‘I knew there was a purpose for me’: EIT valedictorian finds strength through study post-rugby

EIT valedictorian Ausage Fomai is using his passion for sport to inspire young people in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Paul Taylor

Ausage Fomai left Aotearoa as a young man to chase dreams of rugby stardom.

But like many players, he found himself without a purpose and lost when he returned home.

Now, the 34-year-old is one of EIT Te Pūkenga’s graduating valedictorians and is helping inspire the next generation of Māori and Pasifika to connect with their aiga/whānau through exercise.

It has been a long post-rugby journey for Fomai, who said he has battled many personal challenges and setbacks.

“I was reaching the end of my career and had nothing to fall back on. I was trying to see what was going to be the next step,” he said.

While Fomai was born in Auckland, he grew up in Hawke’s Bay, attending Hastings Boys’ High.

He went overseas to first play American Football [gridiron] in the US and then to France, where he played for US Meyzieu Rugby Club near Lyon.

“When I came back from France, I actually had nothing to my name, no legacy. I was struggling with quite a few things.

I’d say that most of what I was struggling with involved addictions to alcohol and drugs.”

After realising he had “pretty much nothing”, he said he was inspired to change direction for his family and three children.

“My first thought was that my older brother Tivaini had gone through EIT, and I saw that he was a teacher, and then I just thought that I’ll try, ‘maybe I could be a teacher one day’,” he said.

“My first pursuit was to become a teacher like him and then, along that journey I found myself leaning towards more of the community side of things.”

In his final year of studying towards a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science, his full-year project looking at how exercise could be used to strengthen a relationship between Pasifika children and parents blossomed.

“I did that study, and now I’m doing that full-time this year with a business we started up while I was studying called WOWbeing. Now I’m a director in the business.

“I set the company up with my older brother Tivaini, who did the degree in sport and rec, and then went on to do a teaching post-grad. We also linked up with another set of brothers, Davis and Tyson Ataera. We used my project from my degree as our first programme of four in what we call the Journey to Prosperity.”

He said that study and the concept of graduating was “never a normal thing” in his life growing up, and he was blessed to be able to be given the opportunities he has since had.

“Probably one of my proudest moments was saying ‘yes’ and sticking to it.

“I’ve since found in myself things that I never thought I would be able to do.”

Fomai said he also owed much of his success to his Christian faith and his church community.

“I knew there was a purpose for me here in the Bay. I had that sense that I had a lot to offer and a lot to give back to what I call my hometown.”

He acknowledges his younger brother, Hawke’s Bay Magpie and Moana Pasifika player Neria Fomai, who “paved the way” for him and inspired him to go through with his journey.

Neria started the studying journey with Ausage and ended up completing his NZ Certificate in Exercise.

“He plays for the Magpies in Hawke’s Bay, but he has been selected to go to the World Cup with the Manu Samoa team. So, that’s him now.”

And what is Fomai’s advice to those who may be having similar struggles?

“Have faith in something. Whatever you believe in. There’s always something that you have to turn to because when no one else is there, your back’s against the wall and you have to commit to something.

“Always pursue your God-given gift because everyone was created differently.”

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.