NZ Spirit festival is a wellness-based festival featuring yoga, meditation and music. Photo / 123rf
The management of wellness festivals NZ Spirit and Resolution has been called into question amid allegations of financial mishandling.
NZ Spirit and Resolution festivals are advertised as “celebrations of health, happiness and connection” with fitness, yoga, dance, meditation and nutrition workshops as well as a range of musical performances.
The festivals are set on regenerative land projects Ariki Estate and Tūmanako Hope in Tauhoa, north of Auckland, however Ariki Estate has said no more festivals will be held on their land amid the allegations.
Francis “Franko Heke” Yates was once director of both land projects and still holds major shares in both. He currently owns the business NZ Wairua Ltd which trades under NZ Spirit.
Ariki Estate posted an update last week stating they were “actively investigating” several potential conflicts of interest, alleged financial mishandling and relationship issues involving Heke.
Heke told the Advocate he was “deeply focused” on finding solutions to challenges that have affected working or personal relationships in any way.
“We are always each doing the best with what we have at the time. I am not a perfect human, I am flawed just like every other person on the planet, but I have committed my life to helping others and doing my part to help make this world a better place.
“This time in my life is incredibly challenging, but I aim to use it as an opportunity for growth.”
Sources told the Advocate the allegations against Heke pointed to incidents where they had called into question the way the festivals were operated.
Ariki Estate has announced it would not allow any more NZ Spirit Festivals on its land in 2024/25.
An Ariki spokesperson told the Advocate they were first made aware of a real financial struggle when the date for paying back outstanding creditors had passed.
“NZ Spirit still owes Ariki a portion of fees for past festival land use, and we are aware of other outstanding creditors.”
NZ Spirit acknowledged that some performers and workshop hosts have not been paid.
“We’ve been transparent about this, communicating regularly, and are working diligently to pay back our creditors as soon as possible,” a spokesperson said.
“The North Island floods caused a loss of $350,000 which Franko [Heke] has covered through personal loans. Unfortunately, our ticket sales last season did not cover these losses.”
Heke said he has held himself to a “high standard of morals, ethics and integrity” and would do his best to “honour others” in all personal and business relationships.
“I have created a successful land and housing project for community, safe wellbeing and educational event spaces and medicinal music, all in order to share opportunities for others to be able to nurture health and self-development in their own lives.”
He cited “extreme stress and pressure” over the past two years due to running his business post-Covid, the North Island floods and an “incredibly challenging” financial environment.
Despite the current financial discrepancies, NZ Spirit posted on its social media accounts that the festivals would still go ahead and told the Advocate it is in discussions to ensure the events proceed smoothly.
In June, Heke posted on his personal and NZ Spirit social media accounts a request for financial aid from the community; after stating he had taken out loans to ensure all of their creditors could be paid.
“From $5 to $500,000, a donation directly supports the growth and sustainability of this community-driven movement.”
The post came three days after announcing his world tour on social media.
A former member of the NZ Spirit management team then posted a warning for people to do their “due diligence” before buying tickets or investing in NZ Wairua Ltd.
They then went on to allege that the reason for financial difficulties was poor management plus “the directors’ ongoing use of company money to fund personal pursuits, like world tours”.
NZ Spirit said the allegation was “unfounded”.
A source who was once close to the Ariki management team told the Advocate they raised questions about the financials about a year ago around Ariki Estate and Heke and was told they were being paranoid.
They said others close to Ariki and Heke had questions too.
The source said it was then made clear Ariki was getting behind on mortgage payments and it had to keep requesting extensions.
One vendor alleged their experience working at the festivals was so unprofessional they chose to forgo them altogether.
The first time they traded saw them shut up shop around 8pm. However, Heke allegedly called the vendor and yelled over the phone at them to remain open until around 11pm.
They said the interaction caught them off-guard.
Their last year trading at the festival was in 2023 where they paid $645 to trade and additional tickets for all of their workers.
They believed vendors were being taken advantage of, and claimed some vendors were asked to split their profit with Heke.
NZ Spirit said the claim of being asked to split profits was untrue.
On the price for trading, they said vendors were provided with two to four free passes, depending on stall type, and additional passes could be bought at a “discounted rate”.
The vendor wanted their experience to be shared to warn others.
Their opinion was that the festivals were the most disorganised they ever worked.
“[And] it’s just a real hard learning curve for anyone new joining.”
The Advocate has also sighted an email that was sent to workshop facilitators after Resolution Festival this year.
It revealed the company was struggling with outstanding debts and requested they consider waiving their fee and donating it back to the festival.
A musician and facilitator also told the Advocate they were involved with NZ Spirit for a short period in 2021 and would never return.
They described their interactions with Heke as “unprofessional” and believed that low fees for their work came hand in hand with “harnessing [of their] goodwill and [their] desire to be of service”.
When asked if people’s goodwill was being exploited, NZ Spirit said they “deeply appreciate” the help and support from the community and “pride ourselves on fostering an amazing volunteer culture”.
The Advocate contacted multiple performers, facilitators and investors all of whom either did not feel comfortable enough to comment or did not respond.
If you have more information, contact Brodie Stone in confidence at brodie.stone@nzme.co.nz
A previous version of this story claimed that Franko Heke purchased a Tesla and renovated his house bus while Ariki Estate struggled to make mortgage payments. This has since been removed as the Advocate understands both items were purchased before Ariki came to be.
Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
'If you're a human being and you've got feelings, how can you not be traumatised?'