Slow Forward

 Isaac 'Ice' John is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of YKTR (You Know The Rules). 

Ice is a former professional rugby league player who previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and Penrith Panthers in the NRL, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League - and also represented both the Cook Islands and New Zealand on the international stage. 

He is now the creative director and co-owner of the clothing brand YKTR “You Know The Rules” with fellow NRL stars James Segeyaro or “Chicko” and Corey Norman. YKTR is a simple tagline coined by the boys as a slogan upon which they hoped to build and grow their brand. 

The content machine that YKTR has since become uses clothing as the vehicle to do just that. In 2019 YKTR expanded into the realm of sports media with YKTR Sports, a podcast and YouTube network built around a similarly simple ethos as its parent company. Since the start of YKTR in 2017, it has now become a community, that both inspires change and motivates people to be their best selves.

Ice displays a new wave of creativity and entrepreneurship within the Australian and New Zealand sporting communities in particular, by encouraging players to start off-field ventures alongside their playing careers. He is someone who is leading the way in what it means to own a business and build a transparent, empowering culture within his team. 

You can find out more about YKTR here:
https://www.yktr.com.au/

You can follow Ice on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/iice_/

Kevin Manuel was the very first New Zealand male to compete on the world stage at the CrossFit Games. He competed in 2015 where he finished 17th overall. Kev talks about his competitiveness when entering competitions and how his family upbringing played a part in his success on the CrossFit world stage. 

Kevin shares his thoughts and experiences on the intense training, recovery and the sacrifices it took for him to get to the CrossFit Games as well as all the qualifying competitions leading up to it. While Kev still loves to compete, he is now a dedicated father of two, husband and business owner in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Kevin's success as an athlete, father, husband and business owner is a credit to his character and the values he has been brought up with. As well as the loving environment he and his wife have created with their friends and family.

Valentin was born in West Auckland, growing up in a household with his Croatian-born parents and 5 siblings. He now lives in Piha just north of Auckland with his wife Eleanor and their 3 children.
 
Today I Love Ugly continues to grow as an internationally recognised brand. One that has carved out a niche as an everyday premium menswear lifestyle brand, towards collaborating with some of the world's most prestigious heritage brands such as Onitsuka Tiger, and JanSport. I Love Ugly is ever-evolving with a strive to push boundaries and innovatively revolutionise the menswear lifestyle marketplace of tomorrow.

Valentin reflects everything I Love Ugly stands for and is one of the most interesting guys I’ve met, he became a father at 22 years old with only 3 weeks notice. Began his company as a University ‘passion project’ and while he has a mountain of successes, he has learnt many lessons on the way.

You can check out the I Love Ugly website below:
https://www.iloveugly.com/

You can also follow Valentin on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/valentinozich?utm_medium=copy_link

Peter Cowan is a New Zealand representative Waka Ama para-athlete, he has competed all around the world representing his country and has hopes of one day competing at the Paralympic Games.

He currently lives in his hometown of Hastings, New Zealand with his wife Olea and son Kai. He is also a member of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, completing his mission in both Japan and Australia. 

When Peter was 15 years old, biking on his way home from school, he suffered a near-fatal accident which resulted in him making the decision to amputate his leg after a year of rehab.

Peter's story shows us the importance of having the support of those closest to us in times of crisis, as well as finding humour in the tough times as a way to get through. He has found his passion for Waka Ama to be therapeutic in his journey through life and has let nothing stop him along the way.

#slowforward

Jack Jensen is the owner and founder of MSFT Productions, a company dedicated to spreading the froth through content creation, apparel and events. 

MSFT Productions has been a leader in encouraging people to talk to one another regarding their mental health. The #sparkthatchat campaign was received across Australasia, in memory of Reid O'Leary, the campaign continues to positively impact people across the world. 

You can follow Jack and the MSFT Productions journey on all social media, as well as on their website:
https://msftproductions.net/

#slowforward

Les Holland is the owner and a trainer at CrossFit Napier, New Zealand. He is an ultra marathon runner and most recently completed the Tarawera Ultra Marathon '100 Miler' race. In addition to Les' running endeavours, he previously worked in investment banking in both London and Hong Kong.

During this podcast, Les sheds light on his battle with addiction, life growing up in East London, the realm of investment banking, and how running has helped him through the darkest of times.

You can find out more about 'The Nox' - CrossFit Napier at;
https://www.crossfitnapier.co.nz/

#slowforward

Brook Macdonald is a New Zealand professional mountain bike rider. He is a regular Top 10 rider on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup circuit. In September 2019, Brook suffered a devastating accident that threatened to end his mountain bike career and would change life as he knew it. You can check out his documentary 'The Road Back' on Red Bull TV here:
https://www.redbull.com/nz-en/films/the-road-back-brook-macdonald