Six months into his tenure as the Hamilton West MP, Tama Potaka has earned a reputation as a fitness enthusiast and push-up aficionado. Video / Mike Scott
Tama Potaka might be a newbie to national politics, but he’s an old hand at keeping his mind and body in shape.
The Hamilton West MP enjoys a daily exercise programme few MPs in Parliament could keep up with, though Labour’s Stuart Nash and former National MP Alfred Ngaro had a few healthy weight competitions.
The former Te Aute College student said physical fitness has been a big part of his upbringing.
“I’m not as fit as I was when I was doing Ironman,” Potaka said.
“My wife and I used to run events for Tri-Māori at Karapiro.”
Potaka, 47, said during those days, he was running marathons as part of a physically gruelling weekly training schedule.
“If I had to run a marathon (42km) today, I could but it would be ugly,” said Potaka, who has whakapapa to Ngāti Hauiti, Whanganui, Taranaki and Ngāti Toa.
National's Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka gives his maiden statement to the House. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“It would not be pretty. I try to train every day and the key for all of us is Te Whare Tapa Whā — the four cornerstones of Māori health.
“We have to have fitness or health and wellbeing across different dimensions. It might be going to church for your spiritual side and that is important to me.”
Potaka said he had always been a fitness person — even when he breaks bones.
“When I broke a foot, I still trained for the next 10 weeks in my cast. Can’t stop training because you got a broken bone,” the father of three said.
“My parents — who were school teachers — were big on sport and the social dynamics which comes with it.
“We were always out, and for our communities, sport is not just about fitness but is social and whānau engagement.
“Like most Māori, I played rugby and softball, along with long ball and T-ball.”
Going to Te Aute College in Hawke’s Bay, there were only three sports you could play: rugby, rugby or rugby, Potaka said with a laugh.
When Potaka is in Wellington, his typical day starts with working out how much sleep he will need.
“If you want five hours, you organise your day around a 5.30am wake-up to train for 45-60 minutes at the hotel gym” — where he lives in Wellington — or at Parliament’s gym, where other MPs and some members of the Diplomatic Protection Squad work out.
Plus, Potaka said the walking networks around Wellington were fantastic.
He’s at his Beehive office about 7.30am for meetings and House sittings. Parliament can sit to 10pm.
“Sometimes you don’t have time for proper kai. I always tell people you have to understand what is coming into your body physically, spiritually, culturally, socially — and what’s coming out.
“If you don’t get the right balance, you can get to the risk stage.”
“I would encourage all people to get up and do something.”
The day the Herald spoke with Potaka, he had 11 meetings and the House was sitting.
“Those seats are not built for health and wellbeing,” Potaka said, laughing. “They are not the ones you see on TV — the massage ones.
“So I’m always up and go and see people — just to get off my seat.”
His past week was also a haze of airport check-ins.
“I was in Hamilton-Auckland-Hamilton, Christchurch, Auckland-Hamilton and was supposed to go to Gisborne but ended up back in Hamilton and then to Christchurch then back to Auckland-Hamilton-Rotorua and that was one week,” he said.
“But we do get around and that puts pressure on whānau.”
Potaka said balancing whānau pressures with job and fitness is tough on everyone.
“But you can’t go to Wellington and talk about Whakawhanaungatanga [establishing good relationships] if your own home is out of kilter,” Potaka said.
