NZWindows takes great pride in providing support to our employees to pursue their dreams and passions outside of the work environment. A window installer by trade, Salo Vui is a great example of exactly this, as he smashes his goals in the world of NZ boxing.
We sat down with Salo Vui to hear about how his interest in the sport began and with hard work and determination, where it has landed him today.
“Talofa Lava, my name is Salo Vui. I was born and raised in the beautiful Saasaai, Samoa. I’ve always been interested in learning new trades to gain new skills and experience. From a young age I have fond memories of passing tools to my father and uncle, whilst I watched them build houses. Having lived an off-grid life in Samoa, it moulded me to be independent and hardworking like my people. From the age of 7 I can remember playing sports all day long with friends and family. The inspiration for boxing really came from a Christmas gift my mother and grandmother got me, boxing gloves. I started as a kid for a bit of fun, where me, my brothers and kids from my village would play fight. I would always come out on top, and that’s where it sparked a fire inside of me.
Growing up David Tua has been a great inspiration for me. Following in his footsteps, I wanted to represent my country globally, so I moved to New Zealand permanently in 2011 to do just that! After lots of determination and commitment to training 6 days a week on top of full-time work, I won silver at the NZ Nationals Heavyweight Amateur Championship in 2022. This year I am aiming for gold in 2023 NZ Nationals. I have two big goals after the NZ Nationals which are the Oceania South Pacific Games in Solomon Islands, 2023 and the Olympics in Paris, 2024.
With NZWindows generous sponsorship backing me, I am excited to turn these dreams of mine into a reality and proudly represent New Zealand in the sport I love.”