When Mike Puru left his role as co-host of Flava’s breakfast show in June, he admits it was a “disappointing” end to his time on the R&B radio station, but he insists he doesn’t bear any grudges.
“Breakfast radio is full-on – you’re getting out of bed at 4.30am and it’s brutal,” explains the beloved broadcaster, 48, who presented alongside Stacey Morrison and Azura Lane after Anika Moa quit the show last December.
“We did as best as we could. Anika left because she was finding it tough with all her commitments, including kids and TV shows. Then the dynamics changed slightly and they thought moving me aside was the best plan of attack. I’ve been here before and I didn’t take it personally. I was just a player in a big puzzle and I didn’t fit in that particular square.”
With radio mates Anika (left) and Stacey.
Mike – who lives with his partner of a decade, Anton Rivat, and their nine-year-old cocker spaniel Rufus – is still in touch with Stacey and Anika, who he says are huge fans of his reality series The Traitors NZ.
Sadly, Mike was banished in the third episode, but the former Bachelor NZ host says he loved the “mind-bending fun” of appearing on a reality show as a contestant rather than a presenter.
“When you’re the host, you’re like a viewer in a funny way because you see things that not everyone else gets to,” tells Mike, whose highlight was watching Paul Henry as a presenter. “When you’re a contestant, it’s quite intense! You’re nervous all the time because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Mike admits he didn’t see his elimination coming since he’d formed alliances with several of his co-stars, including his mate Brodie Kane, earlier that day. He reckons his quietness was his downfall.
“I was just too nice. My strategy was to lay low in the background, but in hindsight, people thought I was quiet because I was hiding the fact I was a traitor! When I saw Brodie afterwards, she gave me a big hug and apologised, saying she got it wrong and felt awful. I told her, ‘Don’t worry, babe – it’s just a game!'”
With fellow Traitors (from left) Christen Oliveira, Julia Vahry and Kimberly Stewart.
But Mike’s next move is very serious. He and his partner have decided to move to Anton’s home country of France, where Mike fell in love with the “culture and simplicity of life” when the pair visited in 2018.
The decision came after an epiphany, the star says. “I was getting bogged down in trying to prove myself in New Zealand and I’ve always been sort of scared to walk away because of missing out on broadcasting opportunities.
“Then with the Flava thing happening, I thought, ‘Do I hang around here and keep trying to do radio or do I have some years in France running a little bed and breakfast?’ I realised there’s another side to life.”
With an aim to make the shift in mid-2024, Mike plans on selling up in Auckland and working on a new Kiwi country music radio station from a home studio in France.
“I love New Zealand and everything that’s here, but I think for the first time in my life, I’m ready to take on that challenge,” he grins. “Sometimes you’ve got to throw caution to the wind.”
Mike with partner Anton.
Mike’s connection to country music dates back to when he was 14 and growing up in Gore, where his mum Diane took him to the Gold Guitar Awards, a prestigious country music event, after being invited by her friend at the freezing works.
“I remember watching these incredible country singers at the junior and intermediate finals because they were about my age,” recalls Mike. “The crowd was clapping and everyone loved them. I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I want to do something like this!’ There was this little fella called Dan Bernstone who was the intermediate overall winner and I thought he was amazing. I wanted to be like him.”
Mike with mum Diane.
A teenage Mike was starstruck when he saw the young country crooner after the show and stopped to tell him he was “cool”. Later, while working at a radio station in Tauranga in his twenties, Mike once again bumped into Dan, who was now also a broadcaster, and the pair became friends.
Fast-forward three decades and former More FM host Dan is now setting up his new country music station, which will launch in October, and Mike was delighted to be invited to front one of the shows.
“Too nice” for Colin Mathura-Jeffree.
“I’m really excited because I love my country music!” enthuses Mike. “Gore is the capital of country music and I’m still involved with the Gold Guitar Awards every year as a host. With country singers like Luke Combs coming to New Zealand, there’s a real opportunity to cater to that and it’s exciting.”
The Traitors NZ screens 7.30pm Mondays & Tuesdays on Three.
