Queenstown residents Regan Pearce (45) (Ngāti Tuwharetoa) and Regan Pomare (31) (Ngāpuhi) are about to make their reality TV debut as "Team Red" on Three’s long-awaited Tracked.
It is understood the first episode may be hitting our screens next Friday.
Hosted by Hollywood hardman Vinnie Jones, Tracked follows eight international teams of two, who battle extreme weather conditions while trying to evade capture by the world’s best military trackers — and fighting for the $100,000 winners’ prize.
Each episode tracks teams as they navigate their way from the "drop zone" to the "extraction point", fulfilling a mission brief while evading capture.
If teams get caught, or fail to make the extraction point in time, the game is over.
Mr Pearce and Mr Pomare — back-country hardmen who both have more than a healthy dose of competitive spirit — have known each other for a few years, having crossed paths playing each other’s teams at six-a-side cricket.
"It was like looking at my younger doppelganger," Mr Pearce said, laughing.
He was encouraged to apply for Tracked by a mate in Wānaka, and though it appealed, he needed a team-mate.
Mr Pomare, his best mate, was the obvious choice.
Originally from Hamilton, Mr Pomare said he spent eight and a-half years in the army and was used to living with his "house" on his back.
"It wasn’t a far cry from what I was used to back in the day," he said.
And, in a fortunate twist of fate, both men were already well-conditioned.
While Mr Pomare likes to stay ready for anything, Mr Pearce spent a year training for last year’s Coast to Coast — cancelled at the 11th hour due to Covid restrictions.
"Literally two days after we got the news about Coast to Coast we got the phone call to say, ‘boys, you’re in’," Mr Pearce said.
"It was just perfect timing."
Mr Pomare, who had just started his own building company, Ascent Homes, had to work out how to project manage remotely, but Mr Pearce had to make the tough call to quit his job to make the most of the opportunity.
That, along with leaving behind his wife, Mel — who had been "incredibly supportive and understanding" — and four young daughters, provided a huge amount of drive, though.
An added factor for "the Regans" during the adventure was Mr Pearce’s type-1 diabetes, a condition he was diagnosed with when he was 10.
Mr Pearce, who works for B&A Digging, said a sensor in his arm was a "massive asset".
"To be able to scan it and get an instant reading, knowing what that blood sugar was doing was critical for us to either move fast or ... stop because I need something to eat."
It also meant the pair had to carry twice the amount of food as other teams, while Mr Pomare also carried Mr Pearce’s water for the duration.
Mr Pearce said the hardest thing since they left Tracked had been keeping their result a secret from his mum, Wendy, who he joked was "like the ‘Christchurch Woman’s Weekly"’.
And while they had to stay mum a bit longer, both were proud of what they had achieved.
He went in wanting to win, make his family proud, return no matter what, with Mr Pomare as his mate, compete with integrity and enjoy every moment of the opportunity and experience, Mr Pearce said.
"I can tell you, I achieved four of five objectives."
As for the fifth?
"You’ll need to watch to find out."
