On the Up: Napier influencer Gzilla turns pain into purpose with gospel rap

It took a little word to the big man upstairs to turn Garrett Kohunui’s life around.

Known as Gzilla, Kohunui is a gospel rapper, fulltime musician, and social media influencer with over 50,000 followers on his platforms.

His debut track is out now, and more music is coming soon. But as good as life is now, it hasn’t always been that way for Gzilla.

Raised in a “broken home”, he moved from Whakatāne to Napier as a child.

He told Hawke’s Bay Today he was always angry and started to become violent.

Garret Kohunui, known as Gzilla, at the Chosen Records studio in Napier. Photo / Rafaella Melo

“Within three years, I got kicked out of six schools.”

He got into a cycle of crime, addiction, and gang life in his teens.

“I had all this anger built up in me since a kid, and I just felt like hurting people was the only way to get rid of my pain, so I ended up in prison.”

Gzilla was jailed from 2017 to 2018 for violence, including assaulting people.

“When I got out of jail, I had a lot of conflict still to deal with the gangs around here ... in 2019, I ended up getting my house invaded by a whole bunch of my own gang,” he said.

“I got tortured, a ring split my eyebrow, some teeth missing ... dumbbells, machete, I got beaten up, bloody bashed, broken bones, bruised.”

The gang demanded $50,000 if he wanted to stay alive.

“They had a bullet with my name carved into it.”

Gzilla was jailed from 2017 to 2018 on violence charges, including assaulting people.

Fearing for his life, he turned to a friend – a local pastor – and asked for prayer.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to die, I want to make sure I’m right with God. I ask for forgiveness before I die for all the wrongs I’ve done.’”

That moment marked the beginning of a radical shift.

The pastor not only prayed with him, but also spoke privately with the gang members.

Whatever was said remains a mystery, but Gzilla was then free to go, and decided to restart.

On Christmas Eve 2019, he was baptised at Potter’s House Church in Napier.

During the Covid lockdowns, Gzilla began sharing videos of his diving and fishing missions, something he always loved to do.

Now he keeps sharing his new life on social media, and six months ago, he started working fulltime as a gospel rapper under the label Chosen Records.

Gzilla during a performance on stage at One Love this year.

His debut track, centred around kina diving, dropped earlier this month and is the first song of two full albums set to release in the coming weeks.

In June, he will kick off a tour, performing in Christchurch, Auckland, Fiji, and Australia.

Looking at his past life now, Gzilla says he is grateful he is still alive to live his dreams.

“Life is worth living ... I do a lot of community work, I got to become a father, a husband, and my ultimate dream is to be a pastor one day.”

He now has two children, Rico, 8, and Miracle, 1, with a third baby girl on the way, likely to be named Hope.

“I’m able to raise my kids in this safe environment. Now, I’m able to trust that if they follow me, they’re going to be okay.”

Gzilla with his wife, Ata, and children Rico,8, and Miracle, 1. The couple is expecting their third child this year.

Gzilla says gang members are still in his life, but in a different way now.

“I still talk to them. I pray for them and with them ... Our church is full of them,” he says.

“Nobody’s too far gone ... If God can save me, he can save anyone.”