A new film about a New Zealand-born Samoan strongman aims to inspire Pasifika youth to dream big and work hard to achieve their goals.
Strongman Levi Vaoga in the film "the Life I've Lived" which details his journey from farmhand to international strongman tournaments. Photo: Supplied / J.D Media
Better known as the Mitre 10 Mega man, Levi Vaoga spent a decade pulling trucks and flipping tractor tyres for the hardware franchise promoting the message "big is good."
But as the New Zealand-born Cook Islands filmmaker Jamie Aureka Maoate Dunn discovers in "The Life I've Lived," there is more to Levi Vaoga than meets the eye.
Levi Vaoga's journey from farmhand to competitor in eleven world strongman tournaments is an honest first-hand account and Jamie Dunn hopes it strikes a chord with young people.
"All I wanted is to inspire the younger generation to be honest, it shows that from him being Samoan you know that absolutely anything is possible if you just put your mind to it," he said.
"Because he even states in the documentary that it doesn't even matter if it is strongman or anything, but if you put your mind to absolutely anything you want you will achieve it."
The Life I've lived can be viewed on Youtube.
Filmmaker Jamie Dunn (left) spent ten weeks filming strongman Levi Vaoga (right). Photo: Supplied / J.D Media
