Celebrities, athletes and community leaders are the faces of a new asthma awareness campaign called Blow It Up.
The Asthma Hawke's Bay initiative is aimed at getting a conversation started around asthma and other respiratory diseases.
A YouTube channel starring All Black Israel Dagg, singer Kim Willoughby, and local heroes such as Henare O'Keefe was set up to back the campaign.
"All of them either have asthma or have been touched by it as in someone in their family is affected," Asthma Hawke's Bay respiratory nurse Jo Smiley said.
But Blow It Up isn't just about famous faces, with one in four children and one in six adults in Hawke's Bay suffering from asthma it's important people know where to go for help.
"We want people to know that we exist, that they can get help managing their asthma and we want people to get checked to see if they have asthma," Ms Smiley said. "But it's not just asthma we deal with, it's all respiratory diseases."
Three specialised nurses at Asthma Hawke's Bay are on hand to offer solutions and support to people living with respiratory diseases and their families.
Assessments, advice, resources and breathing workshops are just some of the services provided by Asthma Hawke's Bay.
Blow It Up will culminate in the annual Asthma Street Collection and Awareness Week from April 30 to May 6.
Balloon Day, the official appeal day of Asthma Hawke's Bay, will be held on Friday, May 4, with funds going directly back into the local community.
People can find out more about Blow It Up on Facebook or at www.blowitup.co.nz.
Email: amy.shanks@hbtoday.co.nz