John Mateialona Maumau-Pinomi

Tongan, 31 years old

Aspiring Football player

No matter where you go and who you are, your mother will always be your mother - and no saying is truer when you're a Pacific Islander! Check out some of our famous Poly's and their superstar mothers!

Joe and Agnes Naufahu

When Joe was walking the red carpet at the premiere of Game of Thrones Season 6 in Los Angeles, the 38-year-old decided that there was noone else he'd rather take then his mum, which seems to be a recurring theme:

"This is taking me back to my first year at Varsity at Auckland University; so on Orientation Day, mum came with me. I had to line up and get my books and all that, and mum was like "No Joseph, this is not the line for the paper for the business! Come over here, this one!" And I was standing there like "ahhh...…more

For years, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson says he and his parents lived paycheck to paycheck, moving to a different city every time his dad, a professional wrestler in the '80s, got a new gig.

When Dwayne was 15, he and his mother followed his father to Nashville, Tennessee, from California. Soon after she arrived, Dwayne says his parents got into a fight that he'll never forget

Check out this video with students from the University of Alabama trying to pronounce Quarter Back Tua Tagovailoa's name!

Tagovailoa has recently joined the University of Alabama's 'Crimson Tide' - the top prospect in Hawaii and is the highest-rated player to ever come out of Hawaii. He goes to the same high school, Saint Louis, that produced 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, who is now the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans.

"Our challenge now is that we need funding."

It's not the exact words you would expect to hear from an Olympic athlete, but for Tongan-Australian Pita Taufatofua, it's been the bottom line phrase of his professional career.

For the most part he has self-funded his entire journey, a career that spans twenty years and includes various international tournaments, and two other Olympic Qualifying events.

The first disappointment in the journey to the Olympic dream was missing out on competing in the 2008 Oceania tournament (an Olympic Qualifying event) because the government of Tonga had no funds to send him.

And now, after becoming Tonga's first ever Taekwondo Olympic Qualifier, the struggle to get funding remains.

"The government is doing what they can, at the moment there isn't anything for them to give," said Pita

"But they're working on their part to try and get as much to us as possible."

But it's the early stages of preparation where funding is really needed, explains Pita.…more

Check out the incredible NFL Network Feature about the Polynesian influence on the NFL.

All of the interviews occurred at the 2016 Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement weekend by NFL Network's Steve Wyche.

Check out some of the hightlights from one of the fastest success stories in Rugby, the Ioane brothers Rieko and Akira Ioane! 

After being stars at Auckland Grammar, Rieko and Akira Ioane pulled on the black jersey of the Maori All Blacks for the first time together in 2015. Later that year they were selected together in Sir Gorden Tietjens 7s squad. Since then, they have played many tournaments, and have scored many great tries, which are featured in this video.

Video cred: lewif007 Productions