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The name Te Puia translates to geyser or geothermal. A geyser is a spring characterised by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam.

Blenheim’s Lee Tepuia admits he ‘let off steam’ throughout his life. And with good reason. Often judged by what he looks like and not who he is. Indeed, the 45 year-old has certainly come full circle and then some.

The mission statement on the ‘Box on Boxing’ website reads….an inclusive, empowering and motivating space for youth and adults who are keen to work on their fitness, mental health and general well-being in a supportive environment.”

Mental health you say?

He opened up to Stuff to explain his own korereo in what he says, exposed his vulnerability in September 2022. The impetus for the story was to convey the changes in his own life, for good and bad.

“I really opened up,” he says. “I get anxious and having that story come out about my own childhood. I still get people messaging me about that story, a lot of men through their own mental health. It’s hard to leave behind at times.”

Lee admitted to having a troubled upbringing growing up in Blenheim. The son of a gang associate, he was sexually abused by a family friend as a child and ultimately left for Australia in search of a better life in 2005.

But first let’s rewind the cassette tape back to the 1990’s.

School wasn’t exactly the place where Lee admits he wanted to be and confesses he was, at times, with the wrong crowd. Sport provided a sense of purpose and belonging and he says playing rugby and basketball was the stimulus to engage and burn off energy in a controlled environment. of bad character because of their association with bikie gangs and apparent ties to organised crime.

Yet there was a void. Something missing.

A fresh start beckoned to Perth in the early 2000s. Options of working in the mines were presented to Lee but he reflects having a young family at the time, including twins just didn’t quite fit with a work schedule that was four weeks on and one week off.

Now back in his turangawaewae, he admits he’s trying to find his feet again and make positive, cultural connections to his own identity and his own whakapapa (genealogy).

On his Dad’s side he hails from Kai Tahu while his Mum was Nga Puhi. “My Mum passed away two years ago,” he says. “The cross and the name on my face represent her. While I was locked up, Mum was sick I was trying to fight to stay in Australia but I was still worried about my Mum. She walks around me, anything I’d done she was always on my side, right or wrong. She taught me the please and the thank you and what it means to show respect.”

Subsequently, life took a turn. His time in Western Australia saw Lee become a high-ranking Rebels gang member. The Rebels are the largest outlaw motorcycle club in Australia and are run by former boxer and founding member, Alex Vella with over 2000 members.

On September 6, 2017, he walked free from the Perth Immigration Detention Centre after Australia’s highest court ruled a decision to cancel his visa using secret information was invalid.

Lee was classified as a deportee, known as 501s, named after the section of the Australian Migration Act that has allowed the cancellation of many of their visas.

Most have criminal records, but others, like Lee are deemed to be

Lee believes Marlborough youth require positive role models and support to assist them on their own pathway during and after secondary school. He says there are opportunities if they believe in themselves and ‘break the cycle’.

“I tell people where they are from. I had 36 years of pain. I came back home to where it happened and that was when I opened up. Talk, listen and support our youth,” he says. “I have boys coming into the gym talking to me and they start crying and they say sorry bro. We’re human; it’s alright for us to cry.”

“Don’t look at a person based on their appearance. Have you talked to them? Some folk in Marlborough need to get off their keyboards and leave their square box,” he says.

Lee says the major characteristic most people lack when they turn up

Lee says the major characteristic most people lack when they turn up at his gym is confidence. “We’re all different shapes and sizes. They want to hide from the mirrors. Mirrors are the number one thing you see in a boxing gym. You can see who you are and look at the next person beside you, she or he is not the same as you are they?” at his gym is confidence.

“We’re all different shapes and sizes. They want to hide from the mirrors. Mirrors are the number one thing you see in a boxing gym. You can see who you are and look at the next person beside you, she or he is not the same as you are they?”

Lee says the next few months will be busy with a corporate event on March 17 at Marlborough Boys’ College featuring former Commonwealth Cruis- erweight champion Shane Cameron and mental health advocate Mike King. Both he says, have their own powerful messages which will entice many to get along and listen.

“It’s about getting the message out to Blenheim about mental health. Blenheim needs a wakeup call. Mike’s presence alone will be unreal. We need to open our eyes,” he says. “We need to advocate and action for our youth.”