For this weeks Fan Favourite episode we throw back to one of the most powerful episodes to date, I’ll always remember this episode for the feeling of goosebumps I got down my spine as Michael Fatialofa shared his incredible journey. Fats was one of the toughest players on the field I ever played with and he proved he was even tougher off it after a life changing tackle.

The former Auckland, Southland and Hurricanes star was over in the UK playing for Worcester, when he was hit awkwardly in a tackle that caused him to be Paralysed from the neck down. He was told he will never walk again! From that moment his life had changed forever and hearing the battle he has gone through the last 3 years left me feeling inspired, sad and proud of what he has been able to achieve.

This episode is an awesome reminder to be truely grateful for everything you have in your life, as like in Michaels case it can literally be taken away from you overnight. I'm so grateful to Fat's for coming on What a Lad and speaking so openly about his journey, it is one of the most powerful and inspiring episodes ever!

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This one has it all — Scott Waldrom, one of the most explosive loose forwards to play the game, jumps on for an absolute ripper of a chat and does not hold back. From growing up as a rugby super fan idolising his hero’s to playing with legends like Jonah Lomu, Jerry Collins, Christian Cullen and Justin Marshall, to getting dropped from Sevens after a scrap in Lower Hutt, Scooters career is full of highs, lows, and unreal yarns.

We talk about:

• His early days which involved plenty of battles with younger brother Thomas Waldrom
• Debuting with Jonah Lomu and being starstruck in training
• Getting told he was too small for NPC and proving everyone wrong
• National Nude Day and bar vouchers
• Being told his foot injury meant his rugby career was over — and then making it back
• Getting named in the All Blacks squad and wondering if he belonged
• The brutal truth about injuries, pressure, drinking culture, and bouncing back
• Coaching with the NZ Sevens, a scary health scare and life after footy

Honest, hilarious, and full of insight — this one’s got everything. A top man with a stack of stories. Scooter Waldrom is an absolute lad!

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Marty Banks was a cult hero, fans loved him. He looked like your average kiwi bloke, tall, low muscle mass and ran a distinctive curly mop. On the field he was a point scoring machine, he kicked goals from everywhere and made a habit of scoring long range tries which his deceptive pace.

That's the Marty we all knew from the screen. The Marty you'll hear from in this episode is the one who struggled with self confidence, the one who battled through serious injury pain and the one who has had his challenges transitioning into post footy.

Marty played all around the world and experienced so much from the game, having played in Russia, Italy, Japan, Refton, Nelson, Wellington and Dunedin. He's someone who always enjoyed a good time and never took himself to seriously, he even famously chopped a beer a fan threw at him before kicking a conversion to beat Taranaki!

He's definitely a massive lad so it was awesome to get him on What a Lad again.

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