davidware_talanoa

To survive a difficult childhood and grow into an amazingly creative person is one thing, but to use your talents to help people who come from similar circumstances is a completely different thing altogether. It takes hard work, determination, humility and a willingness to continually learn, collaborate and push forward. This is David’s story, which beautifully reminded us that anything is possible, and how important it is to remember where you came from.

Tell us a bit about yourself, the work that you do, and how you came to follow that career path? 


Well, what can I say… I’m a poor kid who was born in Fiji, raised partly in Auckland and have lived in the South West suburbs of Sydney since the age of 16. I came from nothing and had a pretty broken childhood which coupled with my faith has really set me on the course I am on now.

I run an upstart music label called Madekings Music Group, which in itself tells my story. We’ve been running for a year now and have released two projects along with hosting club events and are working with artists to release more music in the coming months.

Our passion is to see people from similar backgrounds and upbringings who are creatives like us, to reach their potential and build their lives. We just like seeing people like us become successful. 
I’m also a creative oversight for Hillsong church. I get to tour the world, lead a bunch of creative teams (dance, vocals, TV, film, musicians, etc.)

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What have been the biggest challenges in your line of work? 


Definitely trying to be heard amongst an ocean of content, music, brands and people that are working hard to be heard – we believe in what we do and it’s discouraging to try to be heard among the thousands of other voices out there… Some of which are voices that aren’t trying to build lives or bring positive change to the world around them.

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What motivates you to push forward with all that you do? 


Seeing people win. Madekings is a music label but its vision is to support local business and become a creator of jobs for people who have been raised in a disadvantaged environment. We truly believe that hard work and a bit of faith can see people who have come from absolutely nothing (like me), become someone who is successful, who owns property, has their dream job and so on.

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What advice do you have for young Pacific people who might be thinking of doing the same thing? 


Never under estimate the power of hard work. Most successful people aren’t necessarily the most talented, the best looking or even the smartest – but those who decide to work harder than everyone else.

The second thing would be collaboration. Always be willing and open to helping people along their journey, and being helped yourself by others who are ahead of you – pride has been my downfall in the past and I can confidently say that I couldn’t have made it to here I am and where I am going without relationships and a network or people who are like-minded.

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We’d like to thank David for sharing his story with us. If you’d like to find him online, visit the MadeKings Music Group website, listen to his music on soundcloud or follow him on Facebook and Instagram.