The Champion Maker: The Lolo Heimuli story

He started with nothing but passion, a love for combat sport, and a dusty church storage room.

Today, Lolo Heimuli is known as Aotearoa New Zealand’s “champion maker,” a quiet force whose faith and dedication have shaped world-class fighters such as Ray Sefo, Mark Hunt, Shane Cameron, plus mentoring Eugene Bareman, who later went on to guide Israel Adesanya.

Yet for much of his career, Heimuli remained largely unknown outside combat circles, humbly building champions while guiding generations of young Māori and Pasifika.

That has changed with Lolo: The Champion Maker, an hour-long Sky Sport documentary produced and directed by Jeremiah “JT” Tauamiti (Family, Faith, Footy: A Pasifika Rugby Story) and co-produced by Poporazzi Productions co-founder, Esera Tanoa’i - capturing a story that is as much about humanity as it is about boxing.

Lolo: The Champion Maker is an intimate portrait of Heimuli’s remarkable journey from humble beginnings to a living legacy. Ask Heimuli himself, he shrugs at the title ‘champion maker’.

“I don’t know about that, I knew nothing about coaching. But I was passionate...and that sort of rubbed off on the young guys,” he says in an interview with Tofiga Fepulea’i on 531pi Island Time.

His story begins at Good Shepherd Catholic Church on Dominion Road in Tāmaki Makaurau, where Heimuli converted a storage room filled with old furniture destined for donation into the first iteration of his gym.

"I was just looking for a place to start training friends and family…before we cleaned it up, it was a boxing gym already, and my prayer was answered," Heimuli says.

A space where faith, discipline, and humility were just as important as punches.

Lolo Heimuli (left) with John Pulu and Albert Heimuli (far right) at the 'Lolo: The Champion Maker' preview at the Capitol Cinema. Photo/John Pulu/Facebook

A calling to tell the story

Director Tauamiti trained under Heimuli, and in an interview with John Pulu on PMN Tonga he says he felt the weight of responsibility.

"I think he (Lolo) knew that I was first and foremost a fan of combat sports and then just, I guess, pitched the idea that he's somebody who's worth celebrating."

"Our people are very, very humble and often don't know their way around navigating things like film, telling their stories."

Tauamiti says when it comes to mana-enhancing storytelling, having Pacific people in the driver's seat ensures wholesomeness and authenticity.

"The thing with Lolo is that he wanted to put some of the spotlight on others, he didn't want to take all of the spotlight.

"He wanted to say that this is where he came from as a fighter and then also to pay homage to his wife and what his family had been through."

Watch the full interview with Jeremiah Tauamiti below.

Tauamiti’s firsthand experience of combat sports combined with his personal connection to Heimuli allowed the doco to capture both the public and private sides of the trainer.

"As a filmmaker, that's what you want, to sort of peel away some of the obvious layers and then get deep."

Speaking with Fepulea’i, Tanoa’i underscores the importance of that perspective. “Jeremiah is a real fighting enthusiast…having firsthand knowledge of Lolo…I just knew it was something special.”

Sky New Zealand Originals Coordinator and commissioner of the documentary Mariarangi Carkeek, frames the project within a wider mission to highlight Māori and Pacific stories such as We The South and The Black Ferns: Wāhine Toa.

“This documentary is a tribute to the unsung heroes of combat sports and a celebration of cultural pride, perseverance, and the enduring spirit of Aotearoa’s fight game…Lolo’s legacy deserves to be celebrated.”

Building champions, shaping lives

Heimuli’s philosophy centres on goal-setting and open communication with his athletes. He believes sharing ambitions with coaches and teammates is crucial to success.

“A lot of those young guys didn’t become champions because they kept to themselves. I remember after Ray Sefo’s fourth or fifth fight he said to me, ‘I want to be a world champion’,” Heimuli recalls.

“We started goal setting then three years later, you bet, he became a world champion.”

Beyond the ring

Heimuli’s influence extends far beyond producing champions. As he reflects on his career, he emphasises the unseen victories.

“I had no idea, no clue, guys were talking about if it hadn't been for the discipline in the gym, they could end up in jail or die…now [they are] successful businessmen and family men. So that was probably the biggest credit apart from in the ring.”

Now in his mid-60s, Heimuli continues to mentor youth, instilling values of humility and hope in the next generation of athletes.

“I knew nothing about mentoring or coaching and I just did it out of passion,” he says.

Watch the full interview with Lolo Heimuli and Esera Tanoa'i below.

A preview of Lolo: The Champion Maker screened at Auckland’s Capitol Cinema on Tuesday, 16 September.

“The impact he’s had on the community…seeing the response everyone had at the premiere…everyone was so proud and elated for Lolo,” Tanoa’i says.

“He is so beloved by his community…he couldn’t have done it without his wife, Leinata, and his two boys…seeing them as a family work together…I’m just really grateful to be a part of this project.”

The doco captures moments that blend the high life of elite fighters with everyday mentorship, defining Heimuli’s legacy. A vision he gratefully saw realised through the efforts of Tanoa’i and Tauamiti.

“I’ve never seen anybody work that hard,” he says about Tauamiti and Tanoa’i. “They were just working all around the hours just to make me look better than my story…I hope you enjoy the documentary. Our little humble journey.”

Lolo: The Champion Maker is available for viewing on Sky Sport Now and Neon.