Jackson Garden-Bachop plays super rugby for Moana Pasifika.

He was destined to be a pro rugby player- his dad was an All Black, his mum was a Black Fern, and his cousins were All Blacks.

Jackson began his professional career with the Wellington Lions as a teenager in 2013 and last year celebrated his 100th game for the province. The last player to do that was Tana Umaga who is now his coach at Moana Pasifika.

This is part of the Jackson Garden-Bachop story.

His reflections on growing up with high performance parents, the pressures of social media, the impact of losing his mum to leukemia as a teenager and the heartbreaking loss of his younger brother Connor to an undiagnosed medical condition last year, the lessons learned from adversity, the complexities of grief, the importance of authenticity and so much more.

Jackson is the real deal! A man who doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts of his life and a man who has learned to lean into vulnerability. To get this sort of level of unfiltered authenticity from someone who is still at the peak of their playing career was refreshing and new.

In my opinion, this makes Jackson Garden-Bachop a role model. Have a listen and make your own mind up.

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