Dave Letele opens up on struggles of being a community leader with Paula Bennett - Ask Me Anything

Dave Letele is committed to his community work, but has opened up on how tough it is. Photo / Supplied

For years, Dave Letele was well-known as the “Brown Buttabean”, one of the country’s top boxers who managed 16 wins out of 20.

Over the past few years though, Letele has taken the Buttabean name to start a community-led movement, Buttabean Motivation. What started as fitness classes and motivational programmes has evolved into a powerhouse, running food banks and supporting those struggling to make ends meet.

It’s work Letele is proud of, but speaking to Paula Bennett on her NZ Herald podcast, Ask Me Anything, Letele admits that it is taking a toll on him personally.

“I spoke to someone yesterday who rang me up and just asking for advice on wanting to start something like we’re doing down in the Hawke’s Bay. I just said, ‘look, you just got to be careful what you’re wishing for, because this is not easy’.

“There’s no spikes like with political cycles or whatever. It’s all the time. Every minute, every hour, every day, every week, it’s relentless. The work just never stops. But where do you stop, and the same things that drive you are the same things that get you down.

“Most days of my life at the moment, I’m pretty down, it’s rare that I’m actually happy, and then that’s just the reality of it.”

The difficulties of being a community leader have come into focus for Letele, after he was present when Green MP and fellow South Auckland advocate Efeso Collins died at a charity event in Auckland’s CBD.

Letele said the shock death “took the wind outta my sail”.

“It was a nightmare. Everything’s rolling. You think about your family, think about your children, you think about his poor, his poor daughters, his wife.

“I just wanted to make sure that everything was done properly spiritually for him as he passed. If I was going to be anywhere, I was glad I was there when that happened.”

For him, the incident has driven home needing to value time and being with his family.

“You just cannot buy it back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. So I’m making sure that on the weekends now, I’m going down to the Mount, we’ve got a little caravan, and just spend time with family.”

While Letele is open about the difficulties with leadership, he is not giving up any time soon. He told Bennett that he has seen kids as young as 9 getting patched in gangs, and that for many children, they have no idea what success or alternative life paths look like.

“That’s why I always get upset when people who make it out, not just sports stars, but people like me or business people who make it out, who don’t come back. We have to show these kids that it’s possible to have these nice things.

“You have to walk alongside families and, and accept that it’s not going to be immediate success. It’s just not going to happen, it’s generations this has taken. So it takes generations to get out of it. But it is possible.”

He said that he’d like to see politicians come together and collaborate on a long-term plan to find some progress here.

“Community has to be the focus though. And until that day happens, nothing’s going to get better.”

Listen to the full episode for more from Dave on what motivates him, his experiences with adversity, and how others can rise to be community leaders.

Ask Me Anything is a Herald podcast, hosted by former Deputy Minister Paula Bennett. New episodes are available every Sunday.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.