Travis Takutai dresses up as a dinosaur and cleans up parks and beaches with his kids. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
Travis Takutai dresses up as a dinosaur and cleans up parks and beaches with his kids. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
If you come across dinosaurs picking up rubbish from your street in Whangārei, do not be alarmed - it's just Travis Takutai on his mission to clean up the community under the supervision of his 10-year-old daughter.
Takutai, with his daughter Eden and nine-year-old stepson Victor, go out in the community for a clean-up drive every second weekend.
Once a meth addict, Takutai has now found a refined perception of life and turned over a new leaf by doing good for the community.
In the past, he was affiliated with some bad people and got addicted to drugs, he said.
He was well versed in computer programming and did their IT work, car repairs, set up alarm systems, and all sorts of things in exchange for drugs. He ended up working for them as their personal assistant. He allegedly said they coerced him into using his garage in Auckland for their work, which was raided and they were busted. Takutai was arrested in August last year and went to prison for a month.
"The time I spent in jail made me realise what was really important to me. The whole time I was in there, I worried about my kids and the precious time that I could have spent with them. That was when I decided I am never going back there again."
Travis Takutai turned over a new leaf after coming out of prison and now devotes his life to good community work. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
When he was granted bail a month later, he requested to get it in Whangārei.
"My partner and her parents were here. This place gave me a normal time with my family. My stepson was very happy with the move and I love it here. I also bought a house in town."
As soon as Takutai was out of prison, he registered himself into The Salvation Army eight-week intensive full-time programme and passed with 100 per cent attendance. He started doing volunteer work with the Church and leaned more towards community work.
"Part of the course was that when you finish it, you had to come up with something to keep you busy and beneficial for the community. Then my daughter started to come up with these big projects that we do now."
Eden, Victor and Travis Takutai on a clean-up drive at a beach in Whangarei. Photo / Supplied.
Takutai would choose a beach, stream, walkway or road to clean between other things. He and his kids went out to the beaches picking up rubbish. The children enjoyed it and the response from the community was overwhelming said Takutai.
He and his kids also visited children parks in dinosaur costumes, handing out dinosaur lollies, and taking pictures, to raise rubbish clean-up awareness.
"We had seen some pictures on the internet of people dressed up in suits and thought this would be a great way of grabbing attention. I saw these inflatable dinosaurs online and ordered three. They like to go out in the inflatable costume and do fundraising for a cause."
Dinosaur man is on a mission to keep the community clean. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
Takutai said his daughter's love for animals and nature had inspired him. He share an incident from Eden's birthday when she decided to donate cat/kitten food to SPCA with her birthday present money.
"We were going to buy her a scooter. On our way, we passed an SPCA and she saw a signboard outside, asking the community to donate cat and kitten food. So we went to a supermarket, filled our trolley with cat/kitten food and essentials with the scooter money. She hopes to run an animal rescue centre when she grows old."
Takutai's home also housed a couple of rescued cats.
Travis Takutai's rubbish collection from the beach. Photo / Supplied.
His community work was not sufficed in a dinosaur costume, but Takutai in the past had also dressed up like a Mandalorian character from the TV show.
He once 3D printed a full Mandalorian outfit and raised $700 for the child cancer foundation. He also visited a youth group in the same costume and spoke to the kids about making good life decisions, loving their family and keeping a good community spirit.
Travis Takutai dressed up in a Mandalorian costume for a fundraiser for the child cancer foundation. Photo / Supplied.
Speaking about the crime in Whangārei, Takutai asserted drugs were definitely a major part of the whole problem.
"We would love to try and work out a plan on how to handle it. I have seen people who were willing to sell out their mothers, their families, or whatever it takes to get the drugs. I offered them my skills in exchange for drugs, while others who cannot offer that, provide it through different mediums. They do robberies, burglaries, and all kinds of rubbish to buy drugs."
Takutai is over 330 days clean from drugs and wishes to never go down that road again.
