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🌈 TAKATĀPUI TALK – INDIGENOUS VOICES

GEOFFREY RUAINE | PART TWO

From living with HIV to becoming a voice for change.

In Part Two, Geoffrey shares his deeply personal experience of being diagnosed with HIV in the 1990s, navigating fear, stigma, relationships and the early years of treatment.

But his story doesn't end with his diagnosis.

Geoffrey became a passionate advocate through the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, working alongside other Takatāpui to bring HIV education, understanding and compassion into our Māori communities.

His advocacy would eventually take him to Rarotonga, where sharing his own story became an extraordinary act of courage.

We also explore the importance of whānau support, the lasting effects of homophobia, and Geoffrey's journey into nursing later in life.

This is an important piece of our rainbow history, told by someone who lived it, challenged it and helped change it.

❤️ These are the voices we must never lose.

🌈 PART TWO | SUNDAY AT 6PM

#TakatapuiTalk #IndigenousVoices #GeoffreyRuaine #HIVAwareness #RainbowHistory #Takatapui #LGBTQStories

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Our conversations.
Our stories.
Our voices.

Arohanui.

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🌈 TAKATĀPUI TALK – INDIGENOUS VOICES

GEOFFREY RUAINE | A TWO-PART SPECIAL

Island roots. Untold stories. A life worth sharing.

From growing up in Rotorua to the bright lights of Sydney and New York, and now the beautiful shores of Rarotonga.

Geoffrey Ruaine has lived an extraordinary life. From drag and the legendary Carmen Rupe to becoming a nurse at 40, his journey is filled with courage, reinvention, laughter, love and survival.

In this deeply personal two-part conversation, two old friends reconnect, sharing memories, confronting stigma, reflecting on growing older as gay men, and celebrating the lives we've lived.

There are stories that make us laugh, stories that move us, and stories that deserve to be heard.

PART ONE PREMIERES SUNDAY AT 6PM.

Because every life has a story worth telling. ❤️🌈

#TakatapuiTalk #IndigenousVoices #GeoffreyRuaine #LGBTQStories #RainbowHistory #Rarotonga

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Our conversations.
Our stories.
Our voices.

Arohanui.

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🐻🌈 MEET PAPA BEAR!

This Sunday on Takatāpui Talk – Indigenous Voices, we're joined by Paul Heard, affectionately known as “Papa Bear.”

From Auckland's legendary URGE Bar on Karangahape Road to the infamous underwear parties, bear culture, HIV/AIDS advocacy and decades of gay nightlife, Paul has lived through and helped shape an extraordinary chapter of our queer history in Aotearoa.

But who is the man behind Papa Bear?

We go back to his childhood, discovering his sexuality, finding his community, the people who shaped his life and the journey that eventually took him from the bright lights of K Road to a quieter life by the sea.

There'll be laughter, memories, a little mischief and, as always, some wonderfully honest storytelling. 😂❤️

Because our history isn't just about the places we went. It's about the people who made those places matter.

🎙️ Sunday 25 October | 6PM
📺 YouTube | 🎧 Spotify, Apple Podcasts & other podcast platforms

Takatāpui Talk – Indigenous Voices
Our stories, told by us.

#TakatapuiTalk #IndigenousVoices #PapaBear #PaulHeard #URGEBar #QueerHistoryNZ #GayAuckland #LGBTQHistory #Takatapui #QueerAotearoa #RainbowCommunity

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Our conversations.
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Arohanui.

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TAKATĀPUI TALK: ELECTION SPECIAL — POLITICS, POLICIES & A LITTLE BIT OF FILTH! 🌈🗳️

Politics has never sounded quite like this!

With the election approaching, Takatāpui Talk brings together a fabulous, outspoken panel for an unapologetically queer conversation about the issues affecting our communities across Aotearoa.

Host Donald Hollingsworth is joined by Paul Heard, Steven Oates, Tiffany Wayne, Annah Pickering and Mihirawhiti Searancke for a lively discussion covering Te Tiriti o Waitangi, housing, homelessness, healthcare, social welfare, transgender rights and the political decisions shaping our lives.

There are serious questions, differing opinions, personal experiences and moments that remind us why our voices deserve to be heard.

And then, naturally, things get a little naughty!

From outrageous political hypotheticals to our very own Fashion Police, no politician's wardrobe is entirely safe from scrutiny.

It's political commentary with humour, heart, a healthy dose of cheekiness and absolutely no shortage of personality.

Because politics affects all of us, and being informed doesn't have to be boring.

Whatever your political persuasion, we encourage you to listen, question, investigate the policies and make your own informed decision at the ballot box.

Our voices. Our stories. Our future.

🎙️ Takatāpui Talk — Indigenous Voices

Listener discretion advised: Adult humour, colourful language and frank political discussion.

#TakatapuiTalk #IndigenousVoices #NZElection2026 #Takatapui #RainbowVoices #MaoriVoices #PoliticalPanel #YourVoteMatters

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Our conversations.
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Arohanui.

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“This is my love letter.” ❤️🌈

Tonight on Takatāpui Talk — Indigenous Voices, we meet Krystal Kara, one of the wāhine stepping onto the stage for Miss Whakawahine 2026.

Krystal shares her whakapapa, growing up Māori, the whakawāhine who came before her, sisterhood, visibility and why Miss Whakawahine means so much more to her than beauty or a crown.

For Krystal, this pageant is a love letter — to her aunties, her whānau, the trailblazers who created space before her, and ultimately, to herself.

“We’ve always been here. We’re visible.”

With Miss Whakawahine taking place this Saturday, we’re proud to share another voice from this extraordinary community.

🎥 Krystal Kara — tonight on Takatāpui Talk, Indigenous Voices

#TakatāpuiTalk #IndigenousVoices #MissWhakawahine #Whakawahine #Takatāpui #Māori #TransMāori #Sisterhood #Visibility #PrideAotearoa #IndigenousStories

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Arohanui.

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Tiffany Twist | Miss Whakawahine 2026, whakapapa and finding her voice

This week on Takatāpui Talk, Indigenous Voices, I sit down with Tiffany Twist for a kōrero full of humour, honesty and heart.

Tiffany takes us from her childhood in Kaiti and Ruatōrā to 27 years in hairdressing, and shares how her relationship with whānau, faith and whakapapa has shaped the woman she is today. We talk about takatāpui identity, the joy of finding community, and why she’s become so passionate about speaking up for our people.

Tiffany is also entering Miss Whakawahine 2026. She tells me how preparations are going, what she might do for her talent, and why putting on a good show matters more to her than winning.

There are serious moments, plenty of laughs, and a woman who knows exactly when to say what she thinks. Come and meet Tiffany Twist. 💜

Takatāpui Talk, Indigenous Voices — our stories, in our own voices.

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Our conversations.
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Arohanui.

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Nephi’s Story | Takatāpui Talk, Indigenous Voices

After more than three decades, Donald reconnects with Nephi, a friend from his Auckland salon days. Together they revisit the late 1980s and early 1990s: the clubs, the fashion, their careers, and the people who helped them find their way.

When Donald asks what Nephi remembers about herself at that time, her answer is simple and moving: “I was lost.”

This is a conversation about the lives they lived then, the people they have become, and why those memories deserve to be heard and kept.

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Our conversations.
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Arohanui.

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In this beautiful and deeply personal episode, Te Warena shares her journey from childhood into a remarkable working life shaped by creativity, education and service.

She reflects on growing up takatāpui, challenging the idea that our identities are something we are “influenced” into, before taking us through the many chapters of her career. At the heart of her kōrero is the extraordinary pastoral care she offers her learners—seeing the whole person, creating safety and helping each one recognise their own potential.

Warm, funny and full of wisdom, this is a conversation about identity, purpose and the lasting difference one caring person can make.

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

Follow Takatāpui Talk on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for episode updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and upcoming interviews.

Our conversations.
Our stories.
Our voices.

Arohanui.

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🌈 TONIGHT AT 6PM | MACAU JOHNSON

Tonight on Takatāpui Talk, Macau Johnson shares a kōrero filled with the highs and lows of life.

From his childhood and studying Film and Television, to working on a recycling truck and becoming a Drag Race commentator, Macau speaks openly about the experiences that shaped him—including his extraordinary hauora journey.

Honest, funny and real—this is Macau’s story, told in his own words.

🎥 Watch on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@TakatapuiTalk

🎧 Listen on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/0f7P5M6L4IYgR1Qe2k5qgM

🎙️ Listen on Buzzsprout
https://takatapuitalk.buzzsprout.com

📘 Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TakatapuiTalk

📸 Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/takatapuitalk

🎵 TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@takatapuitalk

Please follow, share and help us carry these stories further.

Our conversations.
Our stories.
Our voices.

#TakatāpuiTalk #IndigenousVoices #MacauJohnson #Takatāpui #MāoriPodcast #Hauora #DragRace #QueerMāori #RainbowWhānau #Aotearoa

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

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Our conversations.
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Arohanui.

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In this powerful episode of **Takatāpui Talk — Indigenous Voices**, Donald Hollingsworth sits down with **Dr Huhana Hickey MNZM** for an intimate conversation about an extraordinary life.

Dr Hu is Māori, disabled, lesbian, a lawyer, academic, human rights advocate and internationally recognised voice for disability rights. But behind those achievements is a deeply personal story of identity, whakapapa, adversity, resilience, humour and an unwavering determination to create change.

From her childhood and the discovery of her Māori whakapapa, to living with disability, finding her place within our rainbow communities, studying law and becoming a formidable advocate for others, Dr Hu speaks openly about the experiences that have shaped her.

And amongst the serious kōrero, there is plenty of laughter — including the wonderful story of a moko that apparently likes to dance like Michael Jackson.

For Donald, hearing Dr Hu tell her story was an experience he won't forget.

This is more than an interview about achievement. It is the story of a wahine who has continually challenged the spaces that weren't designed to include her — and helped make those spaces better for the people coming behind her.

**An extraordinary life. An honour to share.**

🎙️ **Takatāpui Talk — Indigenous Voices**
Hosted by Donald Hollingsworth

#TakatāpuiTalk #IndigenousVoices #HuhanaHickey #Takatāpui #WhānauHauā #Māori #DisabilityRights #LGBTQIA #Aotearoa

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

Follow Takatāpui Talk on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for episode updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and upcoming interviews.

Our conversations.
Our stories.
Our voices.

Arohanui.