HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - STEVE TAPA

STEVE TAPA 

OWNER & CO-DIRECTOR ON2 SPORTS MANAGEMENT 

TONGAN 

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Mālō e lelei, my name is Steve Tapa and I’m of Tongan descent born and bred from Auckland, NZ.   Both my parents are from Tongatapu from the villages of Vaotu'u, Nuku`alofa and Tongaleleka, Ha'apai.  I grew up in Grey Lynn among many other Pasifika families before my parents decided to move our family out to West Auckland. 

I am the owner and co-director of ON2 Sports Management which I co-founded with my business partner JC (James Cornett).  We specialise in boutique athlete management particularly in the professional boxing and combat industry. 

  You run On2 Sports Management - What were the pathways that led you to what you're doing now: 

I come from a corporate business and sports fitness background, but I also studied sports science and sports management at uni, so I’ve always had an association with sports, especially combat sports growing up.   

Growing up in West Auckland I met a good friend and mentor of mine by the name of Steve Oliver.   Steve is a renowned Brazilian Jiu jujitsu professor in New Zealand who taught me Brazilian Jiu jujitsu under his tutelage for many years. It was through Steve I also then met another renowned coach Lolo Heimuli which I also trained under, and it was through training under both Steve, and Lolo I then also met a lot of the fighters within fight community. 

I started to pursue the sports management avenue in last 3-4 years and It was only coincidentally through conversations with a lot of the athletes who had difficulty understanding a lot of the contractual obligations, or contracts that they were signing without any independent or legal advice.   

It was at this point I realised that this was something that I could help with, as someone that could act on their behalf as representative, but also in their best interests and protecting their rights as a professional athlete.  

When/how did you realise you wanted to pursue a career in Sports/Athlete management and why do you think it's important for you as a Pacific Islander to bring a Pasifika perspective to what you do? 

Just being in the sporting industry you hear a lot of horror stories of young pasifika athletes or professionals being taken advantage of either someone who was meant to look after them or being financially disadvantaged by someone they fully trusted. 

This made me concerned and highlighted a lot of red flags in what some of these athletes and their families were going through, especially if there was a language and culture barrier. 

As a Pasifika person myself it’s important that the family understands the process of becoming a professional athlete, but also being able to communicate to the families in a setting where they feel comfortable but also provide them awareness and guidance as to what the pathway will be for their family member to succeed. 

You currently manage Hemi Ahio & Panuve Helu who were on the Parker vs Fa undercard.  Do you have anyone else we should look out for who you would say is "On the Rise"  

We have a good stable of upcoming young boxers coming up in the ranks , another talented professional kid we have is Raihau Lehartel from Tahiti.  Raihau is the French Polynesian Oceania boxing champion in his weight division, and he’s one special kid to look out for nick named the “Tahitian Matrix”. 

But I would say we also have some very talented amateur boxers as the next generation of Pasifika talent coming through the ranks which is very exciting. 

  What have been some of your most challenging and some of your most rewarding moments as an athlete manager? 

Going into an industry that didn’t have many Pasifika athlete managers especially in the combat scene, and sometimes being mistaken for as the athlete instead of the manager which was quite funny at times especially while overseas. 

But I would say the most challenging I would guess is ensuring athletes and their families understand when you become a professional athlete it’s a full-time role, and with that comes a lot of responsibilities as if you were employed in a 9 to 5 job. But also, their physical and mental welling being is just as important and can’t be neglected. 

So ensuring athletes understand they need to trust the process and be committed to succeed with a strong work ethic and the partnership along the way. 

The most rewarding is seeing the families emotional reactions and responses when helping their son fulfil their potential on the international stage, and  travelling the world and changing their future for the better financially.  That is what puts a smile on my face and is very rewarding that you can provide them with the tools and resources to succeed. 

What advice would you give to other young Pacific Islanders wanting to get into athlete management?  

Ensure you understand international legislation and law especially in the sporting industry. 

Find yourself a good business mentor particularly someone already in the industry that you can use as a sound board for advice when starting up. 

Form a close and tight circle of strong industry experts that will ensure you and your team will succeed (i.e .coaches, specialists, accountants, lawyers etc). 

Who or what inspires you? 

The athletes inspire me as I see the commitment, they put in week in week out for a chance to make it to top of their sport, and it’s a very demanding sport particularly combat sport mentally and physically.  Seeing them push their bodies to the limits and the long hours and late nights they put in to succeed is truly inspiring. 

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Check out this throw back video of Steve in the FreshTV "Inked" series