Until recently, radio star Azura Lane would never have called herself a morning person. But these days, as the newest host of the Flava Breakfast show alongside Stacey Morrison and Mike Puru, she’s no stranger to an early start.
“I get up at 4.30am!” she laughs incredulously. “If I wasn’t a morning person before, I am now!”
Taking over the morning mic after Anika Moa recently left the show is a dream come true for the 25-year-old Aucklander, who is of Ngāpuhi descent.
“There were some nerves,” admits Azura, who started presenting Flava’s night show six years ago. “Co-hosting with two people who are such broadcasting legends, I hoped I could do it justice!
“But it took us all by surprise how much we got on – it just works! They teach me a lot and I think I teach them too. I couldn’t be happier, especially because I spent five years speaking to myself. I never had anyone hosting with me before!”
Working solo was particularly lonely for Azura during the COVID lockdowns in 2021. “Doing radio can be quite an isolating job,” shares the announcer, who was hosting Flava’s afternoon show at the time. “There would be no one else in the building and everyone I lived with had chosen to leave town, apart from one couple.”
This feeling of isolation was exacerbated by the distance she was feeling from her dad, who lives in Picton and had recently been diagnosed with lymphoma. Azura tells, “When we got the news, I was in shock. You never think it will happen to your family.”
Getting her dad back on his feet was all that mattered to Azura.
Her dad started treatment in August 2021, but with Auckland’s travel restrictions, it wasn’t until November, when he developed a blood clot on his lung, that Azura was granted an exemption to visit.
“They gave him a 50:50 chance of making it through 72 hours,” she recalls. “It had been a year since I’d seen him. I thought, ‘I’m either flying into the worst or the best week of my life.'”
Fortunately, Azura’s father made a full recovery and is now completely cancer-free.
“I feel so lucky,” she grins. “I know so many other people don’t have the privilege of getting that person they’ve known their whole life back. I’m glad I had that experience with him because my nan is currently in the hospital with myeloma [blood cancer]. I go see her every day.”
Having lived together when Azura was at high school, she and her grandmother are very close, and while her dad’s illness prepared her for the logistics of the disease, it’s still not easy.
Now Azura’s beloved nan is in hospital. “I hate cancer,” says the star.
“The craziest thing is that no one’s in control,” she reflects. “So we just spend a lot of time together, talk often and try to capture as many memories. I hate cancer. It’s a disgusting disease.”
A woman of action, Azura found a way to channel her feelings by raising $1800 for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand last year through a programme called Fit to Fight, where she trained for eight weeks for a sponsored boxing match.
“I stuck to it because I was doing it for my dad,” says Azura, who pushed herself through 5.15am classes and gruelling runs. “I knew people were cheering me on and putting money towards something that mattered to me. Fighting people is so not for me and I was so scared getting into the ring in front of hundreds of people, but I’m so glad I did it.”
Azura ended up winning her match. She smiles, “I wouldn’t have cared less if I lost – I just couldn’t believe I’d been boxing in front of everyone! My friends and my family were going so hard for me. Seeing all the people in my corner made me cry.”
Giving back is important to Azura, who makes it a priority to spend some of her free time volunteering for Age Concern Auckland, which matches up volunteers with older people who need company, and Open Road, a charity that helps refugees gain their driver’s licences.
“They give me the people who have just one more lesson before going to sit their test, so I help them prepare, then I sit with them before they do their test,” explains Azura. “We often forget a driver’s licence is freedom – it’s being able to go see your friends or get groceries for your kids. It’s the most rewarding thing seeing the joy on people’s faces when they get their licences. Their whole life changes.”
Of volunteering, she grins, “I do a couple hours here and there – it’s not this big, demanding daily thing – but the payoff is huge. I’m not sure who’s getting more out of it. I reckon it’s probably me some days!”
