John Kelly thought his son had "made the grade" as a contestant on the hit TV show Project Runway when he told his family that the show's "den father" Tim Gunn had complimented him on his designs.
Former Hawera High School student Sean Kelly, 23, is a contestant on the show filmed in New York and now in its 13th season.
Sean's proud parents John and Margaret and sister Hannah say they are "blown away" by Sean's success.
While the show is being filmed, Sean is forbidden to speak about his Project Runway experiences to anyone, even his family.
"It's been hard having him on lockdown with no communication with all this going on. He will come out of it to a barrage of emails and facebook messages," says Hannah.