Richard Bryham is among a slew of immortals who have graced the Waipu Highland Games for as long as the present generation can remember.
The Waipu-born and bred octogenarian competed in the caber toss event for a staggering 50 years before retiring in the mid to late 1970s.
"My dad was fairly competitive in the cabers back then and I got my inspiration from him," he said.
Some things, he said, had changed on the competition front over the years but the proud tradition of the 143-year-old games has remained the same.
"In the very early days, they [organisers of the caber toss] used to cut a tree down and every competitor would then have a go at it, and a winner would be found that way."