Hi, My name is Dan, but the bloke in the photos - and the bloke you need to know about - is Sol Cooper.

Sol owns a business called Toa Haka; an authentic Māori performance company based in the UK. The entire team are Māori or Pacific Island descent and offer a uniquely authentic insight into their beautiful culture in the form of Haka performances, masterclasses, leadership sessions, and identity sessions where clients learn about the origins of Māori culture.

Here's Sol personally greeting Jacinda Ardern.

And here's him performing with Jonah Lomu.

"Haka speaks a language, that represents a culture. It's a physical expression through movement, energy and emotion.

It forms part of who I am.

Our Māori culture identifies through it.”

- Sol Cooper.

Over the weekend, a bunch of thieves broke into Sol's work van and pinched ALL of the kit needed to run the business. This includes a number of elaborate traditional garments worn by Sol and his team:

Needless to say, all of these items were not only quite expensive, but also near impossible to replace in the united Kingdom. Sol will have to purchase all of these items in New Zealand and have them shipped to London. Until then, Toa Haka can't really function.

'Haka is the perfect embodiment of unity. Something we call 'Kotahitanga.' Everybody moving and chanting as one, with one voice and one common purpose.

Haka is a unique way of bringing people together and creating an energy like no other.'

- Toa Haka Website.

We want to help Sol recover from this needless theft, and get his business back to fully operational as quickly as possible. This will mean purchasing replacement equipment and getting it shipped from New Zealand to London as quickly as possible.

November and December are famously busy times for corporate events, Christmas parties, etc. and the longer we wait, the more work is lost.

Let's give back to a man that has given plenty to the NZ expat community, and shared Māori culture with the United Kingdom and the world.