Daniel Rankin with cousin Ian in Samoa as a kid. Photo \/ Woman’s Day<\/p>\n
\u201cI started cooking eggs, and having tuna, taro, watercress and veges,\u201d he recalls. \u201cOnce I started losing weight, I gained confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining his brothers at school in Auckland at 15, Daniel bought Gordon Ramsay\u2019s cookbook and honed his culinary skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big, isolating culture shock moving from Samoa,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019ve always been an introvert and I adapted, but it was hard. I skipped school lots because, with no parents around, it was up to me to go. But I wouldn\u2019t get up to mischief \u2013 I\u2019d go to the gym, then watch the cooking channel!\u201d<\/p>\n
While studying commerce, his passion for fitness and food grew, and he went on to open the Auckland gym Propolis Fitness Collective. It was there he filmed his first cooking videos in 2014.<\/p>\n
Then when Covid hit, he started posting regularly to inspire clients to eat healthy. <\/p>\n
Fraser is helping drive the success of Man Can Cook NZ by boosting his owner\u2019s confidence. Photo \/ Troy Goodall<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to make people laugh, so I thought, \u2018What if I put Fraser in the video?\u2019\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n
Having adopted Fraser, now seven, in 2018, after a break-up that saw his ex-girlfriend take their pug Marvin, he\u2019s now an indispensable sidekick, helping drive the success of Man Can Cook NZ by boosting his owner\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how I\u2019d be without Fraser,\u201d he reflects. \u201cHe\u2019s helped me be comfortable in my own skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, Daniel\u2019s become so self-assured that videos of him cooking shirtless are now the secret to his global social media stardom.<\/p>\n
He first stripped off in a video accompanied by the Bloodhound Gang\u2019s saucy song The Bad Touch because it felt appropriate. Another one using an Abba song \u201cblew up\u201d, confirming topless was the way to go.<\/p>\n
Today, Daniel and Fraser\u2019s followers include actor Neil Patrick Harris, pop star Debbie Gibson and New Kids on the Block singer Jonathan Knight.<\/p>\n
Topless was the way to go for Daniel. Photo \/ Troy Goodall<\/p>\n
While he was attending a convention in Miami in 2024, Neil slipped into Daniel\u2019s DMs, inviting him out. <\/p>\n
He recalls, \u201cI turned up to this fancy hotel, where it was just him, his husband and his manager. We went out, watched a show and had a few drinks. He was so lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n