Super Squad
Five fabulous people and the superpowers that make each of them so special.
Gaby Solomona
Storyteller and actress
When Gaby Solomona (28) dropped out of law school to take up acting, it was possibly one of the worst things she could have done to her family.
“In a Samoan family you don’t do that, but after a while they came around to me acting, once they saw how happy I was,” says Gaby.
Gaby had always loved to perform at church and Sunday school but never thought she could do it as a job until she saw Keisha Castle-Hughes get an Oscar. “I thought ‘she’s brown and I’m brown so this could be a thing’.”
Gaby says she “randomly” went to a show at Auckland’s Silo Theatre where she saw the late Pua Magasiva perform in The Brothers Size.
“I had an encounter with God who said ‘this is what you are supposed to be doing with your life.’
“Acting definitely wasn’t an easy journey but I had to follow it.”
Gaby started studying acting and got her first big film role straight out of her course on the film One Thousand Ropes. She is now working as one of the lead actors in the new Comedy Central series Sis. She is also working as a producer for Sis and mentoring young actors.
What do you think qualify as superpowers for people to have in today’s world? Empathy, authenticity, compassion, transparency, patience, perseverance, courage. Without being modest, what do you think are your superpowers? Prayer, transparency, authenticity, joy and I’m pretty funny. What are superpowers that you admire in
others? I admire audacious courage in others to be themselves in every environment and are able to be so in a way that empowers those around them to want to be themselves too. Are there any superpowers you wish you had?
Patience. Lol. Name a person who you most admire and why? My sister and friend Hanelle Harris.
She has sacrificed so much of herself to create opportunities and build capacity for young Māori and Pacific artists within the TV and film industry.
I have watched her listen, learn and lead with the utmost integrity and resilience, always fighting for brown people (Māori and Pasifika) to have sovereignty over our stories and to be valued within an industry that has devalued and dehumanised us for decades. She not only advocates for the change that is needed but she lives and breathes her talk. I admire her audacity to demand change and the endless amount of work she puts into making those changes happen as well as being a mother to her three beautiful kids.
Grace Stratton
Founder of All is for All, law student,
InStyle magazine’s Badass Woman.
Last year Grace Stratton (21) launched a fashion website All is for All (allisforall. com) with her friend Angela Bevan, designed to ensure disabled people could buy designer garments that work for people with disabilities.
Grace has cerebral palsy and would often find when buying clothes online that she couldn’t do up buttons or reach zips. She needed to know more about the garments she was buying.
“I don’t believe the fashion industry is wilfully discriminatory toward people like me but I do think they don’t know how to approach the situation or they don’t want to do the wrong thing so they do nothing,” says Grace.
“I wanted to secure opportunities and advancements for my community. I have lived in a world that wasn’t designed for me, or people like me, for 21 years.”
While her business flourishes, Grace is also in her third year of a double law degree in law and communication. She has two years to go.
“I have no plans to practice currently but if I was to pursue a career in law I would want to do criminal defence law to help people who end up going to prison when they shouldn’t and give people the representation they deserve.”
Grace was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one and lives in a wheelchair. She says she finds it hard to differentiate what is her life and what is disabled.
She credits her parents with her ability to make sure other people are championed and empowered.
What do you think qualify as superpowers for people to have in today’s world?
Empathy, tenacity, joy, optimism, creativity, patience, spontaneity. Without being modest, what do you
think are your superpowers? I am dogged, so when I want to do something, I’ll work till I see it done, which I think is a superpower. Also, I feel I am a good connector, creator of opportunities for others and I think I articulate myself well. I also think I am generous – and thoughtful. What are superpowers that you admire in others? I admire my Mum’s heart, my Dad’s resilience, I admire creativity and the ability others have to “go with the flow” as I am a more logical and structured person. Are there any superpowers you wish you had?
I wish I was more creative, more spontaneous. Name a person who you most admire and why?
There isn’t possibly just one person! But, I admire my friend Red Nicholson’s ability to always be true to himself, and I admire my boss, Greg Fahey, for his patience and intelligence, he has a brilliant mind and heart, which is a model to everyone.
Aych McArdle
Community advocate and LGBTI+ human rights defender
Aych McArdle (32) had a creative childhood in Wellington, “always making things.”
“I was really into organising, mainly my friends, on some social cause whether it was letter-writing campaigns, working with Amnesty International or protesting against unequal homework – I liked to make change.
“I have a burning passion to do some good stuff with what I’ve got, which are resources, time and connections.”
At the age of 22, Aych decided to live as a non-binary person and did it by sending a letter to the PR companies of all the major fashion companies. “I asked people to start interacting with me in a way that I always knew I was, which meant using the pronoun “they” when referring to me. There were a few people who hadn’t come across that before and wanted to learn more so I explained to them that it’s a bit like updating an app. The app still has functionality it just has extra data.”
Aych wears several hats as the co-chairperson of OUTLine, the phone counselling service for the rainbow community; the community collaborator and researcher for the Intersex Trust (ITANZ) and the co-chair of the Auckland Council Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel.
What do you think qualify as superpowers for people to have in today’s world? Making commitments to undoing harmful ways of being. Being anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-hate are all winners in my book! Without being modest, what do you think are your superpowers?
I’m a collaborator and a connector. With us all working together I believe we can achieve great things. What are superpowers that you admire in others? Stamina, especially when I look at my friends with kids who are doing badass work in the world AND being super parents/carers. Are there any superpowers you wish you had?
I wish I had more courage in the face of the toxic hate flung at our trans and intersex communities. I find it hard to be kind and pragmatic in the face of extreme hate. Name a person who you most admire and why?
Rt Hon Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern. Our prime minister is the real deal. A values-based, badass, pragmatic and kind human. Total goals!
Kate Hall
Eco blogger, champion, educator and spokesperson for the environment.
Kate Hall (23) grew up around healthy compost bins and regular visits to op shops for clothes thanks to her parents, who she says taught her how we impact on the planet and the importance of looking after a global community. “When I was 10 years old we went to live in Mongolia for two years as volunteers and as a family we always had discussions about the environment.”
Then a pivotal moment happened for Kate in August 2015. She watched the documentary The True Cost about fast fashion and made the decision not to be part of that industry. “I started asking questions about how I would lead the rest of my life and started sharing my thoughts on that.”
At the time Kate was nearing the end of her Bachelor of Arts and Business Psychology degree at Massey University and she realised that her main passion was helping people work sustainably in their jobs.
Kate began online blogging and sharing ideas and soon her message was getting through to people who followed her blog and her Instagram page, which has more than 19,000 followers. Through All Heart NZ (allheartnz.org.nz) Kate works with the top six per cent of corporate businesses in New Zealand to advise them on how to run their businesses more sustainably.
She also goes into high schools to talk about ethical fashion and does a lot of advocacy work for the environment in the media.
She describes herself as “too busy” and says she has managed to make her work sustainable financially in the last two years.
“Like any business it takes a lot of hard slog but I also think change is actually happening. I don’t get called a tree hugger or a mad greenie so much anymore.”
What do you think qualify as superpowers for people to have in today’s world?
Networking, compliment-giving, being humble, good listening, knowing when to ask for help. Without being modest, what do you think are your superpowers? Educator, connector, communicator, authenticity, transparency, empathy, encourager, positivity, self-love, kindness. What are superpowers that you admire in others? Patience, self-care, resilience, directness, flexibility (of time), softness. Are there any superpowers you wish you had? Same as above! Name a person who you most admire
and why? I admire Laura Cope, from UYO Responsible Cafe Directory. She is who I want to be when I grow up. Her work ethic, but family priority/focus, is outstanding. The way she gets things done is mind-blowing, and her ability to connect the world, which results in awesome things happening, is her biggest superpower. Laura is a connector and uplifts every single person she is in contact with, while being super direct and fierce in what she wants for the world and its people.
Rachel Mataira
Tax accountant and photographer
Rachel Mataira (25) first picked up a camera at the age of 14 and it was love at first sight.
“I’d work hard on school subjects like physics and chemistry at school and then
I’d be off to night school at Whitecliffe studying photography. I didn’t have the confidence to pursue it as a full-time career.”
Instead Rachel became a tax accountant after spending four and a half years at university and scoring a graduate position at Deloitte.
But then, a couple of years ago, Rachel found that people were wanting to buy prints of the photographs she had put on her website, which was intended simply to be a gallery for her work.
She specialises in landscape and documentary photography and her images were resonating with people.
“I didn’t expect my work to become so popular but people seemed to have an affinity with the places I’d been to and wanted the images to remind them.”
Rachel’s hobby transitioned into something more serious.
In 2019 she was named the New Zealand Young Photographer of the Year and her website became so busy she had to hire someone to work for her to keep up with the website orders.
“Six weeks ago I had my last day at work for Deloitte because I realised that as much as I loved working for them, I could be doing the job I was paying someone else to do. I had to make a decision between the two.”
She’s now very busy and knows that she has made the right decision. “If I didn’t give this a go now I knew I would regret it.”
What do you think qualify as superpowers for people to have in today’s world? Everyone is so different and we all have incredible strengths that could qualify as human superpowers but we all have our idiosyncrasies too. I think being able to identify your strengths and use those to benefit your relationships, work and self everyday in a big or small way is a superpower. I did a test called “strengths finder” years ago and I found that really helpful to start to work out what mine were. Without being modest, what do you think are your superpowers? To communicate through my photography both the beauty of the world and its raw realities too.
Another superpower of mine is tenacity. When I set my mind to a goal or a task I aspire to achieve it and can become incredibly single-minded even when things get tough. What are superpowers that you admire in others? I admire honesty and kindness above all. Are there any superpowers you wish you
had? It would be nice to fly (and save me a lot of money on flights and petrol when I’m going away to shoot photos). I’m constantly inspired by so many different people. However, I try not to focus too much on what I’m not and more on how I can grow who I am. Name a person who you most admire and why?
Without a doubt, it’s my Mum. From her early twenties she followed her gut, played to her strengths and did not let anyone sway her from where she wanted to go in life. Her grit and determination has shown her many successes, but what I admire most is her ability to be kind to every single person she encounters, to be fair in all situations and to always keep moving forward even when there are road blocks.