Six boys from Ōtara are fighting their way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, making their friends and whānau proud as they go on to represent Aotearoa in the Muay Thai Youth World Championships.
Each of them has a different drive for joining and fighting with the Last Stance Ōtara club. Raka Cecil first signed up to the club to be a body for his older brother, while 17-year-old Tristyn Nathan had his dad join the club to fight somewhere other than the streets.
Coach Tutavake Petero says, "In Ōtara we've been fighting for everything, physically and in the community, so I'm just glad that we've got six that are going to do their hardest.
"As a youth worker, and as a servant of Ōtara, I knew there are certain aspects and discipline of it that controls anger, and you have to be disciplined to learn the techniques, and so I use that in my youth work and then it kind of just grew from there."
At their young age, many of the fighters have been training for almost half of their lives. And despite the nerves of having never gone overseas before in their lives, they're not letting anything stand in their way.
"I grew up around here; 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, and an overseas experience changed my life. This is my second time there, so I look forward to taking the boys and leading that stretch in their life," Petero says.
All of the fighters have that top goal in mind - to be the best and carry championship gold. Their chance to do so will happen on August 9.
