PRIDE - PASIFIKA STORIES - Sammy Salsa
In celebration of Auckland Pride Month, we're sharing Pasifika Pride stories.
Sammy Salsa
Samoan/Niuean
Fashion & Celebrity Stylist
I’ve always hated the term “Coming out” and I still do – when people would ask me “How long have you been gay?” I would respond with “How long have you been straight?” The “coming out” scenarios made the whole process feel like I was carrying a dirty little secret that needed to be exposed. And it was anything but, this was my lively hood, the actual person I was to be – so one day I brought my partner home to meet my family as any poly boy would bring home their girlfriend to meet the aiga, except, I was bringing home a man, a palagi man at that.
It took some time for my family to adjust, which at that point I realized they weren’t upset at the whole “Gay” thing, they were more afraid of the unknown, it was almost like the old “straight” Sammy they once knew no longer existed in their lives.…more
PRIDE - PASIFIKA STORIES - Lizie Koroivulaono
In celebration of Pride Month, we're sharing Pasifika Pride stories.
Lizie Koroivulaono
FIjian
Television Production
Bula, my name is Elizabeth Koroivulaono, I hail from the beautiful islands of Matuku, Lau in Fiji. I come from a large beautiful Fijian family and have 3 brothers and 2 sisters. I now live in Auckland, New Zealand and have been for the past 15 years. I first moved to New Zealand in 2008, to study Bachelors in Communication, majoring in Film and Television. Since graduating in 2010, I now work in the industry and call New Zealand my second home.
Honestly, it took me 6 months back in 2008; of internal battles to decide to finally accept my attraction to women. I had many discussions with a really good friend about it, where we talked about the implications this would cause on my family members. I come from a strong Catholic and traditional family - and as we all know, the declaration of being attracted to the same sex does not bode well with the church or the culture.…more
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson wins Entertainer of the Year at the NAACP Awards
Last night Dwayne Johnson won big at the NAACP awards taking home 'Entertainer of the year'. The People’s Champ topped fellow 'Entertainer of the Year' nominees Beyoncé, Chance the Rapper, Viola Davis and Regina King.
He had been nominated for 'Entertainer of the Year', 'Outstanding actor in a Comedy Series' for "Ballers" and 'Outstanding Character Voice Over Performance' for Maui in Disney's MOANA.
In his acceptance speech he dedicated his award to his late Grandfather High Chief Peter Maivia and his Father Rocky Johnson. You can watch his acceptance speech here 
Presented annually, the NAACP Image Awards is recognized as America's preeminent multi-cultural awards show from an African American point of view. The event celebrates the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts, as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors.…more
BEN MIKHA & The Opportunity of a Lifetime
Ben Mikha has been selected out of 50,000 applicants to proceed to a 3 round process based off a public voting system in order to make his dreams a reality. If successful he will be the FIRST Pacific Islander to land an internship with Discovery Channel.
He is currently pursuing a dream through Discovery Channel to travel to over 5 new countries and film/photograph and blog his experiences - something that he is naturally passionate about. He hopes to have this opportunity to use his gifts further to inspire and encourage others to view the world through their own eyes.
The video above of Samoa is his entry to the final public round of Discovery Channel.
We asked him to share a bit about himself and also share some of his favourite photographs he has taken so you can get to know him and ultimately help him reach his goal by VOTING for him!
Eiffel Tower
FATE OF THE FURIOUS ft SAVAGE's "PUSH"
"The Fate of the Furious" which is the 8th installment in the 'Fast & Furious' franchise dropped during the Super Bowl on CBS.
With millions of viewers tuned in to one of America's premium sporting events, 30 second ad spots during the Super Bowl can cost up to US $5 million to be featured.
So when the new Fate of the Furious trailer was released in the 2nd quarter of the Super Bowl today, millions of people also got to hear our very own Savage's latest track 'PUSH' featuring DJ Kronic & Far East Movement.
We caught up with Savage to see how he was feeling about it all ...
'Usually when they want to use your song the artist has to clear it so when I got this opportunity (for the track) to be on the movie as well as the trailer and the ad, I was all for it. I knew that it was lining up for it but they wouldn't confirm or guarantee that it'd be on so thats the whole reason I didn't announce it.…more
Humans Of The Islands - Emily Mafile'o
Emily Mafile'o
Photographer
Tongan/European/Maori
Tell us about yourself and what you do -
Tongan/European/Maori living in Manurewa, South Auckland. Mama to my son, Emil first and foremost.
I freelance in photography, set dressing for TV and films and am a big promoter of Contemporary Pasifika/Tongan Arts in my Community. I am proud to be part of the ManaRewa Collective based at Nathan Homestead.
Why are you fascinated with photographing contemporary Tongan culture?
Tongan culture is at a fascinating time! There are so many different versions of Tongan people that we need to celebrate.
Behind the Scenes with Parris Goebel & Little Mix
Behind the scenes of the official music video for Touch.
And watch the completed official video here!
Suggested Links:
Our Hair Stories: Takeinivula Jewel
Today I came across a really eye opening documentary about the significance of hair in the Pacific community. It focused on the relationship between Pacific women and their hair and also how this relationship has changed from generation to generation. The documentary spoke about the struggles of having nesian hair so today I just wanted to continue that conversation by sharing my story.
For me, my hair has become such an important aspect of myself to the point that I’ve even named my blog after it. "That Curly Islander" My hair and my roots (pun intended), these are what make me, me.
It’s crazy to think that the ringlets that now adorn my head actually started out pin-straight. As I grew older, my hair gradually become wavier. But because no one else on the Fijian side of my family had similar hair to mine, I never knew and no one else for that matter, knew what to do with it. There was too much hair and it was far too slippery so braiding it was a chore.…more
Humans Of The Islands - Mary Tiumalu
Mary Tiumalu
25 years old
Samoan
I was born and raised in Waterview, in Auckland. I’m the youngest of four children and I came from a working class family. My upbringing, my childhood was probably the best time of my life. Obviously because we were from a working class family and my parents had their own struggles but they never showed that to us as young kids. We never thought that we were struggling financially. We had a roof over our heads, we got to play outside. You know, once in a while we had steak and my Dad would come home on his pay day with a Snickers bar for all of us (laughs). So we never really thought that we were struggling. They provided us with a really good home environment.…more
Humans Of The Islands - Koroi Hawkins
Koroi Hawkins
Award winning Pacific Journalist
Fijian / Solomon Islander
Biologically I am part Fijian part Solomon Islander but I was raised a Solomon Islander and identify as one. I have quite a few siblings from both my biological parents' marriages and my Dad Bob Hawkins' first marriage but I am an only child to my mum Effie Hawkins and have always felt like one. Over the years we have lived in several places including Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands and Mackay in Australia but I was fortunate to spend quite a lot of my formative years in Munda, a small village/town in the Western Solomons. It was quite an exciting place for a child growing up. Between the ocean and the jungle there was always plenty to keep me occupied when I was not doing chores for mum or dad. If there is one thing I miss most about home I would say it is the ocean which was my closest friend growing up.…more