"We're all doing well and in touch with each other. We're a tight family," says the man who won an NRL Premiership title with the Canterbury Bulldogs before plying his trade with the Sydney City Roosters and North Queensland Cowboys before coach Wayne Bennett put him in the Knights' matrix last year.
"Wayne knows me as a person and knows how happy I was with Newcastle.
"He had no worries about me or about signing me up so I thank him and the Knights. I've had to back myself," he says of the 63-year-old multiple NRL title-winning coach and his intention of repaying him for having faith in his ability in the twilight of his career.
The Knights saw him as a team joker who acted as an intermediary in breaking the ice with some players who reportedly found Bennett intimidating.
Mason has no regrets about courting controversy on and off the field and believes it's part of growing up.
"If I have made mistakes then I've grown from them and learned about life, you know," he says, adding he's "still surviving" from the age of 18.
"I have a chequered past. You know what? I've urinated twice in public so that's the worst part of my life," says Mason, juxtaposing his transgressions with other elite sportspeople who are forever battling with their drinking demons.
"It's better than someone bashing up a girl so, mate, it's all blown out of proportion."
In a fans' poll in 2007, Mason was rated the most hated player.
The media is also guilty of "making a big deal" out of Sonny Bill Williams' tackle on Mason in the Roosters versus Knights match in July.
Calling it a "dog eat dog world", Mason says the game is about whoever gets in a shot first.
That day SBW did and he assures anyone who cares to listen that it won't happen again.
"He's hardly touched me and everyone thinks it's a bad tackle.
"Sonny and I had a good laugh about it," Mason says, adding they often catch up with each when their paths cross in their hectic schedules.
He accepts NRL's crackdown on shoulder charges and other facets of dangerous play.
"I'm not for guys getting knocked out cold. If Sonny had done that to me then it would have been dangerous," he says, adding referees need to police that religiously.
An offspring of a Tongan mother and Samoan/African American father, Mason reckons he has a "great mix of blood all around".
"I suppose with the islands' side a ferocious attitude comes out on the field," says the man who played for Tonga in 2000 before switching allegiances to Australia 2002-08.
His mouth got him into trouble in 2006 when he swore during a Gillette Tri-Nations Series test match, taking exception to Brent Webb, a Torres Strait Islander, performing a Kiwis' haka.
Kiwi player David Kidwell's retaliatory shoulder charge left Mason with a black eye and a broken nose.
A State of Origin second rower/prop for New South Wales, Mason reveals he "loved Gorden Tallis", a Queenslander of Tongan descent and Kangaroos hard man.
He also admired Kiwi Stephen Kearney, a former Melbourne Storm title-winning captain who is now New Zealand coach.
Bradley Clyde is another, especially his training and hard work ethics.
Mason's younger brother, Rodney, 21, is also in the Knights squad.
"He's a good talent, very raw but he's not like a brother who I tell what to do or how to play, like a school teacher.
"I tell him little things, like having the right attitude and how to approach training.
"I wish I had that sort of advice when I was 20 years old."
Mason always dreamt of playing American Football.
"I was 25 years old and they [New York Jets] offered me a trial but the Dogs [Bulldogs] wouldn't let me out.
"I would have loved to give NFL a go when I was young."
Instead he gave rugby union a go in 2011, plying his trade for Toulon in France, following SBW but returned disillusioned that December.
The media labelled the former affro one "the biggest flop" in the history of the French club.
"I always loved contact sport so I played union, league and basketball but I chose league when I was 16-17 because it was more serious.
"It suits my game and the demands of the body," he says, adding he's in his 15th year with NRL so that vindicates his decision.
Born in Auckland, Mason left with his family for Australia when he was four.
"So I'll be coming back to play here [Auckland Nines] after a long time," he says, excited about travelling to Palmerston North, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and Rotorua "to spread the word".
His sales pitch is very simple - NRL big names will be here to play an exciting brand of rugby league.
"It's nine-a-side tournament so your Billy Slaters, Greg Inglises and [Johnathan] Thurstons will have more space to run and attack than in 13-a-side games in the NRL.
"In the normal season it's too structured and you have people running into brick walls so there's less movement of the ball and offloads for the forwards."
Mason says Auckland is an ideal venue for the Nines and the spin-off will help boost the profile of the code in New Zealand.
