Wiremu shares his story of growing up in what he describes as a 'once were worriors' life, his parents drinking and doing drugs and him left to be the primary caregiver - dumpster diving food, ripping off bakeries, cleaning windscreens and doing what ever he needed to do to support his siblings. At age 20 he has the heart to try and repair his relationship with his father, who tragically died in Wiremu's presence when he was visiting to have what he has hoped would be a pivotal conversation in healing their relationship. Overcome with grief, Wiremu set off to Auckland city to live on the streets for the best part of 16 years, where he succumbed to alcohol and drug addiction, including sniffing glue. After many health complications and multiple surgeries, one day Wiremu decided he'd had enough and was ready to start to turn his life around. He ended up living in a rest home, where he finally felt welcome and cared for. After years of not eating well, Wiremu had a healthy appetite and ended up overeating and putting on lots of weight - getting to 245kg. Again, Wiremu realised he was not happy with the direction of his life wanted to change, so he connected with Dave Letele, founder of BBM Motivation, an Auckland based program supporting people on their health and wellness journeys. Through BBM, Wiremu has lost 87kg so far and is not only continuing his own health journey, but motivated to support others to turn their life around as well. With BBM Founder Dave Letele, host Hamish Coleman-Ross and psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald, thanks to NZ on Air.
