Most people know Karl Mokaraka from the confrontations.

The man at the public meetings. The guy politicians have had removed. The bloke leaning over the fence asking questions.

Man Over The Fence.

But that is only one part of his story.

For Episode 1 of Past The Name, we sit down with Karl and go right back to where it all started.

South Auckland. Ōtara. A family connection to the area stretching back around 70 years. Childhood abuse, trauma, family, becoming a husband and father and the experiences that shaped the man people see today.

Karl takes us inside his years at Wesley College, where he crossed paths with a young Jonah Lomu before Jonah Lomu became one of the biggest names in world rugby. He remembers the freak athlete everyone could already see was special, but also the young man behind the name.

Then we get into faith.

Karl speaks openly about Christianity, Destiny Church, tithing and his relationship with Brian and Hannah Tamaki after knowing them for almost 30 years.

He talks about what Destiny has meant in his own life, what Man Up and Tu Tangata have done for him and other men, and how Hannah Tamaki helped him work through issues from his childhood that he believes ultimately helped strengthen his marriage.

Nothing gets skipped.

We talk politics, immigration, the proposed Islamic centre in Papakura, why he keeps turning up to public meetings, why he has been stopped from entering some events, why he has been removed from others and whether one confrontation involving ACT may have gone a little too far.

Karl also talks about his decision to stand for Vision New Zealand in Ōtāhuhu, with the party currently listing him as its Ōtāhuhu candidate.

We get into the viral moments, the trip to London alongside Brian Tamaki for Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom event, the haka that travelled around the world and why Karl continues to put himself right in the middle of controversial conversations.

But this isn’t three hours of politics.

This is about the person underneath all of it.

The son.

The brother.

The husband.

The father.

The South Auckland kid.

The faith.

The trauma.

The mistakes.

The lessons.

And the story behind Man Over The Fence.

You’ve probably seen Karl Mokaraka before.

You probably already have an opinion about him.

But you probably haven’t seen this Karl Mokaraka.

Past The Name. Episode 1.

Karl Mokaraka.