October 23, 2024 • 38 mins
This week’s guest is Tongan entrepreneur ‘Anau Mesui Henry.
Kava is shared ceremoniously across the Pacific but there haven’t quite been venues like Four Shells Kava Lounge to casually indulge in this cultural elixir. People can rock up on their own, in a group or gather on the fala. ‘Anau, who co-owns the lounge, brings her kumete to our fala as we chat about her journey.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Flavor podcast network.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Island Roots Auckland Ways. This one's for the Brown brothers
and sisters who want to be one with themselves, their culture,
their identity, their roots. This is Island Roots Auckland Ways,
Marlow La and welcome on into Island Roots Auckland Way.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You just started without being repaired.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Hello, we're here, we are recording correct.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
How is everyone? Let us on the socials. We always
love to chat to you guys. Actually we actually do.
And recently there was an instance where someone was doing
something on the social media trying to be us.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, kept fishing, but it's also happened to our friends
Zaria and Mahi. So I feel like there's someone else
to get all these Mani and.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Buss speaker.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
For real.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
I was like, nah, I kind of feel like I've.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Made a little bit.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Let them let them cook. Who's talking today? Are now?
Missui Henry. She is the owner of four Showers Cover Lounge.
She is a researcher. She is a mama, She is
a director, She is a all the thinks a legend.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Actually cool, Thanks for having me, of course. How are
you today?
Speaker 5 (01:15):
I'm feeling pretty good?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, yeah, you can't bearing gifts, which is greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
You know you're welcome. We discussed some juice and some
and some cover are drinking it?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah? Shall we? Shall we get into it. I think
this is a first drinking cover no like this, yes, yea.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
So we have drunk cover on the podcast before and
it was four showers. It was the day that you
came into Flavor. Yes, there was some leftover that Charlie
blessed us with. And yeah and Diamond Lungey was you
the studio.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
And takeover.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And I'm here and that exact seat that you're sitting
on right now.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
That's awesome. I'm going to do this for us.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
This is so funny. I haven't had a cover and
a harm minute. Last time I had some cover was
with my Fiji and fans last year. Oh my gosh, Okay,
here we go, girl.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I'm so excited.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It hasn't been a while for a Lissa has not
actually tragedy hits Melissa's Household.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Hit my household this morning and now I bought a
takeaway bottle on Friday night. I had been drinking alcohol,
but I wanted to drink cover in the weekend. Unfortunately,
I never got around drinking the bottle, so I had
to pour it down the drain.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
Oh wow, is that really bad?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Just because it's sit on the bottle. Don't drink after
two days and today would have been the third day,
and I thought it's best not to drink it past expiring.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
I think if you kept it in the fridge, it
will be okay, okay, yeah, it's all good.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Okay, now get paid.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
But I repeated my bottle.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Did you want some?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Please?
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Tragedy hit this morning for me too, very sad. But
I was driving down Mount Albert Rod to drop my
son to school, and then the cops pulled me over.
I was like, why you guys pulled me? Oh no,
he said. I was going limon Case over Man Albert Road.
But I thought it was a sixty k zone and.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Were you driving sixty?
Speaker 5 (03:43):
I was driving sixty one.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
They'd be like that. They'd be like that because the
amount of times I have been pinged on Mahunga Drive.
You know, when you get off to go to Favona
and there's a speed camera there and I always go sixty,
not too much, a little demure sixty, and I get
pining for it. Because there's okay red you go above
fifty and then boom, you're done.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
I was asking the man, hey, I'm just trying to
get my son to school, like why aren't you, you know,
eresting other people's.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Doing white collar crimes?
Speaker 5 (04:10):
I know, And then you know, his face just annoyed me.
Some moisturizer. I was like, at least we have some moisturizers.
I'm gonna put me out. No, he goes, you're getting
at eighty dollar five any dollars? Can you guys pay
for it?
Speaker 1 (04:30):
We will pay for it.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
And yeah, so tragedy, my gosh, for both of us.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Okay, so I have to say a little something something.
How do you or MAUI happy Maudi language treek. I
just want to raise this cover this other in recognition
of land that is not ours and that was stolen.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
From mm hmm you go girl.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Wow, I just hitting things now, just taking it.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
Recolonization.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I'm so sorry that happened to you this morning. That
would have jarred you a little bit.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I was about to get into an argument and my
son's sitting there.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Oh yeah, and then your son's like, no, not to.
Speaker 7 (05:38):
Love some I okay, that's Okay the best.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
I raised this in.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Honor of man and it tour strong woman everywhere and
we are Binka and we.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Are she says she. I was I was looking at
you and I was like, you know what, girl, get
into it?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
What happened to not drinking at all?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Wow? It was she felt the manner of what she
was toasting to. So I now every single episode of
the podcast we share what we love about home. So
whatever home feels like to you, whether that's Mangaday, whether
that's the Kingdom, what has time to you, and what
do you love about it? We'll start off first. What
I love about home is the high school that I
(06:47):
went to. Actually, on the topic of schools, we were
just talking about the schools that we went to. So
I went to Delastle College, so Thissa one predominantly Maudi Pasifica.
I think it was ninety nine percent at last Hole,
and so it was kind of a given that I
would go to Last Out. It was local. All my
(07:08):
family either went to Last Out or McCauley, and I
loved my experience there. I actually was so gutted because
I had applied to go to another school that was
outside of South and I didn't make it in because
that school like was more athletic, and so they were
trying to get brown students, but brown students who could
(07:30):
play rugby and make their school look all nice and
good and rugby and so at the time, I remember
being so sad about not getting into the school because
I felt like there was that perception at the time.
I'm not sure if it's still the same now that
if you went to a local school, it was like, oh,
like I like, you know, you're trying to get out
(07:52):
of the hood, was the perception. Yeah, But by the
time I left those gates, I feel like I learned
so much about myself, my culture, my identity, my neighborhood
that it truly was a blessing and disguise that I
didn't make it in the other school. So what secret?
(08:13):
Hard college? Okay, and I'm Switzerland nowadays. So's some drama,
but yeah, we'll just.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Swimmer.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
That's what I love about home this week? How about
you grow?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Definitely not my high school, I wrote My whole Masks
experience was anyway I love about home. I'm gonna sound
like a suck up because you're here now, but it's
four Shells. Oh love going to four Shells.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
You know what it is.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It's just something so like special. The ambiance, like the
space is beautiful, and every conversation I even had there
is just one of great quality. It's like magical. I
can't even know what's going to happen. Someone will start singing,
so we'll start having a DMC with you. The range
it's such a special, special place. So for shouts for sure.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
Oh man, that's so cool. I'm struggling right now because
I have problems of emotionally regulating. That's cool, that's awesome,
awesome to hear. Yeah, Home, I guess home for me
is Donna, being back in the for No and just
(09:25):
being grounded and surrounded and embedded in the culture and
the language and the people and the way we do things.
I just came back from Donna, and it's a bit
hard coming back here. But also I think with Donna there,
I spend a lot of my time there, my childhood there,
and so there's a lot of all the good memories
(09:46):
I have of my childhood are at home. So that's
probably home for me.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
It's beautiful, beautiful answer. Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Thank you so much for sharing that with us. We
feel like you're like royalty to us. We're obsessed with you.
We think you're so cool. So the fact that you're
here is so exciting for us. But we feel like
you do so many amazing things. What when you introduce
yourself to people, how do you like, how do you
describe yourself? What are your job titles?
Speaker 4 (10:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I think that easy, as you know, going through the
airports as really easy. I just write like self employed.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
But I had a friend filling in my departure form
from Donga. I don't know why. It must have been
so dramatic, like I just kept feeling.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
That's so ridiculous.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
So she filled on my form and I was like,
oh she wrote directly. I was like, oh, oh, I
don't really see myself as that. I think I just
see myself probably as a social entrepreneur, obviously in business,
but at the same time, you've always got a hat
for the community and your own people, so there's always
the social impact and giving back to the community. But yeah,
(10:55):
when people say, oh, what do you do, I'm like,
what know? Yeah, I don't know how to answer it,
to be honest. Can I get some edmund support to
help me.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Unless it's a fantastic writer.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Oh for me on the spot, generally pretty grey mom,
business owner. You have a master's girl, academic researchers.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
That's South employ Mattie, just South Aakland girls.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
South Oakland, loud and proud and like you probably you know,
so important to represent. I know, growing up it was
almost embarrassing to say you're from Magata and yeah, man,
I went to girls.
Speaker 7 (11:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
I was like, man, that's our age.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
What else am I going to say? I grew up
Freeman's Bay. I went to school in ponto Me and
it was very embarrassing. Sales from South Oakland. That's your
economic divide was very strong, was clear going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
And I'll tell us about the genesis of four shells.
So how did that start?
Speaker 5 (12:05):
You know that song? It was all a dream, so
me and Juicy.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
You grew up with.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
So yeah, yeah, no, it was always it was always
a dream growing up. We we always was in cover.
That's how the family survived out of New Zealand because
we came from Donga. And I remember growing up because
we got these cover party machines and at our home
and long and long I used to ask my I
(12:38):
used to pray when I was a teenager. I loved
I loved the memories, loved everything about it, and I
used to always pray and I would ask God, like, Man, God,
let me be the one that carries on cover. I
don't know what that would look like as a woman.
I'm not going to be going around the plantations and Tonga,
you know, just because of those gender gender roles and expectations.
(13:03):
But I used to always pray, like, let me be
the one that extends whatever that other legacy looks like.
And it's interesting because fast forward to opening the shop
in twenty nineteen, I found an old diary and eight
years before that, I had written down these streets. You know,
when you've got nothing going on or your dreams, you're
(13:23):
just like write the dreams a million times, and you
know that's what you live off. And I had ridden
I want to start a cover cafe. And it was
so crazy because I remember when I wrote it. It
was I remember my cousin saying, what is the most
craziest dream? It was like a cover cave because I
don't know what that looks like. You know, what does
(13:44):
that look like? What does that feel like? I didn't
have any qualifications at the time. I didn't really know
business or anything like that. So when we opened the shop,
it felt like a it was meant to be, like
a natural progression of what already was. So it was
basically just felt like stepping into what was meant to
be for me and the path that I meant to
(14:05):
be on. And the start of it was a bit rocky.
Do you guys want the real conversation or that.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
You want to cover?
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Yeah, it was. It was pretty tricky, like business partners
at the time, because I know, you know business, it's
hard for us specific we don't have the resources or
the upfront capital and there's a lot of money that
goes into starting that. But fortunately the Lord had it
that we had business partners at the time, so we
(14:35):
were able to all go in and share the cost.
Use where's the lord, They're gone now, so partners we
parted way diplomatically and that was during COVID twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yes, oh my gosh, so you start up the lounge nineteen,
come into the pair.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
Yeah, it was crazy, but you know what, when you
have nothing, you're like, man, I have an opportunity right now,
and I'm going to hold on to it because at
some point the storm subsides and then you'll be able
to do something. Yeah. It's a different mindset, I think
for us specific or at least for myself. When you
(15:23):
see opportunity, you know what it is. Yeah.
Speaker 7 (15:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I also read an interview you did. We talked about
pivoting to uber e during the pandemic.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, what what was that?
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Like?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Did that help?
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Uh? Not?
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Really? What actually helped was we had we have like
a steady group of regulars who've supported us since day one,
who still support us now. So really grateful for them.
Shout out to their regulars. Oh my gosh, I feel
like regulator.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
You know, the warrant Yes, she's warranty, no warrngy, she's
gonna turn.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
And the Uber eats was just another way because before
they were just delivering to people. But that took a while.
We came up against a lot of no so it
took it was we had to go to them twice
like justify why you can't have goava on here? Please,
thank you very much, and they did. And a lot
(16:31):
of these groups like uber eats and Shopify is one
we're dealing with right now. There's no justification and food,
you know, gover falls under the food food to act
and zeal And, So tell me why is it more
scrutinized than any other food?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I really do see.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Four Showers is like this kind of like magical special
place that it's the lighting, it's like the people. What
are some of your favorite things about the four Shower space?
Speaker 5 (16:56):
The space? Definitely the people. You know, the space is empty,
it's not a space without the people and the kind
of people that it draws in. Oh man, it's just amazing,
Like a lot of times you don't even know what
people do. You know, it's because the conversations are more
around you know, like just some real talk around culture
and like the political environment, what's going on, how it's
(17:18):
affecting us, how are we feeling as human beings? And
who are we in this landscape of a twenty twenty
four as young Pacific people. So it's a lot of
kind of that kind of conversation. It's a very non
pretentious space.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Yeah, gave a damn what you do?
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Who want to know who you are? Who are you
as a person. But it's hard for me to be
there just you know, being the owner because you're always thinking,
you know, you can't sit still. You're like, I got
to go stuck up the shower. There's a little bit
of dust there. Yeah, and so it's hard for me
to be there. But that and probably all the art
on the wall. Yeah, yeah, all the art. They are
(17:58):
local artists and they all represent something. And the photography
as well. We've got one of our friend Ela who
passed away, but he was part of our deportee documentary
that my husband had done and Donga with Renews at
the time News. Yeah, yeah it was. And all those
(18:18):
memories and my father, and then there's an old board
you know growing up my parents used to write.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Like sales and my mom's like on the electric pole.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Just random like we're own Auckland Council just we ever,
and the last board she wrote, she's got to mention
now we have that up on the show. So you see,
I remember how straight the lines used to be when
she wrote, and you see now how so different. So
(18:57):
all of that are like almost memory moments, memories and
moments of a time and a space that have now
passed on, but they live inside you and it's all
of that's probably what does it for me. You know,
this is all about the god method that Gava is
about book at Booget for Noir, the holding on to
culture and heritage and preserving that right within the space.
(19:19):
But but I personally feel for myself it's like bo
like holding onto memory when you when you get to
a point where you watch your parents, it's almost like
they're transitioning into the next followers. You hold onto anything
and everything that you can of them. So I'm just
very fortunate that the shop, every time I'm in there,
(19:39):
it's that holding on so desperately to these memories that
you never want to let girl or see faith. Yeah yeah,
so wow, that's just to go.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
The queen sharing her insights. Now, how did you get
into your research? My heat like that mine off work.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Oh, the research my head I reckon as well, a
bit of researchers ourselves.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
You even think about quite naturally, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Naturally, you know with felt specific you know, like our
tongue in grapevine that we don't know how it makes
sense it gets.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
To our.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I'm working.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
The last bit of contract work was a while ago,
to be honest, but I'm going back to you to
do my PhD next year. So I'm hoping to pick
up some contracts here and there. I'm currently working on
like a it's not really a research project, but we're
going away this week to put together like a grant application. Yeah,
which was really cool for the Spencer Foundation. But yeah,
it's been a while. It takes me a really once
(20:42):
I'm in it, I love it, but I feel like
sometimes it could be sold crushing, Like you know, a.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Crush was sold one am. Yeah, crushed very much, so
like you have a powder got to wait to get here.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, your soul was going like.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Yeah, but we need more specific researchers.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
I love research.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's just like for me, enabling our people to tell
their stories or tell their stories and like A, I
don't really love the word manner enhancing, but you know,
in a manner enhancing way is so like that's what
I love about it.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Yeah, you're making me want.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
To do.
Speaker 5 (21:30):
Yeah, no, that's awesome. I've got a couple of interns
they're doing their masters once just finished from aut Beautiful.
But it's showing them like, hey, there's other pathways.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
So if you're as mothers, we're busy, we're trying to
work around our kids. But contracting is a researcher. It's
just a real good way of making money. Yeah, that's
not taking too much of your time. Yeah, flexibility.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So yeah, encourage you to how do you do the
research and running the business and having children.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
I actually have a babysitter. Real, that's that's the key, guys.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
I'm like, my kids are like.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
I know, like I have a s Like they've been
with her. She spent with my because I have twins.
I have got four kids. Yeah, fourteen, eight year old
and twins. And that's a huge help. And you know,
everyone talks about the village and yeah, bro, the village
is working.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
The village is working at work as well.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
The village is working.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
They come home, they're tired, and then you're placing your
responsibilities on them. They can lead to tensions, you know.
So it just made better sense to for me to
get someone else to look after my kids. But I'm
not gonna lie. That's a big part of it, I know.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
I wanted to ask you, like, what is the Pacific
business space like for you as an entrepreneur.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Ah, it's a growing space. It's hard to say, to
be honest. If I'm completely honest, when I first started,
I was a part of a lot of the networks
or good stuff. I don't go too many things now
just because I don't. It's have for me to find time.
(23:18):
But the spaces that I am a part of or
the ones I visit, there's so much. Our people are
so talented, we're so entrepreneur we're so creative, and we
bring that create creativity into how do we make money?
And it's not hard for us. That's why there's so
many of us at night markets and we just do
(23:39):
our own thing, whether it's registered as a legal entity
or not. But I think that that's setting up officially
and making it a proper setup according to the packet
system that we've delivered.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Companies register, Yeah, the company.
Speaker 5 (23:57):
Is charities register. That can be tricky for people. When
I think about the businesses who are doing extremely well
and who are pacific, I can only think of a few,
and I often wonder how do they do it? Because
you're in business three five years? But then how do
you go from that to that?
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Taking that, I think that's the missing key for us,
and there's not I guess there are examples, but we
don't know how because sometimes these examples they're too busy
running their own thing. And that's one thing I always
tell myself when I get to that point, I show
us how going to reach back and be like, guys,
(24:38):
this is how we do it. Yes, but I understand
everyone's journey is different as well.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
Crystal.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
I feel like this is pivoting slightly from the business chat.
But I feel like as a woman growing up other
or as that's what we would talk about it as
I would see it in other ceremonies and things like that.
But I never saw Cover as something I could drink casually,
especially because it seemed like quite a male dominated space.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
But I feel like four showers is different in the.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Sex when you're drinking Cover casually, which is not something
that I did when I was younger, or not how
I saw it when.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
I was younger.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
But also I don't feel even though actually most of
the time of God, I'll go with me and like,
I don't feel like it's a super male dominated space.
Have you and that makes me feel incredibly comfortable and
like excited to drink cover? Is that something that other
women have shared with you? Like, what does sentiment like
that mean to you? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (25:40):
Like, and people will say you know, some women are like,
oh no, women don't drink other and others are nervous
to try or but I think because I'm a female
it helps. Yeah, it helps that I'm a woman. To
be honest, I didn't even think of that stuff.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
You know.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
I've always lived on the understanding like I've got to
do life according to how I feel right. But I'm
also very aware that in the tongue and setting, it
is a very male dominant space. And that's okay too.
So there's sometimes some spaces you just know, I know,
not to enter out of respect for them. We need
all our spaces. There's no one space right right, but
(26:19):
in the context of four showers, that space is right
for us women to be there. One woman was women
don't drink a I was like, sorry.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Right now.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
Join It's like, you know, honestly, it's taking back ownership.
Like when you think about growing up in manga, what
would we what were we subjected to? Look at our
whole shops and all this takeaway shops and no, I
don't want it, you know, And then you think, okay,
so I've been taught. I grew up in the era.
(26:55):
I felt like with the last generation that did the
hardcore binge dricking, you guys still striking on.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Not I think it's here. I would say no, I
think with our generation officiallye because with club culture, that's
changed drastically as we've grown. Because when we were like
late teens popping, like, there were still lines at the club.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
Just spas.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Yeah, I think it's amazing and here for it here yeah. Yeah,
this generation, your generation, I don't know, you guys are
just so much more enlightened and and we get better
as the not better, but we become more confident and
as generations go.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
But I will say, though, I would die to have
been in that business casual era where people rocked up
to the clubs and blazers and like looking like they
were going to work in the club because they're just screams.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Like this era of club it their era.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
I swear it was. I'm not gonna lie. That was
the Racino era. If you know, you know, if you
don't know, it's okay, I don't know. That was the
era of just hardcore HAARTI don't care, spin der flat ring,
figure out how you're gonna take that's so sensible. Now,
it's amazing some of us.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
What are they have benefits of drinking cover?
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Yeah, they have benefits. Some of them are like anti Anzoltic,
a mile soporific, so it's like a stress reliever. So
you drink it, you feel quite relaxed. And with the
different cover, these different cultivars, and they have slightly different effects.
So some might make people talk a lot, some might
just make you feel very content to just sit and
(28:52):
steer at the water. But once you go into that sleep,
you have a really really good sleep. And I know
previously some people would say, oh, they wake up the
next morning and they're like really groggy, but the cover
quality just probably wasn't that great quality cover you wake
up feeling on. So if I drink over and I'm
(29:15):
like at one am, I can still get up in
the morning. It's not that hangover that you get. Yeah,
it's like the opposite effects of alcohol. But I think
with gover it's more than just the effects, it's everything.
It's that holistic everything, that feeling of just d la no.
You know, you feel content and even if you've got
(29:37):
like a lot of anxiety or stress, but when you're
in that space, you don't feel like you want to
shut it down, you still feel it, but you're not
overwhelmed by it. Yeah, drinking alcohol, you can drink it
and then just run and have an amazing and just pretend.
Then it comes all crashing down the next couple of
days and you're reminded of all the things that you're
(29:59):
stressed about. So apart from that, it's that it is
really that, it's that creating. There's just something really magical
about cover.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
I agree.
Speaker 5 (30:10):
And you know, we went to Awaki the Woman's Cover crew,
and we went and found the original cover site off
where the Tongue cover story comes from, and I get it.
It was just very it's hard to explain when you
connect back back on that level and then you come
and then you set it, you know, you sit with
(30:32):
flavor with It's just it's hard to explain. But it's
there's something very spiritual about cover that pulls people together.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And I've been trying so obviously, look at me, I've
been trying to explain.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Someone halfway.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
I've been trying to explain to my mum, like cover
is great, like it's but she had a very very
bad experience obviously with poor quality cover that like meant
she could walk like she had a really bad experience,
and so I'm trying to like trying to say no,
this is legit, like it's a real thing, man. And
but I think she misses the cultural and that spiritual
(31:16):
aspect because of the misconceptions and the bad experience she
had with a bad quality.
Speaker 5 (31:22):
Was she on like a tour Was she a tourist somewhere?
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And I think they gave her too much or something. Yeah,
but do you you would often hear stories with misconceptions
like that, Hey, and how what? What?
Speaker 3 (31:33):
What are some of the things you try and like
student to people.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
You know, we try and tell them like the quality
of covers, different covers, discovers, not one thing, just like coffee, right, yeah,
the different types of coffee beans. There's different types of beer, rangers, rangers,
rangers or range? Did that sound? Was a researcher? I
brought my degree and covers the same. They all have
(31:59):
different And one thing that we focus on at the
shop is the quality of it because you know, for
us in the Pacific, we've been drinking it for a while,
over three thousand years. We're used to drinking it straight
out of the grounds. Some chickens running around some you know,
like we're used to at our stomachs, but when you're
(32:19):
bringing it to a new audience, you have to be
so so particular about the standard, the way and get
it tested and stuff. So we always tell people to
just try again, come in and explain the cultural elements
to it, and just try and explain that to them
and then shove some cover down different.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yes, I think people needed to hear that. And now
we are going to move on to our rapid fire,
our rapid fire game. Now we're going to play a
few rounds of cover faves, so we want to know
and lean more into your cover expertise. So we have
a few faves that we're going to ask you and
you just answer with what comes to mind. So, who
has been your favorite guest at the four shows? Louch oh,
(33:08):
I saw that Jason Moore?
Speaker 5 (33:10):
Yes, Jason, it wasn't Jason.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
What has to be ed.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
Perah and down that guy's on fire and just that
deep passion for teti ty and the message around like
Maldi never see the sovereignties. I felt that because that's
how we feel about cover.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So yeah, definitely, absolutely any other notable mentions.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
There's so many people who come back.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Yeah, I imagine.
Speaker 5 (33:41):
So all the musos yah to come through Fiji was
that was crazy.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Crazy the King of Polynesia music few.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
Years ago, he came through and saying.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
So and.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and that's voice radio and in
real life, I feel like you were singing to me.
But I was kind of I was pregnant at the time,
so I was like.
Speaker 8 (34:06):
Oh, yeah, Fiji and there's just so many economic there's
just so many people.
Speaker 5 (34:17):
It's hard for me to put my wow, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Fave Goather experience. So has there been a time that
you have just been indulging in some cover and it's
been itched into your mind. The experience of that.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
Probably my wedding. I got married in Donga. Wow, we
had our first Sunday and water and that Gover experience.
It was probably my first proper experience back in twenty ten.
But it's the walking in when the men were doing
the formalities and being told you, I feel sorry, I
don't understand.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
It's my first Sunday exactly.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
I don't care, you know, very strict, very ceremonial.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
Yeah, So we have to wait and then re enter
the space when we were invited at the right time,
but I loved it. It was like it was a
real that's real tongue for you, and nobody got time
for you. You know, you uneducated Take your Instagram. Yeah,
that was probably my most memorable.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
And lastly, what is your faith country to source cover
from currently? I hear that's different.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Yeah, their processing facilities just how you know that's one
of the largest exporting plots okay, and they've just got
their process down on lock. I love tongue to get
to that stage. We're still working on it. Look at
me talking like I talked with the Prome.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
And we have the CEO of other industries.
Speaker 5 (35:57):
One tongue and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
This would be a great place, and.
Speaker 5 (36:06):
I reckon we should set one up.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Yes, any plans regarding that opening up another branch, I think,
so whereabouts can you give us?
Speaker 5 (36:16):
I feel like I want to. I feel like Donga
would be ideal. Yeah, because it's needed and there's a
huge potential for the tourism industry.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
Then yeah, I think it would spark a ripple effect.
I think for how cover is she it in the Kingdom?
Speaker 5 (36:34):
Yeah, Yeah, we've just learned a lot in the five
years here with the demographic that we I guess you know,
bring in. It's a completely different experience and it's one
of those things you don't know until you're in it.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Yeah, yeah, so, and now, thank you so much for
coming into our space today and sharing with us your expertise.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
And she doing with us cover literally literally, thank you
so much, Sus, such a great conversation, and we're so
grateful for.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
The gifts you brought.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
You are very wise and yeah you don't know about that,
but thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I'm sorry that we can't help out with their eighty dollars.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
Sorry about that, girl, but we'll come and spend eighty dollars.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Yeah, that's pretty much going on. Thank you, And that's
aland waits for this week. Are now so kind that
she lifts on gover with Alissa.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Yeah, she's so lovely. As you would have heard, tragedy
struck my household this morning and.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Down the drain.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
But I'm so grateful to and now for her generosity
and kindness. Make sure you head down to four Showers
Cover Lounge in Victoria Park Market.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Mas won't be there, but.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
I might be. And with that we say goodbye.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Wait wait, wait, the only.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
Reason I say Mas won't be there is because he's
never outside, where as I am outside.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
I like to be outside.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
One thing about me, I'm gonna be a mango.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
Yeah, and think about me, I'm gonna be worried about
Speaker 1 (38:08):
So goodbye, good bye, oh
This is the Flavor podcast network.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Island Roots Auckland Ways. This one's for the Brown brothers
and sisters who want to be one with themselves, their culture,
their identity, their roots. This is Island Roots Auckland Ways,
Marlow La and welcome on into Island Roots Auckland Way.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You just started without being repaired.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Hello, we're here, we are recording correct.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
How is everyone? Let us on the socials. We always
love to chat to you guys. Actually we actually do.
And recently there was an instance where someone was doing
something on the social media trying to be us.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, kept fishing, but it's also happened to our friends
Zaria and Mahi. So I feel like there's someone else
to get all these Mani and.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Buss speaker.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
For real.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
I was like, nah, I kind of feel like I've.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Made a little bit.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Let them let them cook. Who's talking today? Are now?
Missui Henry. She is the owner of four Showers Cover Lounge.
She is a researcher. She is a mama, She is
a director, She is a all the thinks a legend.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Actually cool, Thanks for having me, of course. How are
you today?
Speaker 5 (01:15):
I'm feeling pretty good?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, yeah, you can't bearing gifts, which is greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
You know you're welcome. We discussed some juice and some
and some cover are drinking it?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah? Shall we? Shall we get into it. I think
this is a first drinking cover no like this, yes, yea.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
So we have drunk cover on the podcast before and
it was four showers. It was the day that you
came into Flavor. Yes, there was some leftover that Charlie
blessed us with. And yeah and Diamond Lungey was you
the studio.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
And takeover.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And I'm here and that exact seat that you're sitting
on right now.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
That's awesome. I'm going to do this for us.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
This is so funny. I haven't had a cover and
a harm minute. Last time I had some cover was
with my Fiji and fans last year. Oh my gosh, Okay,
here we go, girl.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I'm so excited.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It hasn't been a while for a Lissa has not
actually tragedy hits Melissa's Household.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Hit my household this morning and now I bought a
takeaway bottle on Friday night. I had been drinking alcohol,
but I wanted to drink cover in the weekend. Unfortunately,
I never got around drinking the bottle, so I had
to pour it down the drain.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
Oh wow, is that really bad?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Just because it's sit on the bottle. Don't drink after
two days and today would have been the third day,
and I thought it's best not to drink it past expiring.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
I think if you kept it in the fridge, it
will be okay, okay, yeah, it's all good.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Okay, now get paid.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
But I repeated my bottle.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Did you want some?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Please?
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Tragedy hit this morning for me too, very sad. But
I was driving down Mount Albert Rod to drop my
son to school, and then the cops pulled me over.
I was like, why you guys pulled me? Oh no,
he said. I was going limon Case over Man Albert Road.
But I thought it was a sixty k zone and.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Were you driving sixty?
Speaker 5 (03:43):
I was driving sixty one.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
They'd be like that. They'd be like that because the
amount of times I have been pinged on Mahunga Drive.
You know, when you get off to go to Favona
and there's a speed camera there and I always go sixty,
not too much, a little demure sixty, and I get
pining for it. Because there's okay red you go above
fifty and then boom, you're done.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
I was asking the man, hey, I'm just trying to
get my son to school, like why aren't you, you know,
eresting other people's.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Doing white collar crimes?
Speaker 5 (04:10):
I know, And then you know, his face just annoyed me.
Some moisturizer. I was like, at least we have some moisturizers.
I'm gonna put me out. No, he goes, you're getting
at eighty dollar five any dollars? Can you guys pay
for it?
Speaker 1 (04:30):
We will pay for it.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
And yeah, so tragedy, my gosh, for both of us.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Okay, so I have to say a little something something.
How do you or MAUI happy Maudi language treek. I
just want to raise this cover this other in recognition
of land that is not ours and that was stolen.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
From mm hmm you go girl.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Wow, I just hitting things now, just taking it.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
Recolonization.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I'm so sorry that happened to you this morning. That
would have jarred you a little bit.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I was about to get into an argument and my
son's sitting there.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Oh yeah, and then your son's like, no, not to.
Speaker 7 (05:38):
Love some I okay, that's Okay the best.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
I raised this in.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Honor of man and it tour strong woman everywhere and
we are Binka and we.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Are she says she. I was I was looking at
you and I was like, you know what, girl, get
into it?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
What happened to not drinking at all?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Wow? It was she felt the manner of what she
was toasting to. So I now every single episode of
the podcast we share what we love about home. So
whatever home feels like to you, whether that's Mangaday, whether
that's the Kingdom, what has time to you, and what
do you love about it? We'll start off first. What
I love about home is the high school that I
(06:47):
went to. Actually, on the topic of schools, we were
just talking about the schools that we went to. So
I went to Delastle College, so Thissa one predominantly Maudi Pasifica.
I think it was ninety nine percent at last Hole,
and so it was kind of a given that I
would go to Last Out. It was local. All my
(07:08):
family either went to Last Out or McCauley, and I
loved my experience there. I actually was so gutted because
I had applied to go to another school that was
outside of South and I didn't make it in because
that school like was more athletic, and so they were
trying to get brown students, but brown students who could
(07:30):
play rugby and make their school look all nice and
good and rugby and so at the time, I remember
being so sad about not getting into the school because
I felt like there was that perception at the time.
I'm not sure if it's still the same now that
if you went to a local school, it was like, oh,
like I like, you know, you're trying to get out
(07:52):
of the hood, was the perception. Yeah, But by the
time I left those gates, I feel like I learned
so much about myself, my culture, my identity, my neighborhood
that it truly was a blessing and disguise that I
didn't make it in the other school. So what secret?
(08:13):
Hard college? Okay, and I'm Switzerland nowadays. So's some drama,
but yeah, we'll just.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Swimmer.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
That's what I love about home this week? How about
you grow?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Definitely not my high school, I wrote My whole Masks
experience was anyway I love about home. I'm gonna sound
like a suck up because you're here now, but it's
four Shells. Oh love going to four Shells.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
You know what it is.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It's just something so like special. The ambiance, like the
space is beautiful, and every conversation I even had there
is just one of great quality. It's like magical. I
can't even know what's going to happen. Someone will start singing,
so we'll start having a DMC with you. The range
it's such a special, special place. So for shouts for sure.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
Oh man, that's so cool. I'm struggling right now because
I have problems of emotionally regulating. That's cool, that's awesome,
awesome to hear. Yeah, Home, I guess home for me
is Donna, being back in the for No and just
(09:25):
being grounded and surrounded and embedded in the culture and
the language and the people and the way we do things.
I just came back from Donna, and it's a bit
hard coming back here. But also I think with Donna there,
I spend a lot of my time there, my childhood there,
and so there's a lot of all the good memories
(09:46):
I have of my childhood are at home. So that's
probably home for me.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
It's beautiful, beautiful answer. Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Thank you so much for sharing that with us. We
feel like you're like royalty to us. We're obsessed with you.
We think you're so cool. So the fact that you're
here is so exciting for us. But we feel like
you do so many amazing things. What when you introduce
yourself to people, how do you like, how do you
describe yourself? What are your job titles?
Speaker 4 (10:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I think that easy, as you know, going through the
airports as really easy. I just write like self employed.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
But I had a friend filling in my departure form
from Donga. I don't know why. It must have been
so dramatic, like I just kept feeling.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
That's so ridiculous.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
So she filled on my form and I was like,
oh she wrote directly. I was like, oh, oh, I
don't really see myself as that. I think I just
see myself probably as a social entrepreneur, obviously in business,
but at the same time, you've always got a hat
for the community and your own people, so there's always
the social impact and giving back to the community. But yeah,
(10:55):
when people say, oh, what do you do, I'm like,
what know? Yeah, I don't know how to answer it,
to be honest. Can I get some edmund support to
help me.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Unless it's a fantastic writer.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Oh for me on the spot, generally pretty grey mom,
business owner. You have a master's girl, academic researchers.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
That's South employ Mattie, just South Aakland girls.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
South Oakland, loud and proud and like you probably you know,
so important to represent. I know, growing up it was
almost embarrassing to say you're from Magata and yeah, man,
I went to girls.
Speaker 7 (11:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
I was like, man, that's our age.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
What else am I going to say? I grew up
Freeman's Bay. I went to school in ponto Me and
it was very embarrassing. Sales from South Oakland. That's your
economic divide was very strong, was clear going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
And I'll tell us about the genesis of four shells.
So how did that start?
Speaker 5 (12:05):
You know that song? It was all a dream, so
me and Juicy.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
You grew up with.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
So yeah, yeah, no, it was always it was always
a dream growing up. We we always was in cover.
That's how the family survived out of New Zealand because
we came from Donga. And I remember growing up because
we got these cover party machines and at our home
and long and long I used to ask my I
(12:38):
used to pray when I was a teenager. I loved
I loved the memories, loved everything about it, and I
used to always pray and I would ask God, like, Man, God,
let me be the one that carries on cover. I
don't know what that would look like as a woman.
I'm not going to be going around the plantations and Tonga,
you know, just because of those gender gender roles and expectations.
(13:03):
But I used to always pray, like, let me be
the one that extends whatever that other legacy looks like.
And it's interesting because fast forward to opening the shop
in twenty nineteen, I found an old diary and eight
years before that, I had written down these streets. You know,
when you've got nothing going on or your dreams, you're
(13:23):
just like write the dreams a million times, and you
know that's what you live off. And I had ridden
I want to start a cover cafe. And it was
so crazy because I remember when I wrote it. It
was I remember my cousin saying, what is the most
craziest dream? It was like a cover cave because I
don't know what that looks like. You know, what does
(13:44):
that look like? What does that feel like? I didn't
have any qualifications at the time. I didn't really know
business or anything like that. So when we opened the shop,
it felt like a it was meant to be, like
a natural progression of what already was. So it was
basically just felt like stepping into what was meant to
be for me and the path that I meant to
(14:05):
be on. And the start of it was a bit rocky.
Do you guys want the real conversation or that.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
You want to cover?
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Yeah, it was. It was pretty tricky, like business partners
at the time, because I know, you know business, it's
hard for us specific we don't have the resources or
the upfront capital and there's a lot of money that
goes into starting that. But fortunately the Lord had it
that we had business partners at the time, so we
(14:35):
were able to all go in and share the cost.
Use where's the lord, They're gone now, so partners we
parted way diplomatically and that was during COVID twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yes, oh my gosh, so you start up the lounge nineteen,
come into the pair.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
Yeah, it was crazy, but you know what, when you
have nothing, you're like, man, I have an opportunity right now,
and I'm going to hold on to it because at
some point the storm subsides and then you'll be able
to do something. Yeah. It's a different mindset, I think
for us specific or at least for myself. When you
(15:23):
see opportunity, you know what it is. Yeah.
Speaker 7 (15:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I also read an interview you did. We talked about
pivoting to uber e during the pandemic.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, what what was that?
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Like?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Did that help?
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Uh? Not?
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Really? What actually helped was we had we have like
a steady group of regulars who've supported us since day one,
who still support us now. So really grateful for them.
Shout out to their regulars. Oh my gosh, I feel
like regulator.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
You know, the warrant Yes, she's warranty, no warrngy, she's
gonna turn.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
And the Uber eats was just another way because before
they were just delivering to people. But that took a while.
We came up against a lot of no so it
took it was we had to go to them twice
like justify why you can't have goava on here? Please,
thank you very much, and they did. And a lot
(16:31):
of these groups like uber eats and Shopify is one
we're dealing with right now. There's no justification and food,
you know, gover falls under the food food to act
and zeal And, So tell me why is it more
scrutinized than any other food?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I really do see.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Four Showers is like this kind of like magical special
place that it's the lighting, it's like the people. What
are some of your favorite things about the four Shower space?
Speaker 5 (16:56):
The space? Definitely the people. You know, the space is empty,
it's not a space without the people and the kind
of people that it draws in. Oh man, it's just amazing,
Like a lot of times you don't even know what
people do. You know, it's because the conversations are more
around you know, like just some real talk around culture
and like the political environment, what's going on, how it's
(17:18):
affecting us, how are we feeling as human beings? And
who are we in this landscape of a twenty twenty
four as young Pacific people. So it's a lot of
kind of that kind of conversation. It's a very non
pretentious space.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Yeah, gave a damn what you do?
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Who want to know who you are? Who are you
as a person. But it's hard for me to be
there just you know, being the owner because you're always thinking,
you know, you can't sit still. You're like, I got
to go stuck up the shower. There's a little bit
of dust there. Yeah, and so it's hard for me
to be there. But that and probably all the art
on the wall. Yeah, yeah, all the art. They are
(17:58):
local artists and they all represent something. And the photography
as well. We've got one of our friend Ela who
passed away, but he was part of our deportee documentary
that my husband had done and Donga with Renews at
the time News. Yeah, yeah it was. And all those
(18:18):
memories and my father, and then there's an old board
you know growing up my parents used to write.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Like sales and my mom's like on the electric pole.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Just random like we're own Auckland Council just we ever,
and the last board she wrote, she's got to mention
now we have that up on the show. So you see,
I remember how straight the lines used to be when
she wrote, and you see now how so different. So
(18:57):
all of that are like almost memory moments, memories and
moments of a time and a space that have now
passed on, but they live inside you and it's all
of that's probably what does it for me. You know,
this is all about the god method that Gava is
about book at Booget for Noir, the holding on to
culture and heritage and preserving that right within the space.
(19:19):
But but I personally feel for myself it's like bo
like holding onto memory when you when you get to
a point where you watch your parents, it's almost like
they're transitioning into the next followers. You hold onto anything
and everything that you can of them. So I'm just
very fortunate that the shop, every time I'm in there,
(19:39):
it's that holding on so desperately to these memories that
you never want to let girl or see faith. Yeah yeah,
so wow, that's just to go.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
The queen sharing her insights. Now, how did you get
into your research? My heat like that mine off work.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Oh, the research my head I reckon as well, a
bit of researchers ourselves.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
You even think about quite naturally, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Naturally, you know with felt specific you know, like our
tongue in grapevine that we don't know how it makes
sense it gets.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
To our.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I'm working.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
The last bit of contract work was a while ago,
to be honest, but I'm going back to you to
do my PhD next year. So I'm hoping to pick
up some contracts here and there. I'm currently working on
like a it's not really a research project, but we're
going away this week to put together like a grant application. Yeah,
which was really cool for the Spencer Foundation. But yeah,
it's been a while. It takes me a really once
(20:42):
I'm in it, I love it, but I feel like
sometimes it could be sold crushing, Like you know, a.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Crush was sold one am. Yeah, crushed very much, so
like you have a powder got to wait to get here.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, your soul was going like.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Yeah, but we need more specific researchers.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
I love research.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's just like for me, enabling our people to tell
their stories or tell their stories and like A, I
don't really love the word manner enhancing, but you know,
in a manner enhancing way is so like that's what
I love about it.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Yeah, you're making me want.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
To do.
Speaker 5 (21:30):
Yeah, no, that's awesome. I've got a couple of interns
they're doing their masters once just finished from aut Beautiful.
But it's showing them like, hey, there's other pathways.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
So if you're as mothers, we're busy, we're trying to
work around our kids. But contracting is a researcher. It's
just a real good way of making money. Yeah, that's
not taking too much of your time. Yeah, flexibility.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So yeah, encourage you to how do you do the
research and running the business and having children.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
I actually have a babysitter. Real, that's that's the key, guys.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
I'm like, my kids are like.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
I know, like I have a s Like they've been
with her. She spent with my because I have twins.
I have got four kids. Yeah, fourteen, eight year old
and twins. And that's a huge help. And you know,
everyone talks about the village and yeah, bro, the village
is working.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
The village is working at work as well.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
The village is working.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
They come home, they're tired, and then you're placing your
responsibilities on them. They can lead to tensions, you know.
So it just made better sense to for me to
get someone else to look after my kids. But I'm
not gonna lie. That's a big part of it, I know.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
I wanted to ask you, like, what is the Pacific
business space like for you as an entrepreneur.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Ah, it's a growing space. It's hard to say, to
be honest. If I'm completely honest, when I first started,
I was a part of a lot of the networks
or good stuff. I don't go too many things now
just because I don't. It's have for me to find time.
(23:18):
But the spaces that I am a part of or
the ones I visit, there's so much. Our people are
so talented, we're so entrepreneur we're so creative, and we
bring that create creativity into how do we make money?
And it's not hard for us. That's why there's so
many of us at night markets and we just do
(23:39):
our own thing, whether it's registered as a legal entity
or not. But I think that that's setting up officially
and making it a proper setup according to the packet
system that we've delivered.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Companies register, Yeah, the company.
Speaker 5 (23:57):
Is charities register. That can be tricky for people. When
I think about the businesses who are doing extremely well
and who are pacific, I can only think of a few,
and I often wonder how do they do it? Because
you're in business three five years? But then how do
you go from that to that?
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Taking that, I think that's the missing key for us,
and there's not I guess there are examples, but we
don't know how because sometimes these examples they're too busy
running their own thing. And that's one thing I always
tell myself when I get to that point, I show
us how going to reach back and be like, guys,
(24:38):
this is how we do it. Yes, but I understand
everyone's journey is different as well.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
Crystal.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
I feel like this is pivoting slightly from the business chat.
But I feel like as a woman growing up other
or as that's what we would talk about it as
I would see it in other ceremonies and things like that.
But I never saw Cover as something I could drink casually,
especially because it seemed like quite a male dominated space.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
But I feel like four showers is different in the.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Sex when you're drinking Cover casually, which is not something
that I did when I was younger, or not how
I saw it when.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
I was younger.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
But also I don't feel even though actually most of
the time of God, I'll go with me and like,
I don't feel like it's a super male dominated space.
Have you and that makes me feel incredibly comfortable and
like excited to drink cover? Is that something that other
women have shared with you? Like, what does sentiment like
that mean to you? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (25:40):
Like, and people will say you know, some women are like,
oh no, women don't drink other and others are nervous
to try or but I think because I'm a female
it helps. Yeah, it helps that I'm a woman. To
be honest, I didn't even think of that stuff.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
You know.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
I've always lived on the understanding like I've got to
do life according to how I feel right. But I'm
also very aware that in the tongue and setting, it
is a very male dominant space. And that's okay too.
So there's sometimes some spaces you just know, I know,
not to enter out of respect for them. We need
all our spaces. There's no one space right right, but
(26:19):
in the context of four showers, that space is right
for us women to be there. One woman was women
don't drink a I was like, sorry.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Right now.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
Join It's like, you know, honestly, it's taking back ownership.
Like when you think about growing up in manga, what
would we what were we subjected to? Look at our
whole shops and all this takeaway shops and no, I
don't want it, you know, And then you think, okay,
so I've been taught. I grew up in the era.
(26:55):
I felt like with the last generation that did the
hardcore binge dricking, you guys still striking on.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Not I think it's here. I would say no, I
think with our generation officiallye because with club culture, that's
changed drastically as we've grown. Because when we were like
late teens popping, like, there were still lines at the club.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
Just spas.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Yeah, I think it's amazing and here for it here yeah. Yeah,
this generation, your generation, I don't know, you guys are
just so much more enlightened and and we get better
as the not better, but we become more confident and
as generations go.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
But I will say, though, I would die to have
been in that business casual era where people rocked up
to the clubs and blazers and like looking like they
were going to work in the club because they're just screams.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Like this era of club it their era.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
I swear it was. I'm not gonna lie. That was
the Racino era. If you know, you know, if you
don't know, it's okay, I don't know. That was the
era of just hardcore HAARTI don't care, spin der flat ring,
figure out how you're gonna take that's so sensible. Now,
it's amazing some of us.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
What are they have benefits of drinking cover?
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Yeah, they have benefits. Some of them are like anti Anzoltic,
a mile soporific, so it's like a stress reliever. So
you drink it, you feel quite relaxed. And with the
different cover, these different cultivars, and they have slightly different effects.
So some might make people talk a lot, some might
just make you feel very content to just sit and
(28:52):
steer at the water. But once you go into that sleep,
you have a really really good sleep. And I know
previously some people would say, oh, they wake up the
next morning and they're like really groggy, but the cover
quality just probably wasn't that great quality cover you wake
up feeling on. So if I drink over and I'm
(29:15):
like at one am, I can still get up in
the morning. It's not that hangover that you get. Yeah,
it's like the opposite effects of alcohol. But I think
with gover it's more than just the effects, it's everything.
It's that holistic everything, that feeling of just d la no.
You know, you feel content and even if you've got
(29:37):
like a lot of anxiety or stress, but when you're
in that space, you don't feel like you want to
shut it down, you still feel it, but you're not
overwhelmed by it. Yeah, drinking alcohol, you can drink it
and then just run and have an amazing and just pretend.
Then it comes all crashing down the next couple of
days and you're reminded of all the things that you're
(29:59):
stressed about. So apart from that, it's that it is
really that, it's that creating. There's just something really magical
about cover.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
I agree.
Speaker 5 (30:10):
And you know, we went to Awaki the Woman's Cover crew,
and we went and found the original cover site off
where the Tongue cover story comes from, and I get it.
It was just very it's hard to explain when you
connect back back on that level and then you come
and then you set it, you know, you sit with
(30:32):
flavor with It's just it's hard to explain. But it's
there's something very spiritual about cover that pulls people together.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And I've been trying so obviously, look at me, I've
been trying to explain.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Someone halfway.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
I've been trying to explain to my mum, like cover
is great, like it's but she had a very very
bad experience obviously with poor quality cover that like meant
she could walk like she had a really bad experience,
and so I'm trying to like trying to say no,
this is legit, like it's a real thing, man. And
but I think she misses the cultural and that spiritual
(31:16):
aspect because of the misconceptions and the bad experience she
had with a bad quality.
Speaker 5 (31:22):
Was she on like a tour Was she a tourist somewhere?
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And I think they gave her too much or something. Yeah,
but do you you would often hear stories with misconceptions
like that, Hey, and how what? What?
Speaker 3 (31:33):
What are some of the things you try and like
student to people.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
You know, we try and tell them like the quality
of covers, different covers, discovers, not one thing, just like coffee, right, yeah,
the different types of coffee beans. There's different types of beer, rangers, rangers,
rangers or range? Did that sound? Was a researcher? I
brought my degree and covers the same. They all have
(31:59):
different And one thing that we focus on at the
shop is the quality of it because you know, for
us in the Pacific, we've been drinking it for a while,
over three thousand years. We're used to drinking it straight
out of the grounds. Some chickens running around some you know,
like we're used to at our stomachs, but when you're
(32:19):
bringing it to a new audience, you have to be
so so particular about the standard, the way and get
it tested and stuff. So we always tell people to
just try again, come in and explain the cultural elements
to it, and just try and explain that to them
and then shove some cover down different.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yes, I think people needed to hear that. And now
we are going to move on to our rapid fire,
our rapid fire game. Now we're going to play a
few rounds of cover faves, so we want to know
and lean more into your cover expertise. So we have
a few faves that we're going to ask you and
you just answer with what comes to mind. So, who
has been your favorite guest at the four shows? Louch oh,
(33:08):
I saw that Jason Moore?
Speaker 5 (33:10):
Yes, Jason, it wasn't Jason.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
What has to be ed.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
Perah and down that guy's on fire and just that
deep passion for teti ty and the message around like
Maldi never see the sovereignties. I felt that because that's
how we feel about cover.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So yeah, definitely, absolutely any other notable mentions.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
There's so many people who come back.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Yeah, I imagine.
Speaker 5 (33:41):
So all the musos yah to come through Fiji was
that was crazy.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Crazy the King of Polynesia music few.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
Years ago, he came through and saying.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
So and.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and that's voice radio and in
real life, I feel like you were singing to me.
But I was kind of I was pregnant at the time,
so I was like.
Speaker 8 (34:06):
Oh, yeah, Fiji and there's just so many economic there's
just so many people.
Speaker 5 (34:17):
It's hard for me to put my wow, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Fave Goather experience. So has there been a time that
you have just been indulging in some cover and it's
been itched into your mind. The experience of that.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
Probably my wedding. I got married in Donga. Wow, we
had our first Sunday and water and that Gover experience.
It was probably my first proper experience back in twenty ten.
But it's the walking in when the men were doing
the formalities and being told you, I feel sorry, I
don't understand.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
It's my first Sunday exactly.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
I don't care, you know, very strict, very ceremonial.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
Yeah, So we have to wait and then re enter
the space when we were invited at the right time,
but I loved it. It was like it was a
real that's real tongue for you, and nobody got time
for you. You know, you uneducated Take your Instagram. Yeah,
that was probably my most memorable.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
And lastly, what is your faith country to source cover
from currently? I hear that's different.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Yeah, their processing facilities just how you know that's one
of the largest exporting plots okay, and they've just got
their process down on lock. I love tongue to get
to that stage. We're still working on it. Look at
me talking like I talked with the Prome.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
And we have the CEO of other industries.
Speaker 5 (35:57):
One tongue and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
This would be a great place, and.
Speaker 5 (36:06):
I reckon we should set one up.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Yes, any plans regarding that opening up another branch, I think,
so whereabouts can you give us?
Speaker 5 (36:16):
I feel like I want to. I feel like Donga
would be ideal. Yeah, because it's needed and there's a
huge potential for the tourism industry.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
Then yeah, I think it would spark a ripple effect.
I think for how cover is she it in the Kingdom?
Speaker 5 (36:34):
Yeah, Yeah, we've just learned a lot in the five
years here with the demographic that we I guess you know,
bring in. It's a completely different experience and it's one
of those things you don't know until you're in it.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Yeah, yeah, so, and now, thank you so much for
coming into our space today and sharing with us your expertise.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
And she doing with us cover literally literally, thank you
so much, Sus, such a great conversation, and we're so
grateful for.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
The gifts you brought.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
You are very wise and yeah you don't know about that,
but thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I'm sorry that we can't help out with their eighty dollars.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
Sorry about that, girl, but we'll come and spend eighty dollars.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Yeah, that's pretty much going on. Thank you, And that's
aland waits for this week. Are now so kind that
she lifts on gover with Alissa.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Yeah, she's so lovely. As you would have heard, tragedy
struck my household this morning and.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Down the drain.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
But I'm so grateful to and now for her generosity
and kindness. Make sure you head down to four Showers
Cover Lounge in Victoria Park Market.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Mas won't be there, but.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
I might be. And with that we say goodbye.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Wait wait, wait, the only.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
Reason I say Mas won't be there is because he's
never outside, where as I am outside.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
I like to be outside.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
One thing about me, I'm gonna be a mango.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
Yeah, and think about me, I'm gonna be worried about
Speaker 1 (38:08):
So goodbye, good bye, oh
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