‘‘Mike grew up on a farm in Castlepoint, half an hour out of Masterton on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. He was raised by working-class parents who held fairly typical rural beliefs - you know, be courteous, respect your elders, work hard. 

Mike loved sport and spent his formative years playing golf. And a lot of it. By his late-teens Mike was good. But, in the words of his then coach, he was told: "you're too small and will never hit the ball far enough to be elite."   

This is the story of how those comments changed Mike and dramatically shaped the way he has conducted his life ever since.

Mike tells of how he started to look for answers in places that he'd never thought to look before. He talks about his journey into weightlifting, sport science and postgraduate research. But most importantly, Mike tells of how being told what to do as a young athlete created a disdain for old-school learning pedagogies now as an adult.

Mike is a coach for HPSNZ. The people he works with like to throw things really fast, and really far. His job, as he describes it, is to help them stay true to who they are. As an athlete. And as a human.’’