Ke-Xin Li

It’s 6am in Pukehina – a rural community further west along the coast from Whakatāne.

Leaves are rustling against the gentle breeze as tyres crunch through the gravel driveway.

The basketball court – surrounded by kiwifruit orchards and dairy farms – is getting busy.

The sun is not yet up, but car headlights cut through the darkness.

Tuesday is women’s bootcamp, an hour-long workout session run by Mohi Beckham.

He expanded the bootcamp to the community after starting with friends in 2020.

“It was just me and a vet and another farmer, we just started running around in a paddock doing push-ups, then it just evolved from there and we were probably getting up to 10 to 15 dudes a couple of times a week.”

After moving to Pukehina, two locals asked him to start one for women.

“We just started with just doing squats out in the paddock there and then, a court was built, then just kind of evolved from there.”

Now, Mr Beckham runs four bootcamps a week – two for men, two for women.

After bootcamp, he works in many jobs, one of them as a facilitator for the Rural Support Trust, which he calls “have a cup of tea”.

The job has given him insights into the mental health challenges faced by the rural community.

And he says it’s not all about having the right answers.

“[It’s about] sit and listen, and if you can carry some of that stress off them, especially if they’ve got no one to vent to, and if it’s been bottled up so long, it probably can be pretty tough. It’s weird, the more you listen, things just seem to kick in and words come out and seem to work.

“If I give them a hug by the end of it, I think I’ve cracked it.”

The 44-year-old said after going through a dark period in his own life, bootcamp was a way to boost not only physical health, but also mental health.

“We’ve developed friendships. When we first started, they were quite awkward, some of these fellas they wouldn’t even shake your hands, but now a hug is a normal thing.

“I’m just trying to break through that and actually yarn about the good stuff, the real things, like family. And once you start chewing the fat after the workout, then people start talking about anything.

“Farmers will have problems, but they may hold it to themselves, but once they share it out, someone may have a way to get around it, or someone knows someone that could help, and it kind of works out from there.”

He said rural living could mean “a lot of isolation”, making mental health a challenge, but the smaller community compared to cities meant once they opened up a space, it could be easier to support each other.

Mr Beckham runs the bootcamp for free and has paid for equipment himself. But seeing how it’s bringing the community closer, is worth it.

Cathryn Wattam has been attending for three summers. While life as a dairy farmer and kiwifruit orchardist was busy, she said the group exercise kept her body and mind strong.

“Mental health – it’s about getting out, having conversations with people that aren’t your husband, just having fun and just creating a community.”

This summer, she’s bringing her 14-year-old daughter to bootcamp.

“The alarm goes off, and you get your clothes out the night before and you just make it happen. You just gotta get up. You gotta go.”

Hypnotherapist Tania Vinson recently moved to Pukehina for the beach life, and she said the bootcamp was a good way to get to know the community.

“Well, I haven’t died yet, so that’s good. I was a little bit sore, but a good sore.”

It was her second time at the bootcamp, and she said she would be returning for the third.

Parents sometimes bring their kids, so the workout is designed for a range of fitness levels.

Mr Beckham said even though men’s and women’s sessions ran separately, it was the same challenge.

“I do the exact same workouts with the men. I just say it differently, but they all have to do the same bloody thing. If you think about it, everything’s all based around the core, the groin, the hips. Because men are not very flexible, they think they’re tough, but some of these dudes can’t even tie their shoelaces up. Whereas for the women, most of them are the opposite. So, across the board we try to do a bit of everything.”

And at the end of the morning, making sure everyone’s included is what matters most.

Mr Beckham said his trick was to always end on a round of high-fives.

“It’s just a finish, especially the new ones there and try to get them included.”

– RNZ