While he lives in the United Kingdom, Owen Eastwood has never forgotten his roots. An elite performance coach who has worked with such diverse organisations as the England football team, the Royal Ballet School and the Command Group of Nato, the Māori concept of whakapapa is at the heart of the Cotswold-based author's debut book, Belonging. Subtitled "The Ancient Code of Togetherness", it explores how that powerful spiritual belief resonates with many different societies from across the globe.
"Whakapapa is a beautifully expressed idea from Māori that captures a universal idea around belonging," he says. "I've spoken about it in places like Africa, America, Europe and Japan, and all around the world people nod their heads and identify with it."
Hailing from Otatara, near Invercargill, Eastwood was first introduced to whakapapa at the age of 12 after writing to Ngāi Tahu. "My father died when I was 5 and that created an obvious gap in my life and in my identity," he explains. "I was on a mission to repair that breakage and to link to the heritage he had, which was part-Māori/part-English."
Replying with a covering letter that simply stated, "You belong," Ngāi Tahu's response included a document detailing Eastwood's genealogy, listing 25 generations from his late father to Paikea, the mythical Whale Rider whose son Tahupotiki was the founder of Ngāi Tahu. "The word 'whakapapa' was written at the top of the page, and it really intrigued me," says Eastwood. "I spent many years trying to understand it, and what I learnt was that the idea of whakapapa applies when you feel a part of any community or group of people. It's how we not only understand the people who came before us and the moment we're in right now but also those who come after us, and in a very natural, organic way, it became central to the work I do with teams as a performance coach."
Initially working in London as an employment and sports lawyer, Eastwood moved into performance coaching around 2008 after being asked by Saatchi & Saatchi's then chief executive Kevin Roberts to talk to the All Blacks about their team culture for a project for Adidas. This led to approaches from Chelsea FC and the Proteas.