At the age of 10, his family moved to Hamilton, where he became a competitive swimmer, and by the age of 14, he was globally ranked in his age group. The habits he acquired through swimming fostered his lifelong passion for sports and training, and between 2001-2009, he became heavily involved in coaching swimming. By 2004, Cyril had the strongest junior competitive swim club at the national level, and in 2008, he entered into high-performance biomechanical consulting work for the Waikato Bay and Bay of Plenty regions and New Zealand Olympic swimmers, which eventually led to his work with rugby athletes. In 2010, he became a specialist youth worker for Te Hurihanga and helped young persons from the youth justice system reintegrate into society. As a result of his work with Te Hurihanga, he began working at Te Wananga o Aotearoa (TWOA) and piloted its National Youth Guarantee Sports Program for 16-19-year-olds. Since 2014, he has been a head tutor for TWOA’s Alternative Education for Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Through this work, he provides learning opportunities in a culturally Māori environment for at-risk youth who have struggled in mainstream schooling. Cyril’s no-nonsense, practical, hands-on approach has allowed him to build deeply impactful relationships with the youth he works with throughout his years of experience. Cyril believes youth will not transform unless they feel loved, respected and appreciated. His hope is that the young people he works with will learn how to be self-sufficient and develop a sense of independence, giving them the tools to create a better life for themselves.

Cyril is a Trustee and co-founder of Mana Services.