Honey Hireme-Smiler ONZM: Beyond the Field
From The Good Day Matrix by The Good Day Matrix
June 2, 2025 · 1h 18m · Season 5 · Episode 5
About this episode
Honey Hireme-Smiler shares her journey as a sports legend and community advocate, discussing wellbeing, grief, and her reconnection with Māori culture.
Honey Hireme-Smiler is a wife, mum, and proud Nan-Nan — and so much more. Many know Honey as a legend in the oval ball game, having proudly represented Aotearoa as a Black Fern, Kiwi Fern, and Black Ferns Sevens player. She now brings her incredible sporting knowledge to our screens as a respected commentator and TV presenter. Beyond the field, Honey wears many hats! She’s an author, ambassador for the TimeOut charity, a Kaiāwhina at Hospice Waikato, and a board member at New Zealand Rugby League. In this powerful kōrero, Honey reflects on her upbringing in Putāruru, aka Paradise, the role of Te Whare Tapa Whā and how each pou supports our wellbeing, and what truly drives high-performing teams from her experiences. She also shares her inspiring journey of reconnecting with her reo Māori through Te Tohu Paetahi at the University of Waikato. We also delve into the complexities of navigating grief — the unpredictability, the hard conversations, and the deep compassion she brings to supporting whānau in her role at Hospice Waikato. A beautiful, powerful and world-class kōrero from a world-class wāhine. All of our interviews are available to watch via our website too!
People in this episode
Guest: Honey Hireme-Smiler
Topics covered
- sports
- wellbeing
- grief
- Māori culture
- community support
- high-performing teams
Keywords
- Honey Hireme-Smiler
- Black Ferns
- wellbeing
- grief
- Māori
- community
- sports commentary
- high performance
- charity work
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: TimeOut charity, Hospice Waikato, New Zealand Rugby League, Te Tohu Paetahi, University of Waikato
Places: Aotearoa, Putāruru
More episodes of The Good Day Matrix
- Ellesse Andrews: Power of connection · January 12, 2026 · 49 min
- Greg Smith: Rugby, Resilience, and Real Life · October 1, 2025 · 1h 6m
- Melodie Robinson: Life, leadership and line breaks · August 31, 2025 · 1h 5m
- Jenny-May Clarkson: Showing up with heart · August 3, 2025 · 1h 22m
- Di Foster: Being a banana is best · July 6, 2025 · 1h 20m
- Astra Patmore: Navigating life, leadership, and lifting communities! · May 4, 2025 · 1h 17m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Good Day Matrix podcast page.