What Lance did d
The former Warrior and Kiwi endured a controversial end to his career b new life in small-town America as a real estate agent, reports Ben Stanl l
IN one of the downstairs wardrobes of a suburban family home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a local real estate agent is sorting through a tangle of old rugby league jerseys.
Among them are dozens of Warriors jumpers, stretching back to the early 2000s. There are old Kiwis test jerseys. Old New Zealand Maori ones. A green and gold Taniwharau club jumper, from Huntly.
The agent reaches deep into the pile and pulls out a black and grey one.
‘‘How about this?’’ he asks, holding the jersey up with a grin.
It is the hooker’s jumper from the Warriors’ last NRL grand final appearance, against the Manly Sea Eagles in 2011; an item worth its weight in Kiwi league history gold.
Five and a half years ago, Lance Hohaia pulled it on at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium – and ran out for his 185th, and final, game for the Warriors. He remains the only player to make two grand finals with the club.
Now, he’s a 33-year-old father of two in small town Michigan, selling residential suburban properties and helping out with rugby coaching at a local university.
‘‘I got recognised by some Kiwis in Las Vegas once,’’ he says. ‘‘There was some Aussies who came up to me in LA one other time, too, and they asked about my league. But, yeah, it has been the perfect opportunity to reinvent myself here.’’
Almost to the point of cliche, Grand Rapids is classic Middle America. Home to about 190,000, its demographic splits are close to mirroring the national averages. The median income is only just below the same figure. For decades, the local economy has been based on furniture manufacturing.
Politically, it is Republican heartland. President Donald Trump – a controversial New York property mogul – won the city’s Kent County in last year’s election by three percentage points, while Grand Rapids was also the longtime home of former US president Gerry Ford, who died in 2006.
Things get cold in the winter. When the Sunday Star-Times visited Grand Rapids in early January, snow covered open ground, kept the roads slick and the temperature at about minus 7degC. The week before, it got down to minus 16degC.
‘‘The winters can be pretty brutal, but I don’t really mind the cold,’’ the Huntly-born former Warrior says.
With his wife Marisa at work, Hohaia is looking after sons Riley (4) and Tyler (2) and working from home in Grand Rapids’ eastern suburbs. Snow falls lightly, outside.
‘‘I’d say [Grand Rapids] is probably double the size of Hamilton. It’s a great little place, with a lot of development going on. The quality of life is pretty good here. It’s big enough that it has everything, but it’s not too big.’’
The 28-test Kiwi’s move to the United States was as unexpected as it was likely. With a season left on his contract with St Helens – who he joined after leaving the NRL in 2011 – Hohaia’s league career was cut short by a brutal punch by Wigan’s Ben Flower in the 2014 Super League grand final.
After-effects of the concussion he received lingered and although Hohaia played eight games of the following Super League season, constant headaches and memory loss forced him to step away from the game.
His wife – who hails from Grand Rapids – wanted to come home, and Hohaia was ready for a fresh start. So they headed to the States in July, 2015.
Initially, Hohaia worked as an alcohol sales rep for one of his wife’s family members, visiting bars and liquor outlets throughout rural Michigan, before pulling the pin last January and begin pursuing his American real estate licence.
In July, the former Warrior started researching local development companies before eventually finding a role with one which was setting up a residential brokerage.
When the Star-Times visited, Hohaia already had eight deals under his belt and was on the cusp of selling two more.
‘‘I think I’m on track to be in the top 2 per cent as a new agent in the first 12 months,’’ he says.
Differences in value between the West Michigan property market and the over-inflated Auckland one are as stark as you’d expect.
Hohaia’s recent house sales in Grand Rapids have ranged between US$63,000 (NZ$88,000) and US$274,000 (NZ$383,600). Despite a recent market dip back in New Zealand, the average Auckland house still costs more than NZ$1 million, close to US$750,000.
While value for money is clearly superior in Grand Rapids, Hohaia says the essence of being a good real estate agent is the same everywhere – be honest.
‘‘There’s a few systematic things between loans and banks and title companies that are a little different,’’ he says. ‘‘But mostly, it’s the same. You have to show integrity, and look after your client’s best interests. I like getting up in the morning and going to work. I get to pick and choose how hard I want to work, or how much.’’
When asked about the punch that ended his career, and what happened next, Hohaia is reluctant to open up.
It was a dark patch in his and his family’s life. Tension developed between both he and St Helens as his concussion symptoms
Overall I look back on my career very fondly and with a lot of pride.’ LANCE HOHAIA
continued before and after his retirement, reaching a flashpoint when his old club threatened legal action after an interview the former Kiwi gave last May.
While Hohaia admits he still has some on-going affects, he doesn’t want his legacy as a footy player pinned to that one horrific incident in Manchester in 2014. He just