High on a hill above Sawyers Bay is a garage where blood, sweat and tears are spilled.
Punch bags hang from the ceiling, leather mats cover the floor, Bruce Lee quotes are written on the wall and everywhere you look there are posters of Muhammad Ali.
Welcome to the "Power Booth", Howie Booth's training base for anyone interested in learning mixed martial arts.
Booth has an open-door policy when it comes to the general public's involvement.
"As long as people leave their egos at the door and have a good attitude, they are more than welcome".
Booth has trained an array of people at his converted garage: children, Otago rugby players, a 65-year-old woman and a world champion.
"It was amazing to watch a lady who knew little about martial arts evolve into a woman who could disarm a man or flip him on his back at the drop of a hat."
Earlier in the year, players from the Otago rugby team trained at the garage, and they have confirmed they will be back for another stint in the coming weeks.
Booth said he teaches them "raw fitness", with a emphasis on cardio-based training.
"These guys do a lot of gym training and there is nothing wrong with that, but when you get them grappling on the ground and doing intense exercises it just gives them a whole new set of skills".
He said mixed martial arts was a great way for rugby players to get fit as the sports were very similar. Mixed martial arts and rugby were both combative and all about domination, he said.
"It builds confidence in our boys and teaches them to believe in themselves," Meeuws said.
Because rugby was such a physical contact sport, which involved wrestling on the ground, Booth's knowledge gave the players that extra edge, he said.
Booth, who played rugby for Zingari-Richmond for 10 years, said he had Hammerhead mixed martial arts member John King - affectionately known as "the voodoo king master from the pink room of doom" - to thank for developing him into a mixed martial arts trainer.
Booth arrived at King's house in the late 1990s to buy tickets to a fight night and before he knew it he was on the ground learning grappling moves.
"He was my encyclopedia and a great source of inspiration. He answered all my questions and I am privileged to have met him".
Booth and King became the best of mates and Booth was best man at King's wedding.
The "Power Booth" name was given to Booth's garage in the early 2000s by the Nosa brothers, who are household names in the world of mixed martial arts. Eric Nosa, who is a world kickboxing champion, began his training in Booth's garage.
Booth recalls setting up a pole to harden up the Nosa brothers' shins.
"Those boys were kicking that pole so hard I was sure they were trying to knock the garage down".
Booth does not want to claim any credit for Eric Nosa's success.
"He was the one that found my door and walked through it. I just helped guide him."
Booth is also a member of Hammerhead mixed martial arts, and has been involved in all six of the group's fight nights. He is amazed at the knowledge the Dunedin crowd has about mixed martial arts.
"For such a small town it is right up there with the rest of the world".
He said there were two reasons people wanted to learn mixed martial arts.
"They have either had a beating and want to be able to defend themselves or simply just want to fight."
Booth said mixed martial arts taught people discipline, commitment and sacrifice, philosophies which could be applied to all aspects of life.
There is a board hanging from the wall of Booth's garage. On it are quotes from past fighters and some from Bruce Lee, as well as seven rules which all fighters have to abide by.
Rule seven states: "If it is your first night, you have to fight".
Booth said the reasoning for this was to see what skills each fighter had and to see if they could control their emotions.
He is an ardent follower of Bruce Lee and his teachings.
"That guy was amazing. He incorporated 24 different styles of mixed martial arts into one".
Booth was born and raised in Dunedin. He worked as a publican for 25 years and is now a labourer at Miller Studios.
The 49-year-old and wife Kirsty, who have been together for 30 years, have a 12-year-old son, Flynn. He is already showing a keen interest in mixed martial arts and is always around during training.
Booth said if his son wanted to become a mixed martial arts fighter, he would be a natural.
However, Booth is more determined that Flynn becomes a "stand-up man" who is able to protect himself, does not become a bully and has respect for other people.
He certainly seems to be on the right track.
• Howie Booth features in a new book, The Kiwi Man Cave (HarperCollins), written by Steve Hale with Matt Elliott.
