He broke his neck - and found his purpose
- PEP Team
- Feb 18
- 3 min read
Pati Umaga’s life has moved through several distinct phases — community worker, professional musician, spinal injury survivor, and now disability arts advocate. What connects them isn’t a single career path, but a consistent focus on people and relationships.
Early Life: Community and Culture
Born in Wellington to Samoan parents, Pati grew up surrounded by church life, family responsibility, and cultural expectations. From a young age he gravitated toward helping others. That interest led him into youth and community work, supporting families and vulnerable young people, including those dealing with abuse, gangs, and instability.
He learned early that practical support mattered, but relationships mattered more. Building trust — sometimes as simple as sharing food or spending time — often had more impact than formal programmes.
Music Career and Creative Work
Alongside community work, music played a major role in his life. His parents encouraged musical training, and although he resisted the piano lessons they chose for him, he developed as a guitarist and performer.
He eventually joined the band The Holidaymakers, whose cover of Sweet Lovers reached number one in New Zealand in 1988. Later he helped establish one of the first contemporary music courses in a tertiary institution and continued working in creative and community-based arts initiatives.
Music became both a career and a tool — a way to connect people rather than simply entertain them.
The Accident
In 2005, a fall broke his neck and left him permanently using a wheelchair.
The immediate aftermath was not inspirational. He believed his independence, confidence, and ability to contribute were gone. Public life felt uncomfortable, and he struggled with embarrassment and uncertainty about how to interact with others.
Like many people experiencing sudden disability, his expectations for the future collapsed overnight.
A Turning Point: Community Support
A former schoolmate who had become disabled years earlier visited him soon after he returned home. That visit introduced him to other wheelchair users who simply treated him normally.
This mattered more than advice or encouragement. It replaced isolation with belonging and showed that life could continue in a different form. Through those relationships he gradually rebuilt confidence and began re-engaging with the community.
A New Direction: Arts and Advocacy
Pati returned to music, but with a different goal. Instead of focusing only on performance, he began using creative work to challenge public assumptions about disability.
He created a music video highlighting that disabled people can dance and participate fully in social life. He later developed stage productions featuring disabled performers and collaborated with artists across the country. He also mentors emerging leaders within the disability community.
At the same time, he contributes professionally to social initiatives, including work supporting survivors of abuse in state care.
Across all these roles, the emphasis remains consistent: representation, participation, and community connection.
Purpose and Perspective
Pati describes the early years after his accident as dark, but he credits other people with helping him move forward. Rather than a single moment of clarity, direction developed gradually through involvement and service.
His key messages:
• keep going, even when progress feels slow
• seek guidance and connection rather than isolation
• purpose develops through participation, not instant discovery
Today
Pati’s journey runs from youth worker and musician to disability arts advocate and mentor. The injury did not create his commitment to community — it redirected it.
His current work focuses on changing mindsets about disability: showing that contribution and leadership remain possible, even when life changes dramatically.
Don't miss Pati's Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan at the Auckland Arts Festival, 5-8 March, and the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, 12-14 March
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