MĀTAI SMITH REVEALS ‘HOW TRAGEDY TRANSFORMED ME'

The host of TVNZ’s 9 Lives opens up about love, loss and a midlife crisis

- Elisabeth Easther

When TV presenter Matai Smith was a kid in Gisborne in the ’90s, life was tough. “I grew up in quite a poverty-stricken area,” he recalls. “The Mongrel Mob was down our street, Black Power lived near my grandparents and gangs were just part of my environment.”

But Matai’s parents worked incredibly hard to give him and baby brother Hakim everything they needed. “Dad worked at the fisheries and mum was at Wattie’s, so we weren’t the richest whanau in our neighbourhood, but we were rich in aroha. Mum and Dad also did their darndest for us to have the best education. If there were school trips, we went on them and there was always pocket money for books.”

Their hard work paid off. In 1995, while in 7th form, Matai was offered numerous tertiary scholarships and was also a finalist in the national Maori speech competition. Now 44, he remembers, “Mum and I flew up to Auckland together. You can just picture this country bumpkin in the bright lights of the big city!”

The Aotea Centre was packed as Matai gave his speech about the many faces of racism. “I came second overall and I won the impromptu section, but best of all, unbeknownst to me, Hinewehi Mohi, producer of TVNZ’s Marae, saw it.”

Having heard he wanted to get into TV, the acclaimed musician offered Matai a role as researcher on her series and, after much soul-searching, the young Gisborne lad declined all the scholarships and opted to take up the wonderful opportunity in Auckland.

Following three years with Marae, Matai then spent a decade working in children’s shows, including Pukana, Aotearoa’s first kids’ series in full te reo.