(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan WittenbergMaharatia Clarke
Maharatia Clarke
“I’ve never had the confidence to be in front of the camera or to have my photos taken until I got into the entertainment industry. This gave me more self belief in myself which has made me the man I am today. I am now not only working on myself to become the best version I can be, I also push and strive to be the best in every area or aspect of my life and will continue to do so every year.
The tattoo (Tā moko) on my left shoulder, gives me the strength to stand tall and take pride in what I do. With my family on my chest and my iwi Tainui, I will make my mark here in this universe and be sure to make my presence well known.”
The tattoo (Tā moko) on my left shoulder, gives me the strength to stand tall and take pride in what I do. With my family on my chest and my iwi Tainui, I will make my mark here in this universe and be sure to make my presence well known.”
Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato.
Iwi are the largest social units in Aotearoa Māori society. The Māori-language word iwi means “people” or “nation” and is often translated as “tribe” or “a confederation of tribes”.
Iwi are the largest social units in Aotearoa Māori society. The Māori-language word iwi means “people” or “nation” and is often translated as “tribe” or “a confederation of tribes”.
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan WittenbergSammi
Sammi
(c) Ilan WittenbergSnow Spirit
Snow
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan WittenbergTrojan Horse
Trojan Horse
(c) Ilan WittenbergCasts Forever – Boys Whatever
Cats Forever – Boys Whatever
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
(c) Ilan WittenbergMike Cooper
“My name is Mike Cooper. I was born in 1949 and 70 years old. I’m flat lined with a heart attack ten years ago and have two stents in my heart! I am wearing a Medical alert bracelet on left wrist. On my right I’m wearing recycled beads – cleaning waste plastic from the oceans.
I am self-employed and using bacteria to reduce grease in the drains as well as NZ made and designed wool used mainly inside air filters to eliminate grease in the atmosphere in commercial kitchens.
I’m committed both in my business and my private life to protecting our precious and fragile environment.
Kia Kaha NZ”
(c) Ilan WittenbergJohn
“I am a father of three: 20, 9 & 8 who’s known to have a very busy schedule. In the past, I have shown people that everything in my life is fine on the surface, when in reality I have battled with depression, chronic alcoholism and gambling addictions which lead me down a path of self destruction. I have like many people tried and failed to combat the lifestyle of pain. There is a lot more to add, however I can say I am still here trying, haven’t given up on life, making better life decisions, wanting to live, not just exist. That is the bare truth.”
(c) Ilan Wittenberg
Alicia
Portrait Photographer Auckland
(c) Ilan WittenbergMila
Mila
I am a strong woman because I was raised by a strong woman. I am the woman that I am thanks to my mother who raised me on her own since she was 17 years old and taught me that women are the agents of change in our empowerment process and that we must take the reins to direct our own life. We must rebel and move from “Cannot be done” to “I can do it.” We are not born strong, it takes will and character to become strong. Strength is what drives us to live every day, overcoming challenges and obstacles. It is we who are responsible for deciding which path to take.
Simone!
Simone
I embrace change.
I am three years away from my fortieth birthday. Perhaps the dawning of this milestone, coupled with a sudden paradigm shift in my religious views just over a year ago, resulted in what others describe as a “midlife crisis”. I call it my “midlife rediscovery”. Perhaps the catalyst to my “existential crisis” was just my coming to the end of myself – who knows. What I do know however, is that I am no longer surviving this journey, but am now living an exceedingly abundant and passionate life.
Raised in Namibia, I was sexually molested as a child, raped twice as an adolescent, and eventually fell pregnant at age 16. My eldest son (of four) is one of only three people in the world with his specific congenital heart defect – resulting in him waiting for a heart transplant. I mention this only because many seek to understand my perceived recklessness through an “informed” lens centred on my prior, character-forming experiences. There may be some semblance of justification to this notion.
The father of my three subsequent children is perfect in every way – we had a wonderful – enviable marriage for nearly 17 years, until I burnt out as I sought to uphold perfection in the various constructs I found myself in. He, even today, says that I was indeed the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect homesteader, the perfect student and the perfect religious devotee.
I left all of that behind in 2018 to find who I truly was again. To date I have lost 49kgs. I have resumed pursuing my passions and have enjoyed a plethora of social experiences that make my every single day pure delight.
I have changed: from a religious fundamentalist devotee, to an agnostic Pan-Romantic pleasure-seeker; from home-schooling, stay-at-home mother, to a transient woman who has daily telephone contact – and fortnightly physical contact with her children; from being mortgage-free after owning my own home since the age of 20, to house-sitting now, and as yet undecided as to which country I will call home next year.
I have changed so much so that countless friends tell me that they do not know this, new, changed Simone. I tell them that this is the True Simone.
I.Embrace.Change.