The man behind the River City Boxing Club welcomes scores of people through his doors each week, and every one of them is met with a smile and an explosive laugh.
With the help of Mike Paul from Total Span Steel Buildings and several successful grant applications, Tofa and his wife Sandra (Tofa) moved the gym from the Hatrick Raceway complex to a brand new building at the Kairau Rugby Club in 2016.
He has been there ever since, and Tofa says coming to the facility is usually much more than just training.
"It's also the conversations you have before and after.
"Some people have never had encouragement in their lives, but in here, as long as I'm around, I'll help you do the best you can.
"Young or old, big or small, it doesn't matter. I want this gym to be somewhere you can take your mask off and just be yourself, because with me, what you see is what you get."
Seeing and helping people change was his reward, he said.
"You're not doing it for money, you're doing it for the love of people."
As heads of the Wanganui Boxing Association, the Tofas spent much of this year preparing for the New Zealand National Boxing Championships, which were due to be held in Whanganui at the start of October.
The Covid-19 Delta outbreak put paid to that, but not before they organised a corporate boxing event at Springvale Stadium in March to help pay for it.
Around $50,000 was raised, and luckily, the River City Boxing Club is still hosting the event.
A meeting will be held in January to decide a date in 2022.
As expected, not even a global pandemic is enough to dampen Tofa's enthusiasm.
"The most important thing is to keep everybody safe. This is the new normal, and we just have to adapt to it.
"The next time around we'll be trying to raise money not only for us but for a charity like the Cancer Society or Women's Refuge."
Outside the gym in Springvale, Tofa plays an active role at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church and preaches to its congregation.
"I'm involved in a lot of church stuff, and I run a programme there called Twinkle Toes, which is for kids under five years old.
"It's great, because I'm a big kid myself. I'll jump, I'll roll, I'll do whatever."
Reverend Stephan Van Os, who has recently retired from St Andrew's, said Tofa had been an elder at the church for several years.
Tofa was known by his given name, Raponi, at church, Van Os said.
"He's passionate about boxing, but he's also passionate about his Christian faith.
"The saying 'you can't keep a good man down' is the perfect way to describe him."
Van Os said the Twinkle Toes initiative was based on "movement to music" for preschoolers, and their parents were able to socialise with each other in the meantime.
"Raponi is very keen on the music side of things.
"Even during lockdown he got himself set up and was able to livestream it through our Facebook page.
"If there is any problem that's encountered, Raponi will be there to help you find a solution."
Van Os said Tofa was a devoted husband and father, and he applied his "sheer enthusiasm and love for life" to everything he got involved in.
"He's got this great laugh about him, and his sense of humour is infectious."
That senior standing in the gym and at church sometimes required him to attend school meetings when a child had misbehaved, Tofa said.
"You never know what's going on at home. It goes further than just here [the gym]. There's a reason behind the behaviour they are showing.
"I'm always a dad before I'm a coach. I've brought up 10 kids, and that's 10 different personalities you have to deal with.
Some teachers treated their job as just a profession, Tofa said.
"They don't have kids themselves, and once their work day is finished that's the end of it. A bit of genuine love can make all the difference.
"Kids aren't silly. They can see right through you."
Tofa said he and his wife always tried to make themselves available for people who might need a bit of help.
"You can say 'love your neighbour as yourself', but who are your neighbours? For me, it's anybody who is next to me.
"My neighbours are all these people that come here to train.
"The biggest joy in life is having others in it. We weren't made to be alone, you've got to have people there with you."
The gym now hosted a youth group on Friday nights, Tofa said.
"Church is not everybody's cup of tea, but it's something we [he and Sandra] believe in. It helped me, so surely it can help someone else as well.
"Kids need to find out for themselves, but we've got the opportunity to tell them about it.
"First and foremost, I've got to tell my own story. I've got to show the fruit that I bear and they can make up their own minds as they grow."
