When he was 15, the family moved to an orchard on the Poverty Bay flats, where his mum and dad still reside. They grow citrus on a 16-acre block.
Jock attended primary school firstly on the family farm, then at Waerenga-o-Kuri. He later boarded at Lindisfarne College in Hawke's Bay and has fond memories of his high school years.
“It was cool. I learnt about discipline there. We were all in houses/clubs which competed in sport and music. I was heavily involved in sport and played rugby and tennis.”
After high school he had a gap year travelling to the UK where he also explored Europe.
Upon his return he studied at Canterbury University where he attained a degree in engineering and geology.
He worked for several years as a geo-technical engineer in Auckland.
His first festival experience was at R&V, where he and brother Sam ran a camp ground at their orchard house for festival-goers.
“Years later when I discovered yoga, I realised there was a broad range of wellness modalities that can be used either together or separately to optimise our health and wellbeing.
“We thought if we could create a diverse platform like at Revive, we would be able to give people an opportunity to optimise their health and wellbeing based on the diverse offerings that we could supply.”
Revive festival is focused on health and wellbeing and is a family-friendly alcohol and drug-free event.
“People 100 percent accepted the alcohol and drug-free ethos of Revive,” he said.
“We didn't see any signs of alcohol or drugs. People respect the kaupapa — the intention is strong. We had a pōwhiri at the local marae the day before and were welcomed in by the tangata whenua (people of the land). We made it very clear that we were here to be healthy — to connect on a more authentic and deeper level.”
The heavy rain of the past week meant Jock and Sam had to finish the festival early.
“We lost our Saturday afternoon and night and the next day's closing ceremony. But Saturday night it was really special as a spontaneous crowd gathered in front of the mystery stage.”
People were playing drums and dancing and then they had an impromtu closing ceremony with people saying karakia and sharing their thoughts and experiences of the festival.
“Despite the weather everyone had an awesome time. We are already getting lots of positive messages from people reflecting on the connections they made over the four days.”
In 2019 Jock completed his vinyasa yoga teacher training in Talalia on the south coast of Sri Lanka.
“This was a 200-hour immersive yoga training, curated to hammer home the traditional values and practices of yoga itself. It involved waking at 5am, practising for two hours followed by theory for three-and-a-half hours. In the afternoon we studied the physical asanas (study of the postures) followed by a 90-minute practice, then dinner and bed.
“It was long, challenging and broke many parts of me, but it was extremely rewarding.”
He met his partner/girlfriend Pamela Alves Dutra when she volunteered at the first Revive festival in 2022. They later reconnected when she attended a yoga class he was teaching at the NZ Spirit Festival in Kumeu, north of Auckland.
The couple returned to Gisborne in October last year where they taught yoga classes from the house at the orchard and also at Kaiti Yacht Club. Pam is a trained and highly skilled Hatha yoga teacher.
Jock said that he had attended a lot of music festivals over the years, but his main inspiration for Revive came from the NZ Spirit Festival.
The NZ Spirit Festival is a vibrant celebration of wellbeing in all of its forms, centred around the enriching traditions of yoga, music, dance and knowledge-sharing.
Months of planning go into putting on a festival like Revive. He and Sam approached some of the presenters and entertainers and others came to them. Everyone was scrutinised by a cultural diversity committee to ensure the workshops, music, healing and talks they offered traditionally upheld the values of their culture.
Feeling exhausted after a massive four days and all the work before that, Jock and Sam are still excited about the next Revive in 2024.
“When the bad weather hit we just had to commit to making it work,” Jock said.
“We ended up towing hundreds of cars out by tractor. It was such a mission, especially after three-and-a-half days of festival.”
Next week he and Pam are moving to the Gold Coast where they will teach at a yoga studio in Mermaid Beach and hold various workshops and retreats over there.
They are also going to start their own business offering wellness facilitation and retreat services.
“We are now making big plans to facilitate the continuation of Revive for the future.
“It is our mission to spread this kaupapa to as many people as possible across Aotearoa, to create a ripple effect of healthy living, personal growth and stronger communities.”
