On The Up: Hawke’s Bay firefighters tackle Auckland’s Sky Tower Challenge

With Metallica blasting in his ears and a photo of his late nephew on his back, nothing was going to stop Central Hawke’s Bay fireman Mark Bean climbing 1103 steps and 51 flights of stairs to the top of Auckland’s Sky Tower.

Bean, who works in the butchery at New World in Waipukurau, has been a volunteer firefighter for 24 years.

He took on his third climb on Saturday to raise funds for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.

As of Monday at 1.30pm, Bean had raised $4232, which contributed to the $1,927,692 raised by firefighters across the country, with donations still being counted.

Mark Bean completed the 2025 Auckland Skytower Challenge with a photo of his nephew Jordan Jackson on his cylinder.

The 55-year-old said his motivation for the gruelling physical and mental challenge was to honour his nephew Jordan Jackson, who died from leukaemia in 2003, aged 10.

“He was a gentle critter, he was a really neat kid, had a heart of gold, and he would have had a pretty good future ahead of him as being a loyal mate to someone.”

Bean previously climbed the tower in 2012 with a time of 20 minutes 41 seconds to the top and again in 2015, which took him 18 minutes 28 seconds.

He said he was “pretty stoked” with his time this year and despite his casual approach to training, he reached the top in 21 minutes and 55 seconds.

“I put bugger-all training in ... I walked the dog every day.

“I started off with a hiss and a roar and went up Pukeora Hill once, and I did four or five times going up and down the Hunter Park climb in the township.”

He said the hardest part was not the challenge itself, but the nerves in the lead-up before the start line.

“I thought, ‘what the hell am I doing here?’

“I knew why I was there, but I knew it was going to be a lot tougher than it had been in the past.”

Brad Edwards dedicated his Sky Tower Challenge climb to 4-year-old Zack Guest.

Fellow Waipukurau firefighter Brad Edwards dedicated his climb to 4-year-old Zack Guest from Cambridge, who is battling leukaemia.

Edwards completed the firefighter of steel category, where he carried a steel cylinder, which equalled an extra 9kg of weight, in just over 18 minutes.

He also gained an extra little weight during the race to the top in the form of Guest’s favourite soft toy “Sheepie”.

“As I came out of the tower to do my lap around the outside, Zack walked out and gave me a toy to carry up to the top of the tower.”

Edwards raised $6833 and said a total of 52 firefighters from Hawke’s Bay took part.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.