Leading by Example …

May 27th 2010

Tremain Mikaere is 43 years old.

 Or as he puts it “I’m reaching that age where a heart attack is a reality. Obesity, diabetes, gout, all of those illnesses start reaching home at this age.”

It’s not the reality Tremain wants for himself, his kids, or his grandkids.

 “Go to a Maori funeral, 9 out 10 times that person was in the 40s or 50s, and they’ve died of some health complication they could have avoided,” he said.

“Statistically Maori men are the ones dropping like flies from heart attacks.”

 That’s why Tremain has taken a stand. As part of the Maori Community Leadership programme, Tremain is one of 8 high-profile locals who are working to turn around the grizzly stastics – starting with themselves.

 “It’s time to make a change – and where else to start but with yourself first.”

“We need to take ownership of our own world.

“We have to ask ourselves, what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

““I thought I needed to do something to improve my health so I could be around to see my grand children grow up.”

 The MCL is a holistic approach to health. Far from a diet, it’s about creating a balance between what you eat, how you eat and exercise. Tremaine recognises it’s about making the commitment to change, setting goals and working towards them.

 It is hoped MCL group’s struggles and success will inspire their whanau, Iwi and the wider community to make healthier choices.

 “Being a Maori community leader, I struggle with that title,” he said.

“I feel no more than or no less than anybody else.

“But if what I do health wise is an inspiration to someone else who is in the same struggle as me, then all my power to them and all my support to them.”

 With chronic hip problems, Tremain is very limited in what excerise he can do. As such his progress has been slow. But while he awaits hip replacement surgery, it’s not about what he can’t do, so much as what he can do.

 “Until I get my new hip, everything else is just a dream,” he said.

“I can’t run, I can’t jog, I can’t walk further than 100m.

“But I can push bike. I can swim. I can be careful about what I eat.”

 Long before the MCL programme began, Tremain had already adopted healthy advocacy roles around. The YMCA student was instrumental in creating a cycling programme designed to get adults back in the saddle. He also takes his students for regular bike rides, trips to the gym and aqua aerobics. Teaching and helping others is something he’s passionate about.

 “Due to the tings I’ve done in my life it gives me an empathy for people about to travel the path I walked,” he said.

“I was a chronic alcoholic. I was a drug abuser. I was a long term unemployed beneficiary and I didn’t really have much plans for my future.

“One day I woke up and decided I needed to change my life – so I did that.”

 Now his life revolves around his family. His wife, 6 kids and 2 grandkids are all the motivation he needs.

  “For me, it’s about the people that matter to me the most. That’s what I call my world. My children and wife.”

“For me, the legacy I want to leave is I want to be around for my grandchildren.

“I want my children never have to struggle with weight. They need to be healthy conscious with out thinking about it all the time. So that it becomes a natural progression.

“It becomes common place to leave out comfort foods we had.”

 It requires a cultural shift away from the way we consider food.

 “I always thought you had to get the fattiest piece of pork,” Tremain said.

“In tribal life, agreements were always sealed with a meal and the most esteemed guest was offered the fattiest piece of meant.

“In our home we always went for the cheapest cut of meat. Offal was a great friend because you could get it for next to nothing.

“This thinking (towards healthier food) has only come about for me in the last 10 years, since I’ve seen all my old relations and other people starting to die because of those things.

“I thought oh my god. Some of them never smoked and never drank and died of a heart attack. It comes back to the things we eat. Old habits do die hard.”

 The way forward is through education.

 “I guess its about us re-skilling and learning how to deal with that and being your own body’s best friend and your own body’s doctor.

“We know what our own body’s need but oddly enough we do the opposite.”

 And for anyone thinking about changing their lifestyle, Tremain has some advice:

  “Everything starts with a small step – you just have to be brave enough to take it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, only you can do what you know you have to.

“But knowing you have that support makes it comfortable in an awkward situation. “That awkward situation that’s your life, your health.”