Directors

Steve Hill


Steve brings over 20 years of business experience to Mind Warriors stemming from the Building Industry to Magazine Publishing, New Media and more recently Consultancy & Experiential training. In most situations he was involved as a partner in startups. The common thread running through these areas has been creativity and design. Steve enjoys the challenges of business and does the occasional mentoring.

Steve has studied the Art of Improvisation and has been designing and facilitating experiential programs for corporate organisations and students since September 2002. He is a regular guest speaker on Creativity at Auckland's New Media Design School and has spoken on creative company culture both locally and in Hong Kong where he set up a branch of his former company WebMedia.
He is a qualified NLP Practitioner and has studied the Art of Metaphor and Clean Language.

For the last 23 years Steve has been interested in areas of Self Intelligence, looking at ways in which to develop the body's awareness and senses.
He initially worked with a medium, which led him into studying with a number of spiritual elders, shaman, medicine men and women. He continues the practice and teach shamanism on a regular basis.
With a foray into martial arts in 1982 he has since practised Jujutsu, Tai Chi, and currently trains in Koryu Uchinadi Kempo (Black Belt), Kenjutsu and Iaido - Samurai Sword (Black Belt Instructor) and Pa Tuan Tsin (Chi Gung).

Passions:

  • Steve is passionate about the way of the samurai, whether it's movies, stories, or the combatitive training and teaching.
  • He is very passionate about exploring other dimensions of the mind and the different forms of shamanic practice for self and to help others.
  • Steve loves to learn, to teach and to help others
  • He is mostly passionate about his two boys Kane (10) and Niko (8), where comes the art of influence, distraction, storytelling, patience and emotional intelligence.
  • And fishing, whether catching them or not its great to be out at sea.

Life defining moments:

  • Getting married, becoming a dad, his wife's death
  • Winning the overall gold at the European multi-media awards in Amsterdam for his previous company 'WebMedia' website.
  • Doing an Inipi ceremony (sweatlodge) with Wallace Black Elk

Wade Jackson


Wade Jackson (BA in English & Japanese, Post graduate Diploma in Drama) has been involved in the performing, healing and martial arts for over the last 15 years. It has taken him around the world where he has studied with masters in their field and he integrates his amazingly varied background into everything that he does.

As a consultant and keynote speaker, Wade has worked with thousands of people ranging from CEOs and senior executive teams, to Universities and Militaries to non-profit organisations.

Wade is a double world improvisation champion and founding member of The Improv Bandits, world renowned improvised comedy act. Fluent in Japanese, Wade has three internationally recognised black belts in martial arts and has studied Zen Shiatsu, Japanese acupressure massage based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. With a post-graduate Diploma in Drama and Diploma in Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapy, Wade is a certified Neuro Linguistic Programming practioner who has also studied Emotional Freedom Technique.

Passions:

  • Wade loves to perform. He has acted in film, television and on stage internationally, had his own radio show and has been interviewed by every major publication, television and radio station in NZ.
  • Wade loves to learn. He understands NZ Sign Language and is dedicated to learning a new skill each year.
  • Wade loves to help others. He runs private therapy and coaching sessions and is a proud sponsor of the Foundation of Youth Development, a not-for-profit organisation that runs the Project K, Stars and Kiwi Can programmes in NZ schools.

Life defining moments:

  • Living in Japan, getting married, becoming a father.
  • Wade is married to Evie Ashton and they live in Auckland, New Zealand with their daughter Sabina, son Axel, and two dogs Sophie and Scamp.

Ying Kong - (BCOM in Marketing and International Business)

Marketing & Social Media Strategist


Ying has always had a passion for leadership and entrepreneurship. At University, she was President of AIESEC Auckland; the world's largest youth leadership development program, was a participant in University of Auckland's Excelerator Future Leaders' Program, Outward Bound and the Spirit of New Zealand voyage. She also entered two ideas into the University of Auckland SPARK Entrepreneurship Challenge and each won cash prizes in their respective fields.

Following graduation, Ying become the owner and manager of Verona Café in Auckland CBD's Karangahape road (K'rd) played a pivotal role in returning the iconic institution back to its glory days. Verona Café was featured in Auckland's City Mix Magazine, had several shows on alternative music television channel ALT TV and Ying was elected onto the board of the K'rd Business Association. She sold Verona in 2009 and has being working in the field of social media and marketing for two start ups in the virtual world and social gaming industry (iLemon based in Shanghai and SmallWorlds in Auckland).

In 2011, she joined the Mind Warriors team as the Marketing and Social Media Strategist. As well as taking care of all the marketing activities, she also organizes the Self Speaker Series: An initiative developed by JOLT Challenge to promote and ignite conversations in the community and globally around the idea of "Self". Currently she is learning Te Reo Maori, is a mentor on the YWCA Future leaders Program and plays for her local hockey club.

Passions:

  • Ying loves being connected to the social online space. She is active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and writes her own blog. She relishes the fact that she gets to 'play' on social networks in her day to day job.
  • Ying loves creativity and chooses to live each day filled with adventure and colour.
  • Ying is a water baby at heart and loves to be near the ocean or the river; be it on a boat, surfboard or soaking in a day spa.

Life defining moments:

  • Living abroad in Shanghai
  • Owning Verona Café
  • Being part of Excelerator Future Leaders' Program
  • Doing the 3 week Outward Bound course