In this episode I sit down with Professor Jason Gurney, epidemiologist, researcher, and author of The Twisted Chain, to unpack one of the most uncomfortable truths in Aotearoa: that the health outcomes for Māori aren't a story of personal failure. They're a story of systems.

Jason's work studies the causes, patterns and spread of disease across populations and the data tells a story most of us were never taught. From colonisation, to where vape shops and fast food outlets are deliberately placed, to alcohol availability in our communities.

But this kōrero isn't doom. Jason carries an optimism that lifted me up. He sees how far we've come, and where we're headed, and he reminds us that change is already happening.

Episode Breakdown

✨ Why responsibility for Māori health sits at a systems level, not just individual✨ How vape, alcohol and fast food stores are strategically located in our communities✨ What being an epidemiologist actually means.✨ The hidden patterns behind Māori cancer outcomes✨ Why Jason remains optimistic about where we're headed✨ Practical reflections for making better hauora decisions

This conversation is about identity, agency, and reclaiming the story of our health. It's about understanding the bigger picture so we can stop carrying shame that was never ours to begin with, and step into informed, empowered choices for ourselves, our whānau and the generations coming through.

Hauora isn't just a personal journey. It's a collective one.

🔗 Episode Links

📚 Jason's pukapuka: The Twisted Chain🙏 Te Rau Ora: HERE🎗 Hei Āhuru Mōwai: HERE

🌱 Seeds of Self: ⁠HERE

What got you here . . .won't keep you here.The old version of me was quietly running the show AND I almost didn't catch it.

This is a Grow With Me episode, just you and me, no guest, raw and reflective. From my 34th birthday to my 35th, I made a commitment to ask myself one simple question every single day in my journal: "What will I embody today?"

It's been the most grounding, identity-shifting practice I've done in a long time. But on this run of blessings and momentum, I noticed something . . . old habits, old language, old thinking trying to pull me back into a version of me I've already outgrown.

Episode Breakdown

✨ The daily journal practice anchoring my year

✨ The daily "What will I embody today?" question.

✨ How "I'm busy" and "I'm full on" became sneaky permission slips

✨ Catching the old identity before it sabotages the new

✨ Why growth isn't becoming someone new, it's returning

✨ Staying aligned with the energy that got you here

🔗 LINKS

🌱 Planting Seeds Community: HERE

🟡 Bio Gold (Sponsor) – Use code SEEDS15: HERE

Deeply honoured to be joined by Dr Jacquie Kidd, a respected Māori health researcher, advocate, and wahine toa whose life's work has been about creating equity within Aotearoa's healthcare system.

This kōrero was recorded during the World Indigenous Cancer Conference, hosted by Hei Āhuru Mōwai and Te Rau Ora, a gathering that brought indigenous voices from across the world together to talk about cancer, care, and culture.

Jacquie shares the path that led her into healthcare, beginning as a young girl caring for her pāpā, and opens her heart about her current journey of "living fully while dying" after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.

This is one of those conversations that reminds you what actually matters.

Episode Breakdown

✨ What is equity?✨ Why equity in healthcare for Māori isn't optional✨ What it means to truly live✨ The beauty and sadness of dying✨ Whānau wellbeing is centric✨ The quiet power of presence, whānau, and acceptance

Jacquie's kōrero invites us to ask the questions most of us avoid:

• What am I actually doing with my time?
• Who am I when stripped of the noise?
• What legacy am I leaving for those who come after me?

In te ao Māori, death is not a separation but a transition, a continuation of whakapapa and for Jacquie she gets to see hug her mokopuna before they enter te ao marama.

If this kōrero touched something in you — drop a comment and let us know what landed or share this episode with someone who needs the reminder that life is happening now.

Show Links

Purchase Jacquie's book: Ngakaurua

More on Te Rau Ora: HERE

More on Hei Āhuru Mōwai: HERE

Join Online Community: HERE

What if you put yourself first?

I'm 66 hours into a 4-day juice fast and I want to take you inside what's actually happening — physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I aligned this fast with my deload week of training on purpose. Giving back to my tinana by giving it the space to rest, recover, replenish and rebuild.

In the second half I get into something I've been sitting with for a while which is, the cost of always being the sacrifice. So many of us pour everything into mahi, into whānau, into showing up for everyone else, and quietly accept that we'll be the ones running on empty.

BUT it doesn't have to be that way.

Episode Breakdown

✨ Why I chose a 4-day fast

✨ How deload week + fasting is giving back

✨ Why being "the sacrifice" is quietly costing your whānau more than it gives them

✨ The shift that happens when you put yourself on your own priority list

✨ Why happiness and providing aren't opposites

This one's for the ones who give everything and wonder why they feel empty. You're allowed to be on the list too. In fact, you have to be.

If this lands for you, the Planting Seeds Community is open — a space of people who are choosing to show up for themselves, not at the expense of their loved ones, but because of them.

🌱 Subscribe to the Planting Seeds Community for just $49 per month: HERE

Meth is in almost every whānau in Aotearoa — whether we want to admit it or not.This kōrero might be the one that finally cracks it open.

Marley Taipeti is a third-generation Black Power member who walked through the fire of addiction, dealing meth, violence, and the kind of pain most people never speak about. But instead of leaving the environment that nearly took him, he chose to stay in it AND change it from the inside.

In this episode, Marley shares his journey openly about the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and the moment he decided his whānau deserved more. What followed wasn't just his own transformation BUT he sparked the same shift in his wife, and countless others around him.

We both mahi for Waiariki Whānau Mentoring, a Māori hauora kaupapa supporting our hardest-to-reach communities, most often, our gang whānau. This episode is for anyone who's been told they're too far gone to come back.

Episode Breakdown

✨ The reality of meth in our communities — no sugar-coating✨ What addiction actually feels like from the inside✨ Why he chose to stay in the gang environment instead of running from it✨ How transformation ripples through whānau✨ The role of kaupapa Māori in healing✨ What real accountability looks like✨ Leading by example when no one taught you how

Where to Next

💬 Drop a highlight in the comments if this kōrero landed for you.🔗 Reach out to Waiariki Whānau Mentoring HERE if you or someone you love needs tautoko.🌱 Join the Planting Seeds Community HERE.

This episode is about the theme of the upcoming wānanga on the 2nd of May, held at Otamarakau Marae.

If you're keen and ready to step into a space of growth, healing and connection you can register using the link below.

For the first 5 people who register will receive $200 OFF when you use code: SEEDS

Planting Seeds Wānanga: Find out more

Beauty comes from struggle.

In this episode, I sit down with Jesse Wynyard, a purpose-driven creator expressing himself through hip-hop, music, and movement, while supporting others through healing and transformation.

This conversation goes deep.

We talk about breaking through conditioning. Moving through healing. The power of forgiveness. And learning the lessons from the breakdowns that guide you to breakthroughs.

Jesse is about to drop his new album 'Out the Mud', a body of work that speaks to the beauty born from struggle, pain, and growth.

If you're in a season where you're questioning the journey, feeling stuck in the mud, or searching for the lessons in the breakdown, this kōrero will meet you where you are.

🔗 Follow Jesse: Instagram Link
🔗 Stream 'Out the Mud' (coming soon): Spotify Link

🔗 If you feel called to go deeper, join the Planting Seeds Community: Join our Community

"Boring is where the unlock is. Results don't come quick but they MUST come eventually."

I just turned 34, and this season of life feels different. Not because everything's changed, but because I finally stopped waiting for the big moments and started finding purpose in the everyday, boring things.

This kōrero is about gratitude, gaps, showing up fully, and why the next 365 days is about structure, systems, and zero compromise.

🌱 Ready to build with intention?
Join the Planting Seeds Community and lock in your spot for the upcoming Planting Seeds Wānanga, where we go deep on identity, purpose, and building the structure that supports your growth.

👉 Join the Community: HERE
👉 Register for Wānanga: HERE

In Episode 257 of the Planting Seeds Podcast, I sit down with D’Angelo Martin, known to many as Tuturu Māori. A proud Māori tāne from the far north, devoted pāpā, and creative known for his humour.

But this kōrero goes beyond the laughs.

D’Angelo opens up about a major shift in his life direction, navigating a challenging season where he is currently based in Aotearoa while his whānau are in Vietnam.

One of the biggest turning points came through his child’s health, experiencing severe eczema in Aotearoa, yet becoming almost non-existent in Vietnam, where his partner’s whānau are from.

This sparked deeper reflection around environment, wellbeing, and the decisions we make for our families.

We also dive into:

• The power of small, consistent changes
• Surrounding yourself with go-getters
• Taking care of your hauora
• Backing yourself when life shifts
• Being a present and devoted pāpā
• And not wasting time on what doesn’t matter

This is a real, grounded kōrero about identity, responsibility, growth, and choosing a better path even when it’s uncomfortable.

🔗 Join Planting Seeds Community Here:
www.skool.com/seeds-of-self

In this Grow With Me episode, I speak openly about the season of change I’m currently navigating.

I’ve had space recently to go deeper into my why, purpose, and identity and in doing so, I realised that I’ve been operating from an outdated foundation.

It served me. It got me to where I am today. BUT it won’t take me to where I’m going.

I also answer a powerful question from the Seeds of Self community:

1. How do you know when you’re being called to grow… versus when you’re just uncomfortable and wanting to escape?

🌱 PLANTING SEEDS WĀNANGA

If you feel called to go deeper, the next Planting Seeds Wānanga is happening:

🔗 Express your interest (2-min form):

https://tally.so/r/eq21yE

In Episode 255, I sit down with Hinerapa Rupuha, a mana wahine deeply anchored in te ao Māori, with a passion for te reo Māori, traditional navigation, and voyaging.

Raised through kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori, Hinerapa attributes much of who she is today to her whānau and the strong foundations laid within Hoani Waititi.

Her journey began with a love for the moana through waka ama, which evolved into a deeper curiosity for traditional navigation, a path she has now been committed to for over 10 years.

Most recently, she completed a powerful voyage from Aotearoa to Samoa and back, embodying the knowledge, discipline, and connection required to navigate the Pacific using ancestral ways.

This is a conversation about identity, discipline, culture, and trusting your path, guided not just by destination, but by who you are becoming.

🔗 Join our online community Seeds of Self:
www.skool.com/seeds-of-self