For this weeks Fan Favourite episode we throw back to one of the most powerful episodes to date, I’ll always remember this episode for the feeling of goosebumps I got down my spine as Michael Fatialofa shared his incredible journey. Fats was one of the toughest players on the field I ever played with and he proved he was even tougher off it after a life changing tackle.

The former Auckland, Southland and Hurricanes star was over in the UK playing for Worcester, when he was hit awkwardly in a tackle that caused him to be Paralysed from the neck down. He was told he will never walk again! From that moment his life had changed forever and hearing the battle he has gone through the last 3 years left me feeling inspired, sad and proud of what he has been able to achieve.

This episode is an awesome reminder to be truely grateful for everything you have in your life, as like in Michaels case it can literally be taken away from you overnight. I'm so grateful to Fat's for coming on What a Lad and speaking so openly about his journey, it is one of the most powerful and inspiring episodes ever!

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This one has it all — Scott Waldrom, one of the most explosive loose forwards to play the game, jumps on for an absolute ripper of a chat and does not hold back. From growing up as a rugby super fan idolising his hero’s to playing with legends like Jonah Lomu, Jerry Collins, Christian Cullen and Justin Marshall, to getting dropped from Sevens after a scrap in Lower Hutt, Scooters career is full of highs, lows, and unreal yarns.

We talk about:

• His early days which involved plenty of battles with younger brother Thomas Waldrom
• Debuting with Jonah Lomu and being starstruck in training
• Getting told he was too small for NPC and proving everyone wrong
• National Nude Day and bar vouchers 
• Being told his foot injury meant his rugby career was over — and then making it back
• Getting named in the All Blacks squad and wondering if he belonged
• The brutal truth about injuries, pressure, drinking culture, and bouncing back
• Coaching with the NZ Sevens, a scary health scare and life after footy

Honest, hilarious, and full of insight — this one’s got everything. A top man with a stack of stories. Scooter Waldrom is an absolute lad!

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Marty Banks was a cult hero, fans loved him. He looked like your average kiwi bloke, tall, low muscle mass and ran a distinctive curly mop. On the field he was a point scoring machine, he kicked goals from everywhere and made a habit of scoring long range tries which his deceptive pace.

That's the Marty we all knew from the screen. The Marty you'll hear from in this episode is the one who struggled with self confidence, the one who battled through serious injury pain and the one who has had his challenges transitioning into post footy.

Marty played all around the world and experienced so much from the game, having played in Russia, Italy, Japan, Refton, Nelson, Wellington and Dunedin. He's someone who always enjoyed a good time and never took himself to seriously, he even famously chopped a beer a fan threw at him before kicking a conversion to beat Taranaki!

He's definitely a massive lad so it was awesome to get him on What a Lad again.

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We got back to an early fan favourite for this one with the great Mark Stafford!

The beauty of a podcast, you think you know someone well, then you sit with them on the podcast and you are absolutely blown away with their story. That is exactly how this episode with the great man Mark Stafford aka Staffy went. 

Staffy has had an incredible journey to become the face of the TAB and the face of sport here in NZ but he certainly had a few bumps along the way. He shares some mind blowing stories in this episode including one how he died in a car crash but was brought back to life, in an event that ended his rugby career. 

Staffy also gives some unreal insight in to what goes on behind the scenes at the tab and some unbelievable match fixing stories.

I loved this episode as it has a bit of everything in it and you can hear what a genuinely great lad Staffy is!

If you enjoy this episode as always please share it, this is a great one to share with anyone who is having a tough time. 

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"Who's that new hooker at the Crusaders?" That's a question I'm hearing everywhere! Well in fact that man is Ioane Moananu and this is your chance to hear all about this great man in his first ever podcast. Now Ioane is incredibly humble and down to earth with a infectious laugh and cool story. From struggling to start for Counties Manakau to becoming arguably the form hooker of Super Rugby Ioane has had an incredible 12 months and the future is so bright for this great man.

This episode is a good reminder of when you play the game because you love it, the setbacks become easier to handle. Ioane has had plenty of challenging injuries early in his career and his mum recommended he shouldn't play anymore. That was never an option for Ioane who has a passion for the game.

It's also a reminder that as you move into the professional game, all those professional habits like recovery, sleep, nutrition all add up to make a massive difference in performance as we've seen with Ioane. So there is plenty of great advice in this one!

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Scott Fuglistaller was one of those champion team mates who did everything he could to be the best he could be. Unfortunately for the self acclaimed battler it was just never quite enough during his time at the Hurricanes competing with some pretty gifted athletes. He found a way though with moves to the Highlanders and then the Melbourne Rebels for him to become a regular Super Rugby starter and even captain. Sitting at a natural weight of around 80kgs, Scotty had to work so hard in the gym and with his diet to get to a weight that he could survive in the forwards at Super Rugby level. That came at a price, having 11 major surgeries during his career which took it's toll.

Some other parts that stood out for me in this one were..

The freedom Scotty had growing up which meant he grew up quick

How finding rugby was a turning point in his life

How he got from 80kg to 106kgs

His battles with self confidence and why he played his best under pressure

Why he moved to Japan and his time playing there

The struggle of life after rugby

And how he landed in his current role of helping retired players tranisition with the NZRPA.

As you'll hear Scotty has had a journey to get where he is, he's such a top man who will always put others first. Let me know what stood out for you in this one in the comments 👇

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Voted by you guys as the funniest episode ever!

Charlie Gubb is one of my all time favourite Warriors, not just because of the way he played on the field (even though he was an absolute animal) but more importantly because of how big of a lad that he is off it.

Gubby is the kind of team mate everyone loves to have in the team environment, loves a yarn, loves banter and just loves being around the lads. What I didn't realise before going into this podcast was the incredible journey Rugby League took him on!

Some of the interesting points were..

How he made his own highlights package and posted it to all the NRL clubs to get his first opportunity,

How he eventually worked his way into the Warriors and some classic stories from his time with them,

Why he moved to the Raiders (another crazy story that) followed by a move to the UK,

His battles with concussion and mental health,

Why he walked out on his contract in the UK,

and how he ended up starting up Wellingtons favourite porta loo company, Porta Kings.

This is without a doubt one of the funniest episodes so far. I found myself laughing away through this episode at the time and then in the edit. At the end of this episode you'll realise why everyone regards the great Charlie Gubb as one of the all time great team mates.

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Taha Kemara is one of the most talented players in the country, he's fast, he's tough, he has an incredible skillset and more importantly he is a champion lad! For a 21 year old he has certainly experienced plenty of highs and lows from the game already some parts that stood out for me were..

- Growing up as a bigger sized kid which lead him to playing prop until college.

- His time at Hamilton Boys and the influence Nigel Hotham had on him

- Signing with the Crusaders for 3 years straight out of school

- How he's learnt from Richie Mo'unga, Aaron Cruden, Fergus Burke, James O'Connor, Stephen Donald in his first few years.

- He shares his memory from the moment he ruptured his bowel in the NPC

- The challenges involved with moving away from home

- What lies ahead and heaps more.

As you'll hear Taha is such a good human, hard to believe he is only 21! The potential he has is massive and I'm sure you will enjoy following his journey after hearing what a lad he is!

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After 5 years of What a Lad here is one of your selected favourite episodes with the great Robbie Flynn. Robbie is was widely regarded as one of the most talented players in the country but as we all know talent will only get you so far. The beauty of this episode is how honest Robbie is with what held him back from fulfilling his potential.

Robbie Flynn really should be a household name. He should be known as a rugby player who played at the highest level, with the natural talent that he had. Unfortunately, Robbie blew chance, after chance, after chance, as he struggled with self discipline and like many talented kids, he just kind of expected things to happen.

Hearing Robbie talk about his upbringing was incredible and to say he had a tough start to life would be a massive understatement. His love for rugby throughout the episode is clear and self confidence that he has is refreshing to hear.

I hope you all find this episode as inspiring and funny as I did and if you know a young talented athlete please send it on to them

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Andy Ellis is one of the most well connected lads on the planet and after this episode it’s clear to see why. He’s the ultimate ‘yes man’, happy to give anything a crack which is evident by his list of achievements.

Some of his achievements include…

➖ Hosting the no1 TV show in NZ ‘Moving Houses’

➖ Having the no1 song in NZ with C-City Brothers

➖ Hosted the morning radio show

➖ Qualified landscaper

➖ Business owner of Black Origin (Wagu Beef), Gravity (internet company), Hello Kiwi (internet domains)

➖ NPC winner with Canterbury

➖ Super Rugby winner with the Crusaders

➖ RWC winner with the All Blacks

➖ Japan Top League winner with Kobe

➖ MLR winner with New York

So there is obviously plenty to talk about in this one and Andy is a natural story teller and it’s easy to see why he is so well respected, he is just a massive lad! Plenty of gold advice throughout that I’m sure you’ll enjoy and if you do please give it a share to anyone else you think might enjoy it as well.

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