“If you start by walking and start to walk faster next thing you know you are running” – Pablo Sinclair
At first glance, Niuean and Central Auckland rapper Diggy Dupe is as cool and calm as they come.
But when it comes to his music and on-stage presence, Diggy knows it’s time to turn it up notch.
His lyrics and flows are one thing, but it’s the lively and energetic performance that sets him apart from others.
“Yeah man like when I get on stage, you’ve seen it. Bruh, like I can just go for days… people actually think I am on crack when I perform,” Diggy chuckles to himself.
His high energy on-stage presence is something he puts down to his new found passion for long distance running.
Having only laced up his running shoes for a year now and clocking in numerous marathons, Diggy says the active work has kept him fit and in good shape especially when it comes to his music.
“That’s like the highest compliment when people think I’m on stuff, it’s just the breath work is there putting in so many hours of the running that, you know, sometimes when I do run I just rehearse. I just put on my set-list and yeah.”
His love for running is a passion he shares with his close friend and trainer Pablo Sinclair.
“To me I have been doing this for a long time, but not a long time beside him,” Sinclair says.
“But he’s inspired me to do better and be better as a trainer, brother and uncle. So yeah, I got a lot of love for that man.”
A few years ago, Sinclair founded Riff Raff NZ, a fitness group dedicated to not only sharpening their physical well-being but also their mental health.
Earlier last month, Riff Raff held a 48 hour run fundraiser with donations going to the Auckland City Mission.
The initiative was an idea that Sinclair pushed for, to address a lot of health issues and concerns he saw in his pasifika community.
“Yeah I lost my mum in 2012 to complications from diabetes and kidney failure. So I started this group to just help out,” Sinclair says.
“I mean, I’m not a doctor, I am not a scientist, I am not a lot of things but I know if we move, and take care of our bodies, then not only me but the families of my brothers and sisters, that I train alongside, don’t have to go through what I went through with my mother.”
The fundraiser was hugely appreciated by Diggy, who also took part in the run.
“You know Pabs (Pablo), we all kind of grew up in the same area. Pab’s always been there, he’s always been the older brother to everybody.
“Obviously as you can tell by the way he speaks, he’s not just focused on the fitness side but it’s like the mental and spiritual and overall, how you feel.”
With the fundraiser completed for yet another year, both Sinclair and Diggy realise that Riff Raff has a lot to offer in improving mental and physical health. And that sometimes, all it takes, is just taking that one step for change.
“Just keep on trying to give back to the communities that we live in. Not only Pacific Islanders, Maori and everyone out there struggling,” Sinclair said.
“And it doesn’t have to be hard. I mean it’s not really exercising or running, it’s movement. If you start by walking and start to walk faster next thing you know you are running.”
