Blue Bradley
Co-owner of Crave Cafe
Born and raised in Wellington, Blue Bradley is the eighth child of a fresh-off-the-boat Irishman. He had to process the fact that his father was dying from a long struggle with cancer.
From an early childhood of crime and violence and seeing things that ‘no eight or 10-year-old should see’, he went on to become the director of the Northern Easter Camp run at Mystery Creek — which last year drew 5,300 teenagers — and is now one of the pivotal figures behind Crave cafe and the buzz that’s currently reframing the Auckland Suburb of Morningside.
His turning point was a faith conversion at the age of 16, against the backdrop of a father dying of cancer, and a brood of violent siblings struggling to survive on no money, living off food parcels at times, and stealing to get by. His conversion came about through Christian youth camps, where he was initially one of those ‘bad guys’ the other kids were warned to steer clear of.
Within a few short years, he was running his own youth camps, as well as houses in Wellington for disenfranchised kids and budding leaders. Nowadays his work with Crave cafe is transforming an industrial suburb into a thriving connected neighbourhood.
Blue is married to Katie and they have three children.