As a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and an award-winning journalist, Beatrice Faumuina and Niva Retimanu know what it takes to make it to the top of their fields. Now, the longtime friends have joined forces to take over the podcast world.
“I believe this was meant to be part of our journey together,” tells Niva. “I’ve been in radio for 37 years as a journalist and this has been the best thing for me in terms of growth. And I really think we’re making a difference.”
Beatrice and Niva met 15 years ago when they were introduced by a mutual friend who knew the pair would hit it off. She was right and they’ve been thick as thieves ever since, bonding over their work in mental health awareness and their advocacy for their Samoan community.
“There are very few people in the Samoan and Pacific community in media, so our paths were always destined to cross,” explains Niva.
At the Weekly photoshoot, it’s easy to see why they’ve been friends for so many years. While they both make light-hearted jokes about each other, Niva and Beatrice also don’t shy away from going deep, and are quick to compliment each other.
“We are so different,” tells Niva. “She’s a swot and I like to fly by the seat of my pants. I’m also a real technophobe – I’m terrible – but Beatrice is really good at Instagram and Twitter.”
Beatrice adds, “We spend a lot of time together and we know each other so well that we can say anything to each other. It’s not a fake friendship.”
Their friendship is the foundation of their podcast Straight Up, which has a second season streaming now on iheart.com. Each week, Beatrice and Niva talk to different well-known Kiwis, including Sonny Bill Williams, Chris Parker and Sonia Gray about how they overcame their lowest moments.
Beatrice and Niva are no strangers to adversity themselves – Beatrice spent her early years navigating the intense pressure of elite sports and Niva has been open about her battle with depression after losing both her parents – and admit it is only in recent years they’ve felt confident enough to open up about the pain in their pasts.
“If I’d been asked to do this 10 or even five years ago, the answer would have been no because it’s really difficult to put your vulnerability out there,” admits Niva. “It can be so intense. I find it takes me two or three days to get over an interview. The good thing about doing the podcast together is, I’m not a good crier – I can’t get words out – but Beatrice is calm and always comes back to the question.”
Beatrice quips, “A lot of our guests say they feel like they’ve been to a counselling session.”
Niva (left) and Beatrice share their own struggles on the podcast. “We’re making a difference.”
For Niva, who has won Best Newsreader at the New Zealand Radio Awards seven times, the podcast has been a new challenge in her broadcasting career. For Beatrice, it was an opportunity to return to a field she loves.
For most of Beatrice’s life, her focus has been athletics. But while she dominated the world circuit in discus – she was the first New Zealander to win a title at the world track and field championships in 1997 – she harboured a dream of being a sports reporter. So, when she made the decision to retire in 2010, she thought she could easily transition into a media job.
“I knew sport so well and one of the key components for me was having the athlete’s voice represented,” she tells. “I thought I’d be the person to help athletes get their message out there. But it didn’t happen. I had feedback, saying, ‘You’ve got this great charisma with the guests and good questions, but you’re just not quite what we’re looking for.'”
It was devastating, but Beatrice picked herself up and forged a new path. She channelled her passion for personal growth into a career working with various businesses and organisations to create programmes that help people reach their full potential.
Now, Beatrice says she has ended up exactly where she was meant to be, with the podcast bringing together her two worlds and the opportunity to show the world her softer side.
“Sports broadcasting wasn’t meant to be. But the podcast has happened and it has more depth to it, and it is a much better offering,” she asserts.
“When I was competing, I’d do my post-interview, we would talk about the result and that’s where the conversation finished. I love that these conversations are more personal. The podcast has completely changed how people engage with me on the street.”
