Takatāpui Talk is a living collection of stories — a weaving together of voices from our community, shared with honesty, care, and deep respect.
Each kōrero holds a life lived — through love, loss, identity, whānau, and resilience — offering insight into what it means to be takatāpui in Aotearoa, both then and now.
This series is not about explanation or justification. It is about presence. It is about truth. It is about us, speaking for ourselves.
Created within a space of trust and connection, these conversations are a taonga — for our people, for our whānau, and for those who seek to understand us more deeply.
Takatāpui Talk is a reminder that we are not new, we are not invisible — we have always been here.
These kōrero are about resilience, laughter, truth, and love.
Send us Fan Mail “This is my love letter.” ❤️🌈 Tonight on Takatāpui Talk — Indigenous Voices, we meet Krystal Kara, one of the wāhine stepping onto the stage for Miss Whakawahine 2026. Krystal shares her whakapapa, growing up Māori, the whakawāhine who came before her, sisterhood, visibility and why Miss Whakawahine means so much more to her than beauty or a crown. For Krystal, this pageant is a love letter — to her aunties, her whānau, the trailblazers who created space before her, and ultim...
27 Sept 2026
Tiffany Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail Tiffany Twist | Miss Whakawahine 2026, whakapapa and finding her voice This week on Takatāpui Talk, Indigenous Voices, I sit down with Tiffany Twist for a kōrero full of humour, honesty and heart. Tiffany takes us from her childhood in Kaiti and Ruatōrā to 27 years in hairdressing, and shares how her relationship with whānau, faith and whakapapa has shaped the woman she is today. We talk about takatāpui identity, the joy of finding community, and why she’s become so passionat...
20 Sept 2026
Nephi Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail Nephi’s Story | Takatāpui Talk, Indigenous Voices After more than three decades, Donald reconnects with Nephi, a friend from his Auckland salon days. Together they revisit the late 1980s and early 1990s: the clubs, the fashion, their careers, and the people who helped them find their way. When Donald asks what Nephi remembers about herself at that time, her answer is simple and moving: “I was lost.” This is a conversation about the lives they lived then, the people they have ...
13 Sept 2026
Te Warena Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail In this beautiful and deeply personal episode, Te Warena shares her journey from childhood into a remarkable working life shaped by creativity, education and service. She reflects on growing up takatāpui, challenging the idea that our identities are something we are “influenced” into, before taking us through the many chapters of her career. At the heart of her kōrero is the extraordinary pastoral care she offers her learners—seeing the whole person, creating safety and helpi...
6 Sept 2026
Macau Johnson Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail 🌈 TONIGHT AT 6PM | MACAU JOHNSON Tonight on Takatāpui Talk, Macau Johnson shares a kōrero filled with the highs and lows of life. From his childhood and studying Film and Television, to working on a recycling truck and becoming a Drag Race commentator, Macau speaks openly about the experiences that shaped him—including his extraordinary hauora journey. Honest, funny and real—this is Macau’s story, told in his own words. 🎥 Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Takatapu...
23 Aug 2026
Dr Huhana Hickey Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of **Takatāpui Talk — Indigenous Voices**, Donald Hollingsworth sits down with **Dr Huhana Hickey MNZM** for an intimate conversation about an extraordinary life. Dr Hu is Māori, disabled, lesbian, a lawyer, academic, human rights advocate and internationally recognised voice for disability rights. But behind those achievements is a deeply personal story of identity, whakapapa, adversity, resilience, humour and an unwavering determination to create c...
16 Aug 2026
Rawiri Tahau Maurirere Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail RAWIRI TAHAU MAURIRERE ❤️🖤 This week on Takatāpui Talk, I sit down with hairdresser and creative Rawiri Tahau Maurirere for a kōrero that begins with his childhood and his journey into hairdressing, before opening up a much bigger conversation. Why are so many Takatāpui drawn to hairdressing, beauty, fashion and other creative industries? Can our choice of career also be about finding safety, belonging and a place where we are free to be ourselves? We talk about Rawiri’s care...
9 Aug 2026
Mihirawhiti Searancke Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail We are honoured to welcome Mihirawhiti Searancke to Takatāpui Talk. From her whakapapa and identity to her years as a psychiatric nurse, activism, and reflections on whenua and land loss, Mihirawhiti shares a lifetime of experience and service. This conversation also touches on an important chapter of our history—one that reminds us why remembering our past matters for future generations. These are the stories that deserve to be heard, preserved, and passed on. 🎥 Watch ...
2 Aug 2026
Glory Haronga Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail 🌺 NEW EPISODE | TAKATĀPUI TALK 🌺 This week on Takatāpui Talk, we're honoured to welcome Glory Haronga, the reigning Miss Whakawahine 2025. Born and raised in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, Glory shares her journey of growing up Whakawahine, finding strength in her identity, the importance of sisterhood, community, and what it means to represent her people with pride. We also explore the significance of the Miss Whakawahine pageant, preserving Indigenous Pacific identities, and crea...
26 Jul 2026
Amanduh La — Part Two
Send us Fan Mail 🌈 Takatāpui Talk | Amanduh La – Part Two | The Power of Drag, Identity & Legacy In Part Two of my conversation with the incredible Amanduh La, we explore the deeper meaning of drag—not simply as performance, but as an art form that creates joy, confidence and connection. For audiences, drag can be an escape from everyday life. It invites us to laugh, celebrate, reflect and see the world through a different lens. Behind the glamour, costumes and humour are artists who dedi...
19 Jul 2026
Amanduh La — Part One
Send us Fan Mail 🌈 From Tokoroa to Paris, Italy and New York Fashion Week… this is the extraordinary story of Amanduh La. Growing up in the Mormon faith, discovering her identity, travelling the world as a model, and ultimately embracing the uniqueness that would become her greatest strength—Amanduh's journey is one of courage, resilience and authenticity. This conversation moved me so much that, for the first time on Takatāpui Talk, we've released it as a two-part episode. Part One is a stor...
12 Jul 2026
Jade Dayna Kanara Mills Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail Jade Dayna Kanara Mills | Finding Sisterhood, Love & Identity | Takatāpui Talk Ep. 8 Today on Takatāpui Talk, I sit down with the wonderful Jade Dayna Kanara Mills—a proud Māori whakawāhine whose whakapapa connects her to Hokianga, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Tāmāra. Jade shares an extraordinary life story spanning decades. Growing up at a time when there was little understanding or language for young whakawāhine, she speaks openly about leaving home, finding community, surviving...
5 Jul 2026
Steven Oats Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail Steven Oates | Television, Radio, Pride & Community | Takatāpui Talk For decades, Steven Oates has been a familiar face and voice in Aotearoa's rainbow community. From his beginnings in radio and television to organising Pride events, fundraising, and creating Woof!, Steven has dedicated much of his life to ensuring LGBTQIA+ people could see themselves represented and celebrated. In this heartfelt conversation, Steven reflects on growing up gay in New Zealand, finding com...
28 Jun 2026
Raureti Ormond
Send us Fan Mail At a young age, Raureti Ormond is already helping shape the future of Takatāpui storytelling in Aotearoa. A playwright, performer, drag artist and creative storyteller, Raureti joins Donald for a thoughtful and inspiring conversation about identity, belonging, self-expression, and the power of being unapologetically yourself. Together they explore what it means to be seen, how creativity can become a place of freedom, and why telling our stories matters for future generations...
14 Jun 2026
Taane Mete Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Takatāpui Talk, Donald Hollingsworth sits down with dancer, choreographer and breathwork facilitator Taane Mete. Taane shares the story of a life shaped by movement — from childhood imagination and the freedom he found in dance, to performing with some of Aotearoa’s most respected companies, exploring drag, and eventually guiding others through breathwork, yoga and healing. This is a warm and deeply personal conversation about identity, grief, creativity, e...
7 Jun 2026
Takatāpui Talk Donald Hollingsworth our Host interviewed by Claudette Hauiti
Send us Fan Mail For the first time on Takatāpui Talk, the host becomes the guest. In this deeply personal episode, award-winning journalist and broadcaster Claudette Hauiti turns the microphone on Donald Hollingsworth — internationally recognised hair and makeup artist, salon owner, and creator of Takatāpui Talk. Together they explore Donald's childhood in Rotorua, growing up Takatāpui, the unconditional love of his father and whānau, and the experiences that shaped a remarkable life and car...
31 May 2026
Takatāpui talk Claudette Hauiti
Send us Fan Mail Claudette Hauiti — Media, Politics, Identity & Belonging In this episode of Takatāpui Talk, Donald Hollingsworth sits down with broadcaster, political journalist, media leader, sports enthusiast, and proud mother Claudette Hauiti. From her upbringing in Aotearoa to her years in the media spotlight and the halls of Parliament, Claudette shares a deeply personal journey of identity, courage, and finding her place in the world. Together, Donald and Claudette explore what it ...
24 May 2026
Czahn Armstrong Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Takatāpui Talk, I sit down with playwright, storyteller and proud uri of Ngāti Hine, Czahn Armstrong. Together we explore identity, whakapapa, grief, whānau, creativity and the journey home to Te Ao Māori. From memories of his father and childhood in the North, to the origins of his play ĀE WOMAN — inspired by the true story of his great grandmother and the confiscation of her whenua in Pipiwai in 1965 — this is an emotional, fu...
17 May 2026
Woshē Williams Takatāpui Talk
Send us Fan Mail Tonight on Takatāpui Talk we kōrero with Woshē Williams — a proud whakawāhine whose story is filled with honesty, humour, resilience, identity, and heart. 🌈 In this deeply personal conversation, Woshē speaks openly about becoming who she is, the relationships that shaped her along the way, and the strength it takes to live authentically in a world that does not always understand difference. Together we explore identity, whānau, visibility, friendship, belonging, and the pow...
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