{"id":222461,"date":"2026-01-08T02:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T02:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/222461\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T02:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T02:05:11","slug":"give-me-a-white-sand-beach-and-mike-tysons-bonkers-life-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/222461\/","title":{"rendered":"give me a white sand beach and Mike Tyson’s ‘bonkers’ life story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actually, the Breakfast presenter admits he struggles to lie on the beach, but when he does find stillness he loves nothing more than a gripping sporting autobiography. <\/p>\n

My favourite beach in Aotearoa is…<\/p>\n

When you hail from a city with coastal delights featuring imported sand (Oriental Bay) and gentle southerlies (Lyall Bay), easy access to the Winterless North feels like a cheat code for summer.<\/p>\n

\"Wellington's<\/p>\n

Wellington’s Lyall Bay is no stranger to a fresh breeze. (Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n

Mangawhai Heads is sensational, but when it comes to something a little more special, I\u2019m picking Matap\u014duri \/ Whale Bay. The short, sheltered walk is quick enough to keep the kids interested, and the final destination is powdery white sand and crystal waters. Majestic.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got to be honest though, I\u2019m not the type that can just lie on a beach. If there\u2019s not a ball to kick, the first port of call is digging a hole, which usually morphs into a tunnel, which usually gets destroyed by small feet.<\/p>\n

A book I recommend is…<\/p>\n

My book reading is frustratingly sporadic during the year. When it\u2019s holiday time, that\u2019s when I can properly get back into it. I’m weirdly obsessed with sporting autobiographies. Last summer I read Billie Jean King’s All In and Mike Tyson’s\u2019 Undisputed Truth. If you thought Agassi\u2019s Open was wild, that\u2019s child\u2019s play compared to Tyson\u2019s absolutely bonkers tale.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike Tyson at the launch of his autobography in New York, 2016. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll stay on the sports theme for a couple of crackers on my list. David Foster Wallace\u2019s String Theory is a collection of tennis profiles, featuring a piece almost as elegant as its subject: Federer Both Flesh and Not.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The great Swiss tennis player Roger Federer <\/p>\n

And, seeing as it\u2019s the FIFA World Cup this year, Simon Kuper\u2019s Soccer Men. Rip-roaring fun and nostalgic.<\/p>\n

And, this isn’t exactly my favourite song but…<\/p>\n

If there was one CD that was played more times than Mariah Carey\u2019s \u2018Fantasy\u2019 in our family car growing up, it was a Fresh music mix (circa 1996) featuring Chumbawamba (before certain New Zealand politicians<\/a> made it infamous). This CD only sticks out because it was the definitive road trip set of songs for family holidays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Actually, the Breakfast presenter admits he struggles to lie on the beach, but when he does find stillness…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[2567,430,156,111,139,69,384],"class_list":["post-222461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-arts-and-culture","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}