My Story: Pulotu Selio Solomon - 'If I kept living like that, I'd be on dialysis before too long'

Pulotu Selio Solomon is making it his mission to inspire Māori and Pacific Island men to change their lives for a healthier future. Photo / Alex Burton

MYSTORY

As chairman of Men's Health Trust, Pulotu Selio Solomon is concerned that, in spite of dire statistics, men's behaviour around health isn't changing. Having been on his own dynamic health journey, Selio is making it his mission to inspire Māori and Pacific Island men to change their lives for a healthier future.

'As Pacific Islanders, our stories are told through our parents, that's how we define ourselves, it's how we're raised. In order for me to tell you who I am, I must make you understand where I come from. Mum was born in Samoa and moved to New Zealand with her parents in 1962. My father was born in Fiji, to a Samoan mother and an American soldier father in the 40s. He calls himself a war baby. My father was raised in Fiji and then came to New Zealand as a Marist brother. He could've taken his final vows but instead he married my mother. When I was 3 months old, my parents moved from New Lynn to Mangere, so I consider myself a son of Mangere.

'Dad was a teacher but he was also very entrepreneurial and for eight years we owned the Central Cinema in Papatoetoe. I was selling tickets and showing people to their seats when I was 8 and, from a young age, I had a front row seat with my father to learn about business. Dad knew we needed multiple revenue streams to get ahead, but with the advent of VHS people stopped going to the movies as much, so Mum and Dad opened a travel agency and a business importing Pacific Island produce from Fiji.

'For Pacific families in the 70s and 80s, trying to navigate in this country was tough. When Dad first arrived he had to wear his passport around his neck to prove he had permanent residency, and we still have a long way to go. When you look at statistics for education and health, Pacific people and Māori still lag behind.

'I come from a family of educators and I was taught from a very young age that for us to rise above, education is our passport to the future. If you have your qualifications, then no one should question your right to be wherever you are.

'When I left school my parents were starting Martin Hautus Pacific People's Learning Institute in Onehunga and Mangere, to assist people who'd missed out on education or help them re-enter the workforce. To do that, Dad left his job at De La Salle College, which meant a big drop in wages, so my older sister and I were asked to go out and work to help with the mortgage and put food on the table. While my mates were getting degrees, I got a job at Regency Duty Free. I didn't get my first degree until I was 31.

'At school I felt like a bit of a slow learner. I didn't think I was that smart, and saw myself as more of a people person. Now I work in education, I've learned about people with special needs and I look back and wonder if I had ADHD because I couldn't sit still and the teachers didn't know how to deal with me. Being in education now, I believe that's what teacher training should be about, finding people's special gifts and working to harness them.

'After spending many years working for the family business in various roles from tutor to CEO, I now work at the Ministry of Education as principal adviser secondary tertiary. I'm a former chair of De La Salle's College's board of trustees – I'm a proud old boy - and was also president of Auckland Marist Rugby Club, the first Pacific Islander to hold that role in 110 years. When I was an 18-year-old at rugby practice, I'd look up at the clubrooms on the first Tuesday of each month when the board was there and I'd think, I'd like to sit there one day. I sit on the council of delegates for Auckland Rugby Union and with every board I sit on I bring a Pacific lens to the governance table, to help those who sit around that table appreciate that to walk in the Pacific world is not easy.

Pulotu Selio Solomon is concerned that men's behaviour around health isn't changing. Photo / Alex Burton

'When I started work, I put exercise on the back burner. I also really enjoyed eating and drinking so, by my late 30s, my weight had ballooned to almost 160kg. I was struggling, work was stressful, my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic. Then, to make things worse, I got gout which is the worst pain imaginable. I went from one gout attack a year to one every fortnight and, as it became more regular, I took stronger and stronger medication. I knew that was chipping away at my kidneys, and if I kept living like that I'd be on dialysis before too long.

'My light bulb moment came in 2011 during the Rugby World Cup. I had tickets to see Samoa play Fiji at Eden Park and had an attack of gout the night before, so I got some crutches to attend the game. There I was, watching all these people having fun but I wasn't smiling. I couldn't enjoy the game at all because I was just worried about walking back to the car.

'I was in a bad way. I was overweight, I had all these ailments and I needed to do something fast. I engaged a personal trainer, went on a diet, gave up drinking and takeaways and that was it - I never looked back. I even went as far as doing body sculpting. I'm an all-or-nothing sort of guy.

'In the Pacific and Māori space, I've watched a lot of leaders, men in particular, die young, which in turn causes a leadership vacuum - and I knew if I wanted to help my people I had to be above the ground, not six feet under.

'Men's Health Month is a catalyst for men to focus on their health, to engage with their GPs, or talk to mates they've not seen for a while and monitor their physical exercise. We've got a programme called CheckMates out in South Auckland. Those guys have done wonderful work during lockdown and engagement went through the roof.

'My Mum and Dad instilled a sense of social justice in me and my siblings. They were always doing things for the community, so it's inherent in us now, but I know I have to be healthy and look after myself to be able to help other people. I have something in me that my parents gave me, the gift of giving, of making a difference. Wherever I sit I make sure I leave it a better space than I found it while also ensuring that I speak for the voiceless, particularly in the Pacific and Māori communities.

• Men's Health Month runs through June. For information about events in your area visit: www.menshealthnz.org.nz