The whānau-first team that made room for Destyn
- Aug 3
- 2 min read
When Destyn started MAST’s School to Work placement with Super Yacht Coatings in Auckland, Regional Manager Glenn Farr gave the team one instruction: “Get him straight in there – don’t put him on the sidelines.”
It was MAST Pathways Consultant Fiona van der Hor who took the call from Ko Taku Reo – Deaf Education New Zealand in Auckland about a deaf student interested in boatbuilding, and she knew Glenn and his team’s whānau approach would be a good fit.
Glenn’s crew is largely Māori and Pasifika, and to him, they’re more than a team – they’re whānau. “It’s about backing each other up,” he says. “Fairing a hull takes two people. If one isn’t pulling their weight, the other feels it straight away. “There’s nowhere to hide,” he says. “So, you show up for your mate, every time.” That’s whanaungatanga in action – the trust and support that comes from looking out for each other.
Glenn, it turned out, already had a connection to the Deaf community. Years earlier, at another company, he’d worked alongside a deaf colleague and taught himself basic sign language from a library DVD. He still laughs about the jokes they could share that nobody else understood.
Like any close-knit crew, there’s plenty of banter alongside the hard work. Based onsite at Yachting Developments for the past 10 years, they’ve been involved in some incredible projects, and Glenn’s pride in both the team and the scale of the work they do is obvious.
His instinct is to stay close to the workshop floor, and that same instinct shapes how he leads. For Glenn, mentoring comes naturally, drawing on the concept of tuakana-teina – experienced hands helping those coming through, while recognising that everyone has something to offer. It’s a relationship where both sides keep learning from each other.
Perhaps that’s what makes this particular connection unique. While Destyn (Te Whakatōhea) is being mentored by a strong team, in return, he’s sharing an insight into the Deaf world that they may never have encountered otherwise. It’s also a reminder that careers don’t always follow the same path. Everyone brings their own story, and as Glenn says, “All of my team have a story and that’s how you get grit.”
Meet Destyn – in his own words
The handwritten whakataukī on the workshop wall serves as a daily reminder of the shared values and teamwork.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
My success are not mine alone, they are ours – the greatest successes we have are from working together
