Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
JOE NAUFAHU<br />
SIMON BAKER/GETTY IMAGES; MACALL B. POLAY/HBO<br />
train without equipment in solitude<br />
since I did not feel like going to the<br />
gym or being around people.”<br />
But that alone time was ultimately<br />
a blessing in disguise as it eventually<br />
led to him partnering with his<br />
brother Rene on a personal-training<br />
business—Ludus Magnus School of<br />
Training, in Auckland, New Zealand<br />
(ludusmagnus.co.nz). Their emphasis:<br />
body-weight training. Today, the<br />
Naufahu brothers have more than<br />
20 “lanistas” or trainers working<br />
for them.<br />
“For me, training was therapy and<br />
took me out of my depression,” he<br />
admits. “I had to do it to keep me<br />
sane, and it’s the same type of training<br />
I am doing today with clients<br />
and in my business. So, you know,<br />
everything happens for a reason.”<br />
He adds, “If I hadn’t gotten<br />
injured, I wouldn’t have done that<br />
type of training. And during that<br />
time to reflect, I got introduced to<br />
acting and Rene [an accomplished<br />
writer and director] gave me a small<br />
role in a crime series, which led to<br />
other acting roles.”<br />
More opportunities soon presented<br />
themselves, including roles<br />
in the television series Spartacus:<br />
War of the Damned (2012) and<br />
The Last Saint (2014), which premiered<br />
at the 2015 Harlem Film<br />
Festival and was directed by Rene.<br />
“I have a passion for acting,” says<br />
Naufahu. “[It] kind of took rugby’s<br />
place. I get the same buzz and feeling<br />
when I go into a scene as I did<br />
when I was running on a field. For<br />
me, I need [acting] to breathe now,<br />
and if I can carry on getting good<br />
roles, I will be happy.”<br />
My rules are pretty basic: I try to eat<br />
clean. Nutrition is not rocket science.<br />
P<br />
ART SAMOAN, GERMAN,<br />
and Irish, Naufahu says his<br />
background is similar to that<br />
of WWE Superstar and Hollywood<br />
heavyweight Dwayne “The Rock”<br />
Johnson in that they both have<br />
Samoan heritage. Samoans are<br />
known for their massive structure<br />
and ability to build muscle easily.<br />
“Samoans just look at weights<br />
and we get bigger,” he jokes. “Look<br />
at The Rock. He is an incredible<br />
guy with a massive build. Coming<br />
from a small island and seeing his<br />
successes, you can’t help but be<br />
inspired to be something like him.”<br />
When asked what kind of workout<br />
he would give Johnson, Naufahu<br />
had an answer in the chamber:<br />
“Body weight! He would so smash<br />
me in the weightlifting, but I would<br />
get him on cardio.”<br />
For his Games of Thrones prep,<br />
Naufahu wasn’t out to get as huge<br />
as Johnson, nor did he change<br />
anything diet-wise. He eats no sugar<br />
(he doesn’t have a sweet tooth) and<br />
Naufahu playing rugby for Southland<br />
in a match against Waikato in 2001<br />
(right) and with co-star Emilia Clarke<br />
on the set of Game of Thrones.
Change language