Leading from the front issuu

KIDS TEACH DAD HOW TO LOVE
On the surface, Martyka Brandt is an anomaly. Marty —
aka Skin or Mad Marty — was a member of the Christchurch
Mongrel Mob in 1975 and a founding member of
Mighty Mongrel Mob Aotearoa in Christchurch, 1979.
(The Aotearoa Mighty Mongrel Mob chapter was founded
a year earlier in 1978 by Gypsy in the North Island).
Marty’s a Pakeha with Hungarian heritage, he gave up
the booze and drugs years ago and he’s still a patched
Mob member. “I used to drink every day and all night
until I got my kids but I stopped for them, and haven’t
had a drink since”, he says.
Living in Maraenui in the mid-80s at the time, Marty
gave up his signwriting business and speedway racing
to be the main caregiver to his four children. “Even
though she tried, the mother of three of my kids couldn’t
let go of drugs and alcohol so I became a solo dad. Social
Welfare gave me the children and never checked in
on me. I had to do everything myself but I found it all
common sense really”.
Marty’s the first to say that his kids saved him as a
person and in the process of parenting, he discovered
he was a natural, and applied through CYPS and Open
Home Foundation in Hastings to look after six more children.
To have the best chance of raising his kids in a healthy
environment Marty shifted the family to Tamatea. They
moved into a four-bedroom Housing NZ property which
was their home base for 19 years and for a time Marty
served on the board of trustees at the local school. “At
the time Tamatea had a different life-style than the Nui
and I wanted the kids away from the party scene, as well
as myself. I managed to keep my kids away from drugs
and alcohol and bring them up with the right morals. To
give your kids a chance to survive, you have to. I’ve always
wanted to write a book and I’d call it Turning Point,
because at a certain point that’s it — you go one way
or the other. Any kid will want to experiment but if the
morals are there they’ll come through. My kids made the
right choices and they’re in Oz now earning big money,”
says one proud father.
Back in 2013 Marty’s parenting skills were so wellknown
he was asked to run a programme for DOVE
Hawke’s Bay Family Violence Protection for a year or
so. “Initially the police or iwi wouldn’t let us put the brochures
in their windows but when they saw how successful
the programme was they got on board.”
Moving back to Maraenui seven years ago Marty’s
feeling proud and excited about the positive things going
on there now. “Media never picks up on the positives,
they always focus on the negatives. In terms of the Mongrel
Mob a lot more of the members are working, they’re
into fitness, going to the gym and they have two rugby
league teams that are doing well. A few have come off
P, some by themselves and some through initiatives. It’s
slow change but things are definitely changing.”
Whanau Transformation Wananga is one of the initiatives
Marty’s referring to and it’s turning lives around.
(See page 104.) The first wananga was held for 40 people
in November last year at Te Oranga Pumanawa in
Maraenui and a second course for another 40 people
was held at Waiohiki. The buzz around its impact is all
over the ‘Nui.
“My Bro’s who’ve done the course were taught using
Māori values and they’ve done wonders coming off P.
They were skinny as anything and now they’re into fitness.
They’re role models for others — it’s incredible”.
In the top left picture, inset, Marty and his three sisters, top right inset, daughter Tania-Marie, main photo, with Marty from left
are his children, Tynesha-Marika, Nikita and Martika; middle, Marty, Pat and granddaughter Jerri Magill catch up at The Pie Man,
Maraenui; Marty at a Mongrel Mob Christmas party for the tamariki at Eskdale Park.
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Maraenui – by whānau for whānau, anything is possible