When Kimi Putere Parata got sick of her life of crime and quit methamphetamine in 2022, she turned to food - and says she ate her way from 90kg to 190kg in less than a year.
“I went cold turkey off methamphetamine. I had enough of that lifestyle and I was three months pregnant with my youngest baby when I gave it up,” Parata, 35, said.
“My next best thing was food and the weight just piled on within 8 months.”
Parata had been to prison three times - recalled twice for breaching her parole conditions.
She now trains at the gym four days a week for two hours a session - and is about to compete in a boxing charity match for a cause dear to her heart, under her boxing name Maama Ghee.
She did it for her three kids - aged 15, 13 and 3. “I’m so proud of myself” she said.
These days, Maama Ghee gets around 7.6 million views a month on her Facebook Page, and 2.6 million likes per month on her Tik Tok. She posts material about her workouts, and her life.
“I want to set an example for those who lack confidence and find it hard to step out of their comfort zones,” she said.
Parata (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Paoa) has dropped 40kg and bulked up for a corporate fight night in Pakuranga on August 30 in an effort to raise suicide awareness.
She will fight Memz at the Ben Lamond Centre, someone she has never boxed against before. “All I know is Memz follows me on Facebook,” Parata said.
Social media influencer CWK Nix is her cousin and will be in her corner on fight night, she said.
Parata hopes to raise awareness of suicide. “I lost an ex-partner to suicide, and also family members, so it’s close to my heart.
“The last I heard from [my ex] was when she was released from prison in 2023 and she passed away that same year. I used emotions I felt and put it into fitness, and I know she is proud of me.”
The organiser of her upcoming fight is one of Parata’s 70,000 Facebook followers, Junior Pati AKA Pitbull - a former champion boxer who runs promotional companies Pitbull Showdown and King of the South.
Parata told the Herald she’s motivated by her dysfunctional upbringing, which included abuse, loss, boarding schools and state care.
“When I was nine, I was hanging with street kids in the hood stealing and drinking, smoking weed,” she said.
“I was taken off my mother at ten, my father died when I was 11.
“I was in and out of juvenile prisons, Kingslea and Rolleston in Christchurch and I went through sexual abuse and rape throughout my life as a child.
“I was the youngest on the streets as a prostitute on Manchester St when I was 12ish.”
Between 2015 and 2021 Parata served prison time for aggravated robbery, kidnapping and causing grievous bodily harm, she said.
She told the Herald she hasn’t offended since 2021.
“My goal is to just step in the ring and fight for light, fight for right, fight for our people and of course growth and healing within my own journey.
“I hope what I share helps our people across the globe ... I’m not perfect but I am on an amazing path to being my best self and do believe I can help others stuck in darkness or [who] may need to hear what I may share.”
“I will continue my fitness journey and boxing”
She also wants to become a personal trainer for those who struggle to get out of the house and into a gym.
And her dream is to start her own brand of clothing.
“I’m starting back up with my own merchandise brand Mamagheeghee clothing and also my own fitness logo DMC which means dedication motivational change. Which I created after I gave up meth,” Parata said.
Parata is fighting Memz on the undercard at the Ben Lamond Centre in Pakuranga on August 30.
Joseph Los’e is an award winning journalist and joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.