Founder’s Story
Kia ora, I’m Te Huawai, founder of Mana Mode.

I started Mana Mode at 12 years old with hundreds of sketches, a dream to create my own clothing label, and no pūtea. Mau i tō mana means to carry your mana – for yourself, your whānau, hapū and iwi – and to wear it proudly.

I wanted to create clothes that empower rangatahi Māori and Pasifika. Streetwear with meaning. Style with mana.

I grew up in te ao Māori, play rugby and league, collect comics and vintage clothes, and got into business after helping my parents with bookkeeping. The hardest part has been balancing big ideas with keeping prices affordable, but the best moment was holding my first samples in my hands and showing my mates at our photoshoot.

My advice for other rangatahi?

No dream too big, no dream too small.

Meet Awa – The Sticker Hustle

Mana Mode isn’t just me, it’s whānau. My younger brother Awa saw a gap when I needed

 stickers and couldn’t afford them. He figured out how to make his own from scratch,

laminating by hand before upgrading to a proper laminator.

“I’m helping Te Huawai. He has a lot going on with his mahi, so I wanted to take responsibility and make money to buy my own gear – like a printer and sticker cutter.”

Now he has his own profit share in Mana Mode, sells custom stickers at school, and dreams of growing his hustle to brand cars one day.

Mana Mode is powered by whānau and community:

In particular we would like to thank Mood_by_rhi_photography (IG) for your aroha looking after our photography

and The Brand Makers (Waikato) for your tautoko in designing and printing our gear.

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