Our Whanau
Find the name on your ROADWORN product and learn about them here
Bosko AKA Bush was born and raised in Strathmore. He calls himself the Croatian sensation; he traces his heritage back to Croatia, Romania and Greece. He has always lived in Wellington and reckons Wellingtonians are good kind people. Growing up he used to go riding BMX with his mates in Strathmore in Army barracks and watched planes coming in.
He has been with Roadworn for more than 3 years. He went to the undercroft at St.Peter’s at Willis st and “got stuck since”. He specializes in making kids and adult bracelets. He tried his hand at making belts and necklaces but found his niche in making bracelets. He insists that he suffers from Voluntary Tourette’s when enquired about his unnecessarily profanity laden vocabulary.
Bush comes to all the markets and wishes to find a job in sales.
His message to the buyer of one of his products is “Cherish it”.
Paul
Paul came to New Zealand at the age of 5, along with his parents. He was bought up in Burnham military camp.
Paul has an intellectual & reading disability, battled with low vision and deafness. At the age of 15 Paul moved to Wellington.
Paul was introduced to Roadworn through Rosina whilst volunteering at the Freestore at St.Peter's church on Willis st. Although initially Paul felt out of place when he entered Roadworn workspace at the undercroft of St.Peter's, he has become an integral part of the team.
After trying his hand at making accessories, Paul started making clocks out of cogs and disk brakes. He found his passion there and started making clocks of all sizes and shapes.
His artwork is on display at different establishments around Wellington like 'Everybody Eats', 'Pedal Project' and 'St.Peter's on Willis'.
Making clocks is like an art therapy for him. And his primary reason for coming to Roadworn. He later admitted it was also for the company of people at Roadworn.
He now works casually in some of wellingtons busy hospitality venues
Paul's message to his customers, "enjoy something unusual".
Harvey
Born in South Africa, Harvey came to New Zealand with his family more than 2 decades ago. Harvey founded Roadworn in 2020 during the pandemic in between lockdowns over a coffee with Manjit (Founder of another local charity – EKTA). His intention with starting Roadworn was to get the members of the marginalized community involved in an enterprise.
He rode his first bike at the age of 7 and fell in love with it. He has ridden his bike around different nations around the world; the best places to bike he said were Croatia and Albania. He has been learning a digital boost program with MSD to utilize the digital space to sell more products.
He likes how compact of a city Wellington is and the accessibility to people of influence. One of his fond memories with Roadworn, is of when former Mayor Andy Foster would rub shoulders with the homeless, which he has not seen anywhere else in the world. He envisions expanding Road Worn to other cities like Auckland and Christchurch
His message to the buyer is “The number of lives we can touch is currently restricted by our number of sales.”
Rosina.
Born in Palmerston North, Rosina moved to Wellington to study arts when Massey moved its Media studies department to Wellington. Being diagnosed with dyslexia at 21 led her to leave University studies unfinished.
The first time she rode her bike, she rode it into her dad’s car, smashing one of the tail lights.
The reason she works with Roadworn is that she loves working with her hands. Her dad was an electrician, and her great-grandfather made a plane in the front room of his house, during the great depression. ZK- BMV
“the plane that flew out the window.”
One of the most consistent artists; not only does Rosina come up with innovative designs for the jewelry range but also runs various workshops & turns up to Artisan crafts market to (wo)man the stall. (She is a spectacular salesperson)
Rosina also runs 2 outreach workshops to make the craft more accessible to the people who can't come to us.
Her message to the buyer is that it is about empowering fellow human beings, by giving them a hand up not a hand out.
Natasha.
Born in Auckland, Natasha has lived in cities in the U.K & Australia and eventually moved to Wellington. This city’s arts & music scene, social justice movement and markets of cheap and artsy things is what she loves about Wellington.
She used to ride bikes in Brisbane where the pavements were wide. She remembers how they used to wear helmets to ride bikes primarily to escape magpie attacks. One of our longest serving artists, Natasha initially made belts out of recycled tyres, she now makes jewelley out of bike chains.
The reason she worked with Roadworn is because she likes working with her hands and its also like therapy for her. Making creative products out of waste and giving them a second life for the buyer seems like win-win situation for her. Another reason is because she felt isolated where she lived, which is rife with addiction and gang activity.
In 2023 Natasha moved to Whangarei as part of a kainga ora relocation, where she has continues the roadworn kopapa and started “leftcycles” upcycled jewellery and fashion.
Her message for the buyer is “keep supporting creativity; recycle, reuse and don’t buy mass produced stuff and stuff up the planet even more.”
Tania.
For anyone who buys product made by her she says, “Anything is possible.”
58 year old Tania grew up in Wairoa with her grandparents, As a child, she had a horse named Thomasina whom she loved and adored and on Fridays she would ditch school and go to her brother-in-law’s farm and ride horses. “They are very smart and have their own personalities” says Tania.
She left Wairoa for Wellington at the age of 17 in search of her biological mother. At 18, she landed a job making shoes at the Puma factory in Owhiro Bay. She loved making shoes still has a keen eye for shoes. She thinks ladies Sketchers are the worst design for a women’s shoes and is perplexed by its popularity.
When she joined Roadworn, Tania had been kicked out of her last place and relied on friends generosity for a nights shelter.
She contemplates about leaving Wellington to work as a fruit picker up north which would pay better, but making upcycled products gave her a sense of worth.
Tania is incredibly grateful to Pastor Joe serevi, St. Peters on Willis and Harvey to give her this opportunity to work.
Shannon.
A gifted polymath whose tunes leak through St.Peter’s church on Willis street, Soup Kitchen on Tory street and pretty much any piano he can get his hands on.
Born in Timaru, he reminisces about the times he rode mountain bikes in the wonderful scenic terrain of South Island. He spends his days volunteering for various local community groups creating art, music, poetry, design and puzzles. He keeps busy by writing books and creating piano pieces.
His homelessness experience had been really tough but is grateful to now be living in a rental. He makes Roadworn products because it is a great recycling initiative and provides opportunities for the community and the consumer.
He now works as a designer. He says he is an empath and struggles with depression but that he is positive and loves to lift other’s inner spirit.
Excerpt from one of his poems “ They could put the bird in a cage / cut off its wings / put lead weights around its ankles / and still make it believe / it could fly and it could fly / happily for them / when it came to manipulation / that thing had skill”
Chris.
Born in Otara, Chris rode his bike as child to catch up with his family and friends who lived half an hour away. Chris is also fond of motorbikes and races cars as a hobby.
Before coming to Wellington, he lived in Australia for 5 years and drove trucks for a living. He fondly remembers the time he drove from Perth to Melbourne in 4 days crossing the Nullarbor Desert.
He likes Wellington because of the community it has. He helps his family with fixing stuff around the house with electricals, building and yard duties. He has been clean since early 2020.
Chris battled with addiction issues and remains clean by being with friends, going to church and the gym, meditating up on the mountains and going to art classes at Pablo’s Art Studio at Tory street.
He wants the buyer to know that he is “a hard worker, a family man and is multi talented”
Frances.
Francis is a young gentleman from Papakura. He moved to Wellington and reckons that it is the best decision he has ever made. He has a son who he loves very much and takes any opportunity to visit him. He fondly remembers of the time when he used to bike to school.
He had been sleeping in his car for months and sometimes slept on a couch at his brother’s place. As a younger man “Once, while asleep I saw god sitting on a throne, he was made of pure white light. God told me that I was ‘Anointed Created Odell’”. He does not know what it means.
He spends most of his days worshipping and helps out at St. Peter’s Church. Unlike his comrades who make belts, he also makes necklaces out of paua shell.
Francis now drives small refrigerant trucks, and helps EKTA, driving their distribution van. He is also the caretaker of St Peter's Church.
Gorgery.
"I think everything is art. Architecture, fashion, food, it's all art. Making the world a beautiful place to live is art, too."
There's a good chance your ROADWORN belt was made by Gorgery. When asked how many belts he'll make today, "I'm going try break and break my record!"
He's from Hong Kong, but today the Wellington creative scene is his home. He also makes pottery and linocuts.
He is currently studying at whiterea.
Phillip.
"It's not all about me... I do what I do to help others. That's what I was taught. It doesn't matter where we're from; we're all the same."
Philip is from Otara; he's lived in Wellington for the past 10 years, saying his spirituality called him there.
To him, life is a journey.
“It’s not about me anymore, it’s about God and his son.”
Matia.
"Helping people heals me. Saving lives is a spiritual thing. I feel pushed to do it!"
Matia comes from Turangi, and she had only been in Wellington two weeks when she started coming by to help out ROADWORN.
She donates the money she makes back to food charities, "I see myself differently now... This is a restart for me."
Wesley
Wesley was born in Wellington hospital, spent his early childhood in Chicago and finished his high school in Wellington. He finished his schooling when NCEA was being established and thinks that the initial implementation was a bit chaotic.
He has been living in Wellington for the past 20 years. Wesley finds Wellington easy to get around and finds the city Dynamic. He has worked at McDonalds at Manners st for 7 .5 years (Affectionately known as House of Manners). Including during the change into a bus lane.
Wesley found out about RoadWorn through Rosina and it has given him an avenue to show off his talents with artistic value. He likes to make paintings. Roadworn gives Wesley a space to get to know more people.