Rob.

Twenty-seven years in Piha. Legendary music teacher to hundreds of local kids. Brings people together around music — and on a good day, around fresh-caught snapper.

Rob came to Piha as a teenager, got rescued off Patiki Rock within five minutes of arriving, and has been here ever since. Twenty-seven years on, he's taught drums, guitar and bass to hundreds of local children and adults, and watched a generation of Piha families grow up around him. We asked him five questions.

How long have you lived in Piha, and what first brought you here?

I've lived in Piha for 27 years.

I was first drawn to this place as a teenager. I was at a high school that had a lot of surfers who always talked about Piha as though going there was a badge of coolness and honor. I was always a water baby and at that time a champion swimmer so I headed out with some mates and leapt in with a boogie board. 5 minutes later after my rescue from certain demise on Patiki rock I gained a deeper understanding of the place.

What do you do for work (or how do you spend your days)?

I've made a life and found purpose in Piha teaching drums and guitar and bass to hundreds of kids and dozens of adults over the last 15 years. It has been a genuine privilege watching so many local families grow from the time their kids were in preschool until their graduation from university. I've discovered that bringing people together around music has had a positive effect on the community here.

What’s something about Piha that surprises people once they actually spend time here?

In all the time I've been here I've always been amazed by the quality and diversity of this community's skill set.

We have America's Cup boat builders and Quantum physics professors. Child psychologists who's doctorates contain programs being implemented the British education system. We have national award winning solar designers and makeup artists who travel the world with international supermodels. We have writers with masters degrees and industry leaders who scoff at the unions standards for their workers because they treat their workers far better than the standards demand. The guy who's web doco won at the first Worldwide web awards lives down the road and the guy who's web series won best web series lives up the road. The three women responsible for finally getting all the categorization done and payouts sorted for all the kiwis nationwide who lost their homes in cyclone Gabriel, (thousands of unpaid hours of lobbying the government), all live here. We have surfers with national titles and NZ hockey masters finalists. West Auckland's first ever 'Hat' awarded restaurant is here as well as a 'home of the year' title holder.

I could go on but you get the idea. For a small community on the coast we have a clever and varied bunch.

What’s your favourite thing to do in Piha?

My favorite thing to do other than teaching, is get out in a boat on the very rare days when the conditions allow, catch some snapper then cook and eat it with family and friends.

Fresh Piha snapper is a proper good time.

What do you love most about living here?

The thing I love the most about living here is the community and being by the sea.

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Rob has taught drums, guitar and bass to hundreds of Piha locals over the last 15 years.