Drew Ne'emia (born 28 May 1985) is a New Zealand television presenter and director. In 2022, he announced that his last name is Ne'emia, not Neemia, as had been previously used.

Early life

Ne'emia attended

Hutt International Boys' School Hutt International Boys' School (usually known by its acronym, HIBS) is a state integrated boys' secondary school in Trentham, Upper Hutt, New Zealand founded in 1991. The school is multi-denominational and affiliated with the Anglican faith. ...

Career

Ne'emia has been involved in the New Zealand entertainment industry since the age of three, doing

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

s which led the way to various children's television drama series. His first major role was in the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

'' The Legend of William Tell''. He was a ''Super Trouper'' in the television series '' McDonald's Young Entertainers'' for its duration of three years until 1999. Ne'emia hosted Sticky TV a kids/teen program, on TV3 from 2006 on which he worked with Sam Wallace, Julia Bloore (née Wright), Erin Simpson and

Kanoa Lloyd Kanoa Lloyd (born December 1986) is a television and radio presenter from New Zealand. Lloyd was born in Gisborne to Ngāti Porou whānau, and grew up in Dunedin. Biography In 2009 Lloyd joined the presenting team on after school show ''Sti ...

. He officially left the show on 1 May 2009. Ne'emia co-hosted ''Drew and Shannon Live'' on Four (previously C4) until 2012. ''Drew and Shannon Live'' was a popular music and entertainment based show from 4.30pm-6pm weekdays. Previously Ne'emia hosted 'Select Live' on C4. As a singer, Ne'emia performed on numerous occasions at Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park.Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park
www.christmasinthepark.co.nz In 2013, Ne'emia teamed up with New Zealand rap group ''

Smashproof Smashproof is a New Zealand hip hop group, consisting of Sid Diamond, Tyree, and Deach. The name "Smashproof" is a play on the word "Bulletproof". They are best known for the song "Brother", in which they show their version of what is going on i ...

'' singing the hook on the single "Paint Fade". The song was number 1 on the overall iTunes chart for two weeks. "Paint Fade" went on to make the top 10 on the 'Official New Zealand Top 40' chart, peaking at number 6. Ne'emia began directing in 2014. In 2022, Ne'emia was a contestant on the second season of ''

The Masked Singer NZ ''The Masked'' ''Singer NZ'' is a New Zealand reality singing competition television show based on the '' Masked Singer'' franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show ''King of Mask Singer''. It premiered on Three on 9 Ma ...

'', where he finished in second place.

Personal life

In 2016, Ne'emia began training with New Zealand heavyweight boxing legend

David Tua Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua (born 21 November 1972), best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was kno ...

. In November 2016, he debuted in the

boxing ring A boxing ring, often referred to simply as a ring or the squared circle, is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring consists of a square raised platform with a post at each corner. Four ropes are attached to the posts and pulled p ...

, winning by unanimous decision. His next bout will be scheduled mid 2017. He has reportedly dedicated his life to martial arts. In 2022, after being unmasked on ''The Masked Singer NZ'', he announced that his last name is actually Ne'emia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ne'emia, Drew 1985 births Living people New Zealand people of Samoan descent People from Wellington City New Zealand television personalities New Zealand male martial artists