Hockey player Gemma Flynn, styled by Sisters & Co, with hair and makeup by Sarah Williams. Photo/George Novak
Hockey player Gemma Flynn, styled by Sisters & Co, with hair and makeup by Sarah Williams. Photo/George Novak
Annemarie Quill catches up with Black Stick Gemma Flynn as she prepares for the Rio Olympics
In ripped black skinny jeans, a black singlet and Beau Coops ankle boots, 25-year-old Gemma Flynn blends in on Maunganui Rd in her hometown of Tauranga.
Having just been for a run around the Avenues, where her parents live, flat white from Gusto in hand and chatting on her iPhone, you might not look twice, except perhaps in envy of her toned shoulders.
"I can go pretty much incognito around Tauranga - some people might stop and chat about hockey, but that is about it."
But anywhere else in the world, Flynn is recognised and by many - young girls in particular - idolised.
Flynn is a key member of the New Zealand Black Sticks hockey team. The midfielder is the New Zealand women's side's fourth-highest goalscorer of all time, with 67 goals. Playing with the team since 2008, she has 213 caps.
Looking fresh, she has just flown in from Argentina, where the team competed in the Hockey World League tournament and won silver. The Black Sticks defeated Great Britain and Germany on their way to the grand final on Monday, but ran into an unbeatable home team. Flynn is pragmatic.
"Obviously it is disappointing not to get the result we wanted, but we can still take great encouragement from our placing second. To make the final in the top eight teams in the world gives us so much confidence leading into the Olympics." Rio, Flynn's third Olympics, is her big focus next year, as for the whole team.
"The Black Sticks will be competing in another big-league tournament in London in June and throughout the year, playing series in Argentina and Australia. But Rio is our goal and focus - it has been for the last four years."
With Rio looming there will be no training break over Christmas.
"You use it or lose it, so we don't want to relax too much."
However, Flynn is spending a few days in Tauranga with family before heading back to Christchurch, where she lives with her partner, former All Black captain Richie McCaw. The couple will be spending Christmas in the South Island, but every other Christmas is spent in the Bay with Flynn's large family.
Her mother, Michelle, is a teacher at Tauranga Intermediate, which Flynn attended before heading to Tauranga Girls' College. Dad, Rob, is a contract engineer. Flynn also has two older brothers, Jared, a geologist, and Isaac, a food technologist, as well as nine cousins, all hailing from the Bay.
"Nana lives here and mum's brothers and sisters, which meant that I had nine cousins growing up here together. Now we are all aged between 20 and 32 and although we are spread all over the country, we are all very close and we try to get back for family celebrations as much as we can." Flynn says she also still catches up with good friends from school.
Flynn says ideally she would like to purchase some property here so she has a bolthole where she can spend a longer time in the Bay when she wants to visit, liking the region for its more relaxed atmosphere.
"It is refreshing coming back to Tauranga."
Tauranga Intermediate principal Brian Diver with teacher Michelle Flynn, her daughter Gemma Flynn and Gemma's partner, Richie McCaw. Photo/supplied
The Bay is a refreshing place to have a break from both hockey and the intense scrutiny on the couple.
The last time the Flynns gathered in the Bay, Nana took Flynn and McCaw to the Tauranga Citz Club with all her friends, introducing her as her granddaughter, the hockey star.
Flynn says she is realistic that women's sport often gets less profile than men's sports, but is gracious and doesn't begrudge any of the attention heaped on her partner and the game of rugby.
"To see how loved the All Blacks are and how they affect the community, and how kids' faces light up, it is special and I never mind if people come up and ask for photos - I always offer to take them."
What she would like to see more of, though, is role models for young girls. "For me, the reason I think it is good that women's sport, like netball and hockey, is getting more attention in New Zealand is that it gives young girls more role models for women athletes, and I think that it is good for girls growing up to have these sorts of role models, not just ones from the entertainment world."
Positively influencing young girls is one of Flynn's passions. In her last visit to Tauranga, she and McCaw visited Tauranga Intermediate school, and she has also given talks at Tauranga Girls' College.
Helping girls and women feel positive about their health, both mentally and physically, is a passion of hers that she has turned into a business.
In Christchurch, she and others have started the 100 Percent Project, which she runs with former Silver Fern Maree Bowden and high-performance trainer John Quinn. Flynn says she will transition into a full-time life coach and mentor, which ties in with her degree in sports science and technology.
The company works with individuals, groups, schools and businesses educating and inspiring people to live a healthier and more sustainable life.
"We started the business but, realistically, I will not be doing it this year with the focus being on Rio. However, longer-term life coaching, both one-on-one and in schools and workplaces, is something I really want to do. I am keen to specialise in women's wellness and a holistic approach to health and fitness."
Flynn has piloted the programme in Christchurch schools and also at the Aims Games here in Tauranga. Despite her own athlete-level fitness, she says body image is something she sometimes struggles with and thinks if you can influence girls positively at a young age, it assists tremendously with wellbeing.
Flynn is very much a girl's girl and, despite being associated with one of the most famous men in New Zealand, she chooses a night out with the girls over date night.
"We spend a lot of time together as a team and we work and train hard, but afterwards enjoy having a spa and coffee together."
As well as Flynn, two other Black Sticks hail from Tauranga, Sam Charlton and Rose Keddell.
We spend so much time in our hockey gear it is like a uniform, so we like putting on dresses. We definitely enjoy that side of things
Keddell, 21, is in line for one of world hockey's most prestigious awards, the FIH Rising Star award given to the best player under age 23. Flynn says she is thrilled to see her colleague getting this recognition. "We are all close as players but with Sam and Rose also being from Tauranga, there is always banter between us."
Flynn laughs at the suggestion you have to be blonde to make the Black Sticks "Of course not, but we do joke that there are a lot of us blondes, and then we all have dark eyebrows that Black Stick Charlotte Harrison, a beautician, does for us.
We love to play as a team, but we also love to celebrate as a team and often that means dressing up, which a lot of us enjoy. We spend so much time in our hockey gear it is like a uniform, so we like putting on dresses. We definitely enjoy that side of things."
Over the next five weeks, Flynn and the girls will have a break from the hockey turf but will still be training at least two hours a day. Team trainer Brad Conza, based in Auckland, sends the girls individual training programmes.
"There is no getting out of it as you wear a heart rate monitor and he monitors and measures all our performances."
When not on the hockey turf, Flynn attends the gym (Global Fitness, or Aspire if in Tauranga), runs and does yoga, cross training and boxing.
The team nutritionist also keeps a close eye on the girls' food, and Flynn says it helps that two of the players are nutritionists themselves.
"It is not about what you can't have, it is about what you can have to fuel your body. We eat well to perform well, so lots of protein, less sugar, good fats. It doesn't mean you cannot have carbs - it is about choosing the right carbs. "I eat really well 80 per cent of the time. If it's a birthday or celebration, I might have a piece of cake and occasionally enjoy a nice glass of red with dinner, but really the focus is on eating well for training."
New Zealand Black Sticks Gemma Flynn. Photo/file
Flynn has not yet decided whether she will hang up her hockey stick after Rio.
"I have alway said I will keep on doing it as long as I enjoy it. It's a shame as, because we are not paid, some of the girls end up giving up before they are ready, to do a job and have a family."
As for her personal plans, Flynn is tight-lipped, despite constant suggestions in the media about her and McCaw.
The latest was this week when sports presenter Jenny-May Coffin put McCaw on the spot on One News asking about babies. McCaw responded that one would have to be answered by Gemma.
"My nana always says those that matter don't mind and those that mind don't matter. My own family and friends would never ask questions like that, but I do not let it bother me. My focus is the team this year and, as a couple, we always support each other to achieve our goals. That is the best I would want in any couple. This next year will be about hockey and working hard towards our goal."
