A South Auckland collective that began with six mates who dreamt of opening a gym is now reshaping the lives of hundreds of youth.
Now in its fourth year, Brown Pride is a homegrown social enterprise fusing fitness, culture and community, with help from local board funding.
Built around Pacific values of brotherhood, identity and service, it has become a full-time operation employing five staff, supporting youth in schools, running mental health programmes and mentoring young men through culture and sport.
An update on Brown Pride’s journey was given at the recent Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board meeting.
Co-founder Johnnie Lafaele Timu, 29, shared how a group of childhood friends – from St Anne’s to De La Salle, Māngere and Manurewa – turned a simple gym idea into a wider community movement.
“We all grew up in De La Salle,” Timu says.
“We’re all Magele and Rewa boys, and grew up at St Anne’s, then we went to De La Salle together.
”After De La Salle, they worked at Cadbury together.
“Our sort of routine was just kafao [play] or play pool table and drink on Saturday, Sunday,” he says.
“When I found out I was having a son, we tried to bring our ideas together and see what we could do, and we’re blessed that now, four years from that one idea in 2017, we formulated Brown Pride.”
Determined to break the cycle of labouring jobs his parents endured, he and his mates channelled their energy into building a platform to uplift others.
“For us at Brown Pride, we believe disconnection and isolation is one of the biggest causes of many issues – rising youth crimes and gangs and things like that.”
Brown Pride’s mission is to “empower our Pasifika through fitness, arts and community”, Timu says.
“It took me to have a son to really try to change what I was doing with my life and try to do something bigger and better.”
Starting with weight loss challenges, Brown Pride went on to train a team that competed at Torian – a CrossFit event featuring some of the fittest athletes in the world.
“We’re the only Auckland team and we’re going again next month.”
Brown Pride now runs a suite of cultural, health and employment initiatives – including school-based barbering and mental health workshops, a dance academy, mentoring, and Sunday markets.
Timu credits local board funding for unlocking wider support, as the Ministry of Social Development didn’t want to fund pilot programmes.
“We were just blessed that Auckland Council funded the pilots,” he says.
“Now we can show results and show the impact we can make if it was a full-fledged and supported programme.”
One of Brown Pride’s programmes, Young Kings, is co-funded by the Manurewa and Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Boards and targets young men disengaged from school or work.
Back in 2021, of the first 20 participants, 18 moved into education, training or employment, and four now work full-time for Brown Pride.
The Ōtara-Papatoetoe Board also backed another one of their programmes, Aloali’i – a cultural leadership programme for teenage boys who cannot join school Polyfest groups due to suspension or other barriers.
After Auckland Council funded three pilots for Brown Pride, the Ministry of Education picked up the programme and has funded it for the last two years.
“We have been able to go into schools and run our programmes – at the moment, we’re at De La Salle, as well as James Cook.”
Tuinga, a Pacific dance academy for primary and intermediate students, also started at the Brown Pride gym, but it has grown too large – now boasting nearly 500 students.
Brown Pride’s monthly markets are inspired by Timu’s father, an “OG” regular vendor at the old Ōtara Markets.
“Through the inspiration of my dad, we started our own monthly markets at the gym,” he says.
Once a month, the markets support local businesses wanting to sell their products or services, he says.
The group’s annual Christmas outreach has also grown.
“Last year was our third Christmas outreach, and we’re up to 919 families now that we support over Christmas, and that’s just through fundraisers at Christmas-time – whether it’s raffles, boxing fight nights, or community donations.”
Local board members praised the presentation and have encouraged the group to keep them involved in future events.
Board member Topou Folau says he is gobsmacked at what Brown Pride have been able to achieve for local young people.
He raised questions about future growth and long-term sustainability in a tough funding environment.
Local board chair Apulu Reece Autagavaia has expressed his thanks and support.
“Clearly, you have made a larger impact than what we’re giving you, but we would love to see how we can continue to support you in the future.”
