As the youngest of four Tauranga brothers, Sam Roy has spent a fair few of his 17 years in the shade, feeding off the scraps of his sporting siblings.
Now the Otumoetai College star has emerged from the undergrowth, proudly clutching a fellow forest-floor dweller to his chest in the shape of a silver fern.
Roy will make his international debut this weekend with the New Zealand junior kayaking team in Sydney, competing in a round of the Australian canoe sprint series. It caps a remarkable transition after a scrawny young tyro first picked up a paddle three years ago to help his surf lifesaving skill-set but Roy's selection is one he isn't going to waste.
"I just want to go out and enjoy myself and enjoy the fact I've come this far," Roy mused. "It's my first international event and my first time in a New Zealand team so I'll be happy with any result on the international stage but getting there has meant a lot of hard work and a lot of people supporting me."
Among those influences have been Bay of Plenty kayaking coach Stephen Brown, Tauranga-based international paddler Scott Bicknell, Mount Maunganui surf lifesaving coach John "Spindles" Bryant and Roy's older brother Andrew, who will also be racing at the Sydney International Regatta Centre this weekend.