Sonny Bill Williams vs Mark Hunt
Sonny Bill Williams will fight Mark Hunt in an explosive heavyweight showdown at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena on November 5.
Stan Sport on Thursday confirmed details of the bout between dual code legend Williams and MMA great Hunt with the high profile pugilists set to come face to face at a 10am AEST press conference.
The fight - available for Stan customers to purchase on Stan Event - will be the first for Williams since his emphatic round one knockout of Barry Hall in March.
Now Sonny will step up again and face one of the country's most dangerous knockout artists on Stan Event.
Mark Hunt has taken on the best in the world and shown the power and determination to finish on top, and now he has a chance to stop a rising boxing superstar in his tracks.
More info in the full article via Wide World of Sports here
'White Sunday' debut book release by Litea Fuata
"I wanted to write a story that focused on the experiences of Pasifika kids like me. Growing up, there weren’t any books about Pasifika children. Even on TV or in the movies, there weren’t any stories about kids who looked like me." - Litea Fuata
She's about to start work as a cook in a childcare centre and has worked in youth work, aged care and for Oz Harvest rescuing food for charities. Now Litea Fuata can add published author to her resume after her debut childrens book 'White Sunday' was released today (Wednesday 7th Sep 22).
Litea who was born in New Zealand and now lives in Meanjin, Brisbane with her partner and cat says that she's really proud of her first book 'White Sunday' and hopes that young Pasifika readers will walk away with a feeling of being seen and of joy after reading her book.…more
Tai's Land - A Tai Tuivasa Story
He's beloved by the masses because of his carefree attitude and brutal fighting style but Tai Tuivasa is well aware of the task in front of him this weekend in Paris.
We followed 'Bam Bam' to Thailand for his training camp in the lead up to his title eliminator fight against former UFC Interim Heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane.
Coco Sports Talk: Fathers Day Special - Eugene Bareman, Doug & Roman Viney
Coco Sports Talk with Penina and Ashley - covering all things sports from a Pasifika female lens!
#CocoSportsTalk looks at the many stories of Pasifika people involved in sports of all kinds, and the trials and tribulations of the talented athletes from all sectors of our community.
This episode is Part 2 of our Fathers Day - Fighters edition mini series. Co-owners and head coaches at City Kickboxing Gym, Eugene Bareman & Doug Viney chat with us about Fatherhood, parenting styles, proud Dad moments & more. Doug is joined by his son Roman who he also coaches & pays tribute to his Nana who raised him.
Here's to all the people acting in father roles whatever that set up is like in your whanau.…more
'Muru' - Why its a must watch for brown audiences.
"It is time to shine light into the valley and reclaim the narrative and move beyond the errors and misjudgments of a system that has become accustomed to keeping its boot on our neck."
‘Muru’ was released nationwide to cinemas on the 1st of September and is a breathtaking action packed rollercoaster that takes you on an emotional journey through the trauma of the Uruwera raids and other events that the Tuhoe people suffered at the hands of the NZ government.
It's a fictionalization of some these moments into one epic story - featuring a cast of some of Aotearoa’s stellar Māori actors, lead by Cliff Curtis and Tame Iti who plays himself.
We spoke to the film’s lead producer, who is of Cook Island descent, Reikura Kahi (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Hine, Waikato, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Cook Island). Reikura has been working in the screen industry for 25 years in various capacities, including Te Reo Māori consultant, actor, producer and Māori TV programme commissioner.…more
Coco Sports Talk: Fathers Day Special - Tyson and John Pedro
Coco Sports Talk with Penina and Ashley - covering all things sports from a Pasifika female lens!
#CocoSportsTalk looks at the many stories of Pasifika people involved in sports of all kinds, and the trials and tribulations of the talented athletes from all sectors of our community.
This episode is Part 1 of our Fathers Day - Fighters edition mini series. Light Heavyweight UFC fighter Tyson Pedro and his father John sat down with us at City Kickboxing Gym in Auckland ahead of Tysons fight in Salt Lake City against Harry Hunsucker. (He won the fight btw - peep the KO below).
They have a hilarious conversation with us about Fatherhood, parenting styles, proud Dad moments, what they love to do together and much more.…more
Money Confidence for Pasifika wins at Diversity Awards
A course building money confidence with Auckland’s Pasifika workforce was the winner at last night’s Diversity Awards Impact Category.
The Diversity Awards recognise initiatives that promote equity, diversity and inclusion in workplaces around Aotearoa – and Project Ikuna’s Money Confidence does just that. Delivered by the team at Upskills in partnership with Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Money Confidence is a small course that delivers a life changing hit to participants. It’s financial literacy with Pacific values woven through the learning, so it’s relevant and meaningful for participants.
For Delegat employee and participant Ngāupoko Tapoki the learning takeaway was around saving. “Thank you to your team – I used to take a loan out every time I go back home.…more
A HipHop Step Class Changes Peoples Lives
We join the Xtreme HipHop instructors as they host a lively and special step class to welcome the creator of the fitness class Phil Weedan.
Phil also known as "The Creator" is world famous steo instructor. He stumbled onto his love of fitness by accident when he started his own fitness journey to transform his body and to combat his depression. Phil became a certified personal trainer in 2008. Then in 2013, Phil stepped out on faith and opened his own gym, Naturally Gifted Fitness Center located in Cleveland Heights. This is where the idea for Xtreme Hip Hop was born. Members of the gym wanted a step class, but he couldn’t keep a step instructor. Phil decided to embark on the journey of teaching the step class himself, but his first order of business was to find music that motivated him to move, and that’s exactly what he did.
Phil’s step class is now a worldwide hit.…more
Celebrating 20 years of Niu FM with Lui Vilisoni-Oliver
Lui Vilisoni-Oliver Niu FM & 531 PI Program Director at the PMN offices in Manukau vs Lui back in the day on air at Niu FMs Brown Street studio.
Update to original story -
On the 14th June 2023, Niu FM was one of 8 commercial and regional radio stations given a NZ on Air Award for playing more than 20 percent local music content over the airways in 2022 at the NZ on Air Music Showcase in Auckland.
They were also the only Pasifika radio station recognised with this award.
We talked to Programme Director for Pacific Media Network (which includes Niu FM) Lui Vilisoni on why it's been important to play out local NZ Pasifika artists vs overseas artists on the station.
"The first reason is, who else will champion our artists if not us? I see and hear so much quality music from our NZ Pasefika artists, but they’re not picked up as much.…more
Coco Sports Talk: Tony Vainuku - Director of NFL player Manti Te'os 'Untold' story
Coco Sports Talk with Penina and Ashley - covering all things sports from a Pasifika female lens!
#CocoSportsTalk looks at the many stories of Pasifika people involved in sports of all kinds, and the trials and tribulations of the talented athletes from all sectors of our community.
This episode we're excited to have Tongan Director and film maker Tony Vainuku join us via Zoom from Salt Lake City, Utah. Tony is the Emmy Award winning Director of the 2015 film 'In Football We Trust' and more recently co-directed the Manti Te'o episode of the UNTOLD Season 2 series - 'UNTOLD: The girlfriend who didn't exist'.
Here he shares with Ninz & Ash how the opportunity came about to direct the documentary, how he was able to get Manti onboard with sharing his story to a global audience, what he learned from doing the doco, why it's so important for our people to tell our stories ...…more