Local Focus: Local hero Joshua Te Kowhai helps at risk youth

They call him the Sheriff of Koutu and Joshua Te Kowhai has lived in the Rotorua suburb most of his life.

When he's not running fitness classes at Waikite Rugby Club, he's often doing good deeds around the neighbourhood. They don't go unnoticed but Te Kowhai prefers to stay out of the limelight.

"Kingi Biddle actually nicknamed me the Sheriff and it stuck," Te Kowhai said.

"I was the one who had to go around and do a bit of door knocking here and there when things went missing. I still do it to this day.

"When there's trouble in the community, someone will send me a message and I'll go around and see them. If they're having couples fighting next door and they're a little bit scared and they're elderly. I'll go around and say 'look your neighbours are getting a bit frightened' and it tends to settle down from there."

In 2004 Te Kowhai was in a serious car accident, which almost killed him. The former professional rugby player said it only inspired him to find ways to help others.

"I had a major car crash while I was playing rugby over in Australia and it was during my recovery where I thought about what I can do work wise. I've always been involved in the fitness world either doing weights, playing rugby, or boxing. That was my background.

"I thought maybe I can go down that path - I might not need my legs because my legs were pretty shot at the time. That was probably the seed planted there.

Te Kowhai saw an opportunity to help Māori youth and work on the growing obesity problem. For the past decade Te Kowhai has been running programmes at the Youth Justice Facility helping young offenders find a different path in life. He hopes some of them will find an outlet in sport as he did.

"Most of them don't play sports," he said. "Playing a sport actually makes you a part of a community, even an individual sport because you still have a team of people who help you train.

"That's why I think a lot of youth are drawn into the gangs because it gives them that sense of belonging which is exactly what a sports team does."

Fortunately this Sheriff is showing no sign of slowing down and there's still plenty more work to be done and people to help.

"I'll keep going for as long as my body holds up and it seems like I've got a few years left in me."

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