David Letele
Motivational Speaker & Retired Boxer
Born the son of Auckland Mongrel Mob leader, David is a community leader, life coach and motivational speaker based in Auckland. In 2014, he started a 100kg weight-loss journey that would gain him thousands of followers. This led to him creating Buttabean Motivation which has helped thousands more achieve their goals and break the destructive cycles and patterns in their own lives. Today, he delivers targeted health, nutrition, and fitness programmes, youth employment programmes, runs the Buttabean Motivation Foodshare, and fundraises and advocates for communities in need.
David played representative rugby league in New Zealand, and professional rugby league in Australia, with teams including the North Sydney Bears, Cootamundra Bulldogs and AS Carcassonne in France, and achieved notoriety as heavyweight boxer "The Brown Buttabean". In July 2022, his book No Excuses: My Story was released, detailing how he turned his life around. He won the 2022 Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero Of the Year Award Te Pou Toko o te Tau for Auckland.
David lives in Henderson, Auckland with his wife Koreen and four sons.