“THE SANDFLY, for those who are unfortunate to have not met him yet, is a mysterious creature that appears at athletic events around New Zealand, raising many eyebrows with his cartwheeling running antics and his mighty ‘Fiordland Moose call’, but more importantly raising many a smile.
There is much debate as to what he truly is and how he come about, as well as the mystery of his identity (often likened to the another ‘lesser’ insect superhero, Peter Parker aka Spiderman), but also likened to his namesake the most annoying insect in the country – here is his first ever bio and insight into his why!
If you ask THE SANDFLY (he insists on capitals) how he came about, it is hard to separate the truth from reality, after much research two options have emerged. THE SANDFLY would let it be known he was born out of a radioactive incident that imbued him with his superhuman powers, as well as charm and good looks… BUT if you dig deeper…
THE SANDFLY was born out of a weekend of laughs when two amazing husbands attended the Great Naseby Water Race to support their wives who were tackling the race. They all were enjoying the awesome race atmosphere that the Water Race is famous for, including some half naked cheerleading with tutu’s and pom poms, BUT the pinnacle of the hilarity was when two morph suits appeared on the side of the track, freaking out many a runner…. the poor people doing the 100 mile race didn’t know if they were hallucinating or not!
On the way home from the amazing weekend and still full of the buzz (spot the pun), one of the amazing husbands, inspired by the events, decided to advertise for a mascot for the world-famous Fiordland Athletic Club and the perfect application was received. During a walk around Queenstown THE SANDFLY was discovered in his chrysalis state of plastic packaging on a store shelf. He emerged into the world like a butterfly, unveiling its true beauty, gaining his Fiordland Athletic Club labelling and preparing to be unfurled as a force for humour.
As his mighty powers were unleashed on the athletic world, especially the Masters scene, he became known for his random appearances and perfectly timed cartwheels, barrel rolls, Moose Calls and generally making a nuisance of himself. Appearing out of nowhere, creating havoc, before quickly disappearing.
After one of these insect encounters, a particularly quick minded Master athlete from Wellington approached the amazing husband (who just happened to have been at the same event, in his new position as THE SANDFLY’s manager) and explained that the mascot needed a name. Seeing he was from Fiordland, resembled a Sandfly, and was the most annoying thing to come from the region, he should be called THE SANDFLY. A pair of wings, a wristband and headband appeared, and henceforth the legend (in his own mind) was created.
THE SANDFLY over the years has attended many events, including NZ Masters Champs and Games. There also was a very memorable visit to the children’s Colgate Games where he mingled and interacted with NZ reps and Olympians past, present and future. He has been the subject of an endless number of photos; many podiums have been adorned with his presence; and he is also a master of the photobomb!
THE SANDFLY has competed as well. He has a gold and silver medal from the NZ Masters Games from track events, as well as a 1 hour 30 half marathon to go with a 43 minute 10km.
But back to the why. There is a mixture of fact, humour and a touch of pure verbal diarrhoea to this story, but THE SANDFLY’s ‘why’ truly and simply, is to make people smile and not take the world too seriously; to not be afraid to be silly and have fun (regardless of age); to remove the weight of the world we sometimes feel, and not just sit it aside for a while, BUT to throw it away and stomp on it; to create happy positive moments that overwrite those negative thoughts you couldn’t get rid of. We can become stuck in a world that has so many pressures and we become burdened with negativity, THE SANDFLY’s superpower is his why – to make others smile, laugh, and feel positive!
Well either that or there is a radioactive bunker hiding somewhere in the remote reaches of Fiordland…”
THE SANDFLY
(Fiordland)
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