Man cave opens doors for Te Aroha teacher

What started as a fun weekend project is fast growing into a new career for a first-time author from Te Aroha.

Primary school teacher Steve Hale will launch his second book in August – hard on the heels of his successful first title, The Kiwi Man Cave.

Hale’s latest book is based around all things rugby.

The first book, The Kiwi Man Cave, is a collection of photographs and stories of the best male-themed dwellings in New Zealand. Released in October 2011, it has sold 8000 copies.

“My dad has always had a shed that he built airplanes in, but as I got older and bought my own house I’ve built a bar and had a shed out the back. Word of mouth kicked in and I found out they were all over the country, it was a lot of fun going as far south as Invercargill checking them out,” he said.

On the back of The Kiwi Man Cave success, Hale is releasing a second book in August and is also in the process of writing a book on New Zealand tattoo culture.

“New Zealand is one of the most heavily tattooed countries in the world, what I’m hoping to find is tattooists who have their own unique style, and who are really good practitioners of the art. I think that’s really important with tattooing.”

It is, however, the latest career development which has Hale most excited, the chance to take his dream to an all new level and showcase the man cave stories to the whole country.

“We are in talks right now about the possibility of a man cave television series. We will find out within the next month and are just waiting to hear back from New Zealand On Air.”

For the meantime, Hale, who is a teacher at Te Aroha Primary School, is happy to combine his day job with writing books.

“I think most authors in NZ have a day job, I’m quite happy to do that, it’s just a real thrill to be able to write something and get feedback that people enjoyed it.”