history, tradition, knowledge and understanding have been passed down to us through our natural ability to captivate an audience through the poetic flow of traditional Māori reo (language). Since then TRWOT has been going strong. Here is its story. Enjoy :)

Karl Burrows is the MD of Manaia. A London based company that have been performing traditional Maori performing arts since 2004. Their mission is to bring the best of New Zealand's Maori culture to the World and in doing so connect you, your family and friends or delegates to New Zealand and the vibrancy of Maori culture. Hope you like it

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. Paora Hurihanganui and his work in the community is totally that. Paora is GM at Te Papa Tākaro o Te Arawa which is all about encouraging iwi development across the Te Arawa region through wellness and healthy lifestyle promotion, physical activity, kaupapa Te Arawa/Māori approaches, programmes and events. It is an organisation the community can access support and assistance in building capacity and developing solutions for community needs. Hope you enjoy it

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. Tamati Ellison is an ex ALL BLACK.. #ThatsCool Hope you enjoy it! #Doitz

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. And Steven Renata is totally that! From Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu, Steven is the CEO and global director of business development for KIWA®, bringing with him over a decade of international sales and account management experience. Steven has spent the last 20 years dedicated to building a global wellness company – Les Mills International. During that time, the company grew from a small start-up to a 100 million-dollar business with a presence in over 100 countries. He has also held a variety of senior roles, including serving as a Board Member and Chief Executive of Les Mills West Coast and the company’s Global Sales Director. Steven’s experience helping to create a global movement offers KIWA® numerous insights into how modern ‘tribes’ emerge, survive and thrive. Hope you enjoy it :)

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. Teresa Tepania-Ashton is way more than that.. She is epic lol She is the Chief Executive Officer at Maori Women's Development Inc. A lending and development organisation encouraging Maori Women and their Whanau into business. Ngā mihi

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. And Andy Heyward is totally that! Fat Spatula is the studio and design space of Haumoana based artist Andy Heyward. It is the conception area of many creative pursuits. Within it’s walls, ideas are dreamt, coffee is consumed, paintings are realised and laughter is had. He is an artist, a painter, a lover, and a father, who likes to create things Enjoy

Taaniko Nordstrom and Vienna Nordstrom are the creative stylist/photographer duo behind Soldiers Rd Portraits, which was a concept first dreamed of in 2011. Based in Cambridge, New Zealand, the two stylists dress customers in Maori, Pasifika and Native American and First Nations regalia for a memorable native inspired vintage portrait. With a business that can pack down into two bags, the creative duo have taken their mahi on the road numerous times, not only here in Aotearoa, but also abroad all over Australia and even as far as New York, Utah and LA! Taaniko says their formula for success is simple, “Whakawhanaungatanga" This is what we talk about. #Doitz

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. And Katz has been doing that for years. Being a Carver, Tā Moko artist, a musician and business owner. He has a unique perspective on things. This is what we talk about. #Enjoy #Doitz

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. And Lanita has coolness coming out of her ears!!! lol Lanita Ririnui Ryan is a creative native storyteller of Māori & Cook Islands decent (Ngāiterangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāpuhi, Kuki Āirani) She is an independant producer, director, writer, presenter/MC and has delivered various projects across screens of all sizes for the past 20 years. The majority of her works have been in rangatahi (youth), lifestyle, music, sport and entertainment genres, while documentary has also been a consistent feature. Inspired by stories of identity and cultural connection in contemporary society, she has a high interest in people sharing their own stories and her artistic works are predominantly influenced by momentum and the female element. She is the creator of mana wahine artworks, moko fashion design, #polydollytalk and POI360. Hope you enjoy it :)

Aotearoa Creative is all about interviewing cool people doing cool stuff. And Adrienne Whitewood is totally that! Inspired by Maori art and culture, Adrienne Whitewood takes traditional concepts and with them invents unique silhouettes exploring fabric manipulation and technology, her ethos is all about creating wearable clothing for women who want an emotional connection to clothing. Hope you enjoy it :)

Self-Made Lifestyle Entrepreneur heavily involved in the media industry and tech startup scene. Passionate about People and Powermoves. He is an Ex-Professional National Champion Snowboarder ranked 2nd in the world, Olympic Commentator, ESPN Contributor & TV Producer with over 18 years experience in the Action Sports & Content Industry.