Q & A WITH THE BROWN BUTTABEAN Q&AWITH; DAVE LETELE (aka Brown Buttabean) For the past few months Safekids has been working with Dave Letele and his wonderful family to develop new ways of sharing child injury prevention messages with whānau. What prompted you to get involved with Safekids? I guess that having four children myself, I realised that I didn’t know as much as I probably should in terms of safety for my children around the house. So it was really around educating myself. From there I realised that if I didn’t know much, most of my peers didn’t or wouldn’t know much. So it’s a lot to do with educating our people as well. How did you manage to convince Koreen and the boys to go along with this? My boys love being on camera so they’re all good. Koreen was on board straight away. It’s all about education. She’s a first time mother and there’s a lot of education for her and she’s really enjoying it. Dave, also known by his ring name Brown Buttabean, is a Samoan-Māori boxer slash league player, who has hung up his boots and gloves and turned his attention to helping communities across Auckland tackle weight loss and healthy lifestyle goals. Dave has an inspirational story to tell about his early days and his own journey overcoming physical, emotional, mental and financial demons. He is a strong voice for whānau and spends every day paying back the acts of kindness that allowed him to find his “why” and lose more than 100 kilos over four years. Every week, Dave and his team leaders train hundreds of whānau wanting to change their lives and adopt healthier lifestyles. They focus on the long-term journey, promoting group workouts, supportive community and healthy eating habits. Their success is evident in the estimated 70,000 kgs they have collectively shed. As parents to four boys, Dave and his wife Koreen, are very aware of the challenges of keeping their kids safe while giving them opportunities to explore, learn and test their limits. With a line-up of tween, teen and newborn, the Leteles are able to showcase the challenges and injury prevention messages that families face as children move through different developmental stages. We are really excited at the opportunity to work with them and to share their experiences as a family. 4 safekids news | April 2018 ISSUE No 79