Makaia Day-Brown in aerial scooter heaven. Source: Timothy Upfold/YouTube
Māori freestyle scooter brothers Kahu and Makaia Day-Brown touched down in Brisbane today to ready themselves for their third Australasian scooter championships this weekend.
Kahu (15) and Makaia (12) are ranked no. 1 in New Zealand after winning their first national champs in Napier in January, which automatically qualified them for the Australasian competition.
Fresh from winning their first NZ national championship titles. Kahu, mum Rachel and Makaia. Photo/Supplied.
The brothers, who compete in one of the fastest growing extreme sports in the world, are the first siblings in their sport to secure a sponsorship deal with a major international brand, MADD Gear.
This has set them on course to becoming professionals if they can achieve eye-catching performances at competitions like the Brisbane event.
Practice makes perfect. Kahu at his local skate park. Source/Instagram
Their mother Rachel Day-Brown, who is with the boys in Australia, says "the kids are very excited" about the Friday through Sunday championships.
She says they've set a target of finishing amongst the cream of talent at the competition.
"They both want to get in the Top 10 of Australasia, which is a big call," she says, "as the riders over here have such elite parks to practice on, with foam pits to practice the harder tricks."
This is something that isn't available in Aotearoa.
However, she says the boys aren't put off and they're getting better with every competition.
"It’s all about getting the experience", she says.
"The more experience they get, the more chance of improving and getting to their main goal of becoming professional."
'Scootering keeps their dad alive'. Kahu with his late father Tracy Brown. Photo/Supplied.
The brothers, with whakapapa to Ngāi Tahu through their mother and Ngāti Raukawa ki Tainui and Ngāti Whātua from their father Tracy Brown, are fulfilling a wish their late dad had for them before he passed away from cancer in September 2016, when Makaia was just 10 years old and Kahu was 13.
"The scootering keeps their dream and their dad alive because that's what dad wanted for them," the boys' mum told Te Ao earlier this year.