Mike Puru (born 20 August 1975) is a New Zealand television personality, radio host and weather presenter. Puru worked at the New Zealand radio station

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...

from 1995 until 2015 and hosted the first two seasons of ''

The Bachelor New Zealand ''The Bachelor New Zealand'' is a dating game show based on the original US version, '' The Bachelor''. It aired on Sunday and Monday nights on Three. The first season's bachelor was Art Green and the show was won by Matilda Rice. The second seas ...

'' on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

. He co-hosted the

morning television Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it ...

show '' The Cafe'' along with Mel Homer from 2016 until 2020. Mike previously hosted the Flava breakfast show alongside Stacey Morrison, Azura Lane and previously

Anika Moa Anika Rose Moa (born 21 May 1980) is a New Zealand recording artist and television presenter. Her debut studio album ''Thinking Room'', was released in September 2001, which reached number one on the Official New Zealand Music Chart, New Z ...

. Before this, Puru along with Morrison and Moa hosted the afternoon show on

The Hits The Hits was a music video Television channel, channel broadcast in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, owned by Box Television. On 15 August 2008 it was rebranded as 4Music. Overview and availability The channel showcased a ra ...

radio station. Since 2024 Puru has been hosting the weekday morning show for the New Zealand radio network The Breeze.

Early life

Michael Puru was born on 20 August 1975 in

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

, a town and district in the Southland region in the South Island of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Puru was born to Wayne and Diana. His father Wayne grew up in

Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...

and who is of

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi (tribe) located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū. History Early history During the 17th ce ...

and

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

descent. Puru is the second of three children: he has an elder sister Gloria and a younger sister Kelli. His family lived in the small town of Waikoikoi, New Zealand until he was nine years old. Puru attended St Peter's College in Gore from 1987 to 1993. When Puru was a young boy he was a local paperboy in Gore.

Early career and education

Puru started working in radio and television after he finished high school in 1993. Puru set up an hour-long radio show for St Peter's College to present weekly events from Invercargill. Mike also had involvement with the Gore Operatic Society, which is now known as the Gore Musical Theatre. During his final year at St Peter's College, Puru became head boy, and then left to pursue his career in radio and television by attending NZ Broadcasting School. He later moved to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

for seven years and then to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Career

1995–2002: Early radio career

In 1995 Puru began his radio career as a Radio DJ for the New Zealand radio station

. The first song that Puru introduced on the station in 1995 was " Back for Good" by the English pop group

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

. He worked alongside

Dom Harvey Dom Harvey (born 3 February 1973) is a New Zealand podcaster and former radio host. Known to be a 'shock jock', Harvey started his radio career on the morning breakfast show which aired on The Edge from 2001 until 2021. After leaving The Edge, H ...

and

Jay-Jay Feeney Jay-Jay Feeney (previously Jay-Jay Harvey; born 28 March 1974) is a New Zealand media personality, podcast studio director and former radio host. She previously was a co-host for More FM's drive show, ''Jay-Jay & Flynny Driving You Home'', with ...

for the morning show at The Edge. Puru moved to Auckland to work for the station.

2002–2004: ''Flipside''

In 2002 while still being a Radio DJ for The Edge Puru began co-hosting the youth-oriented current affairs show ''Flipside'', also known as ''Flipside Live'' which aired on TVNZ2, known then as TV2. Puru co-hosted the show alongside fellow television presenter Evie Ashton. New Zealand television presenter Sonya Gray also appeared on the show as a reporter. ''Flipside'' aired as a "two-screen" approach, targeted for youth audiences. While the show aired on television, news was also shared through its own dedicated page on the now defunct New Zealand news website "nzoom.com". "nzoom.com" later changed to the

1News 1News is the news service of the New Zealand television network TVNZ. Its flagship programme is the daily evening newscast ''1News at Six''; other programmes include morning news-talk show ''Breakfast'', '' Te Karere'', '' Seven Sharp'', and ...

website for TVNZ.

2004–2012: ''Sing Like a Superstar'' and television hiatus

After ''Flipside'' finished in 2004 Puru continued working as a Radio DJ for

. He made an appearance as one of the singers on the television show ''Sing Like a Superstar'' which aired in 2005 on

Three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

, known then as TV3. Puru said that around this time viewers who watched him on ''Flipside'' would write in letters about his teeth. Puru later got his teeth done but was not sure if his appearance on ''Sing Like a Superstar'' or not fixing his teeth at the time was the reason as to why he was not able to get more television work around this period of his career. Mike Puru 2014

2012–2016: ''Yesshop''

In October 2012, he became one of the inaugural TV presenters on New Zealand's first, but short-lived Yesshop

home shopping channel Shopping channels (also referred to in British English as teleshopping) are television programs or specialty channels dedicated to home shopping. These channels typically feature live presentations and product demonstrations, with on-air hosts and ...

. A career highlight included interviewing

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director, and businesswoman. After several guest roles on television, she became recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS day ...

live on air during the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

star's brief first visit to New Zealand as a guest of the shopping channel.

2015: Leaving The Edge

On 7 December 2015, Puru announced he was leaving The Edge, and did so officially on 11 December. He was replaced by Clinton Randell and the station's breakfast show was renamed ''The Jay-Jay, Dom & Randell Show''.

2016–2023: ''The Bachelor'' & ''The Café'' morning show

In 2016 Puru continued as host for the second season of '' The Bachelor'', but was not selected to host its third season. He was co-host of Three's morning show '' The Café'' with Mel Homer from 2016 until May 2020. Puru became a part time weather presenter for

Newshub ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...

. He continued this role until its closure in July 2024. Puru became a host of

along with Stacey Morrison in 2019.

joined the show later in 2019 but left in late 2022. In 2022 they all moved to the Flava breakfast show with Azura Lane who replaced Anika Moa. Puru left the show in December 2022.

2024 – present: The Breeze

Puru continued to work as a part-time weather presenter for Newshub until the closure in July 2024. At the start of 2024 Puru began hosting the morning weekday radio show on The Breeze.

Personal life

Relationships

Puru

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

on air as gay in 2010, and shortly after he announced his engagement to his partner of eight years, Regan Wallis. However, in May 2012 he confirmed the relationship was over. Puru has been in a long-term relationship with Anton Chartier since 2014. They both reside in Arch Hill,

along with their dog Rufus.

Hospitalisation

In 2019 Puru suffered a broken rib and concussion after crashing his bike. He was hospitalised at Auckland Hospital after being found unconscious. Puru's helmet was damaged in the crash which he believes saved him from a more serious injury.

Proposed bed and breakfast in France

In August 2023, Puru announced that he would be moving with his partner Anton to France in 2024 where they both plan to run a Bed and Breakfast and to launch a country music radio station. He however later cancelled his plans with moving.

Father's cancer diagnosis

Puru shared that his father Wayne was diagnosed with cancer of the liver and bowels. He said that the diagnosis came “out of the blue”. Puru's father Wayne started feeling unwell towards the end of 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puru, Mike 1975 births Living people New Zealand LGBTQ broadcasters New Zealand television presenters New Zealand radio presenters New Zealand gay entertainers People from Gore, New Zealand The Edge (radio station) People educated at St Peter's College, Gore