Lewis Contini grew up in the England city of Liverpool not knowing who his father was. In a Mamma Mia! type of twist, there were two possible dads...
After a DNA test nearly five years ago, Lewis finally learned he was Māori and his father and whānau lived here in New Zealand.
At 21 years old, Lewis came to visit and never left. He tells his story in the TikTok series My Long Lost Māori Dad.
Lewis Contini with his Dad Photo: supplied
“I didn’t know anything about it until I was 21 and I got a Facebook message off a random family member saying 'you’re Māori, you’ve got to come to come over and meet us'.”
His grandfather - a former member of the hit band Herbs - picked him up from the airport.
“Before I came here my nan that I met over in England told me my granda made a bit of music in the '80s and I said ‘what, just jamming out with his mates and stuff?’ And she said ‘yeah something like that'.
“So when I got here he picked me up from the airport and he was taking pictures with people and I was like 'who are you?'
“Over time I worked out he’s the singer of Herbs, Willie Hona.”
Lewis has been in New Zealand for almost five years now, connecting with his New Zealand whānau.
“I've always obviously known that I’m brown ‘cause colour, you can see it. I’ve always had that upbringing where I’ve known I was a minority of some sort. I’ve experienced that in my life in England.
“But coming over to New Zealand... I never had any brown kids around me growing up I lived in a village, so it was really overwhelming to come over and meet people like me, my colour, and they have a connection to me.
“My family back home is me, my nan and grandad and me aunty, so coming over here and meeting cousin after cousin and auntie and uncles and everything it’s been a great experience.”
His two cultures are a good fit, he says.
“Māori and Scouse [Liverpudlians] go quite well together, we’re quite similar people.”
That said, Lewis is still working on a bucket list of Kiwi things he's yet to do, including a manu (dive bomb).
@brownscouse The Bucket List 😬 🇳🇿 ##foryou ##fyp ##nz ##aotearoa ##maori ##kiwi ##newzealand ##wellington ##auckland ##storytime ##vlog
♬ original sound - Brownscouse
