Rambo’s back

After shooting Vaka Eiva footage for three years, Rambo has become something of a Vaka Eiva icon to returning paddlers.

Ian ‘Rambo’ Newland, who hails from the Sunshine Coast, makes a living travelling the world filming open ocean outrigger events. He’s been paddling competitively for over 20 years, and has become famous in outrigger circles for his footage – and his moustache.

His nickname – which doubles as the name of his company – derived from a paddling incident two decades ago. Newland was sitting at number five during a race when the ama’s rigging came loose, at which point one of his crew handed him a pocketknife – why he had it, Rambo doesn’t know. Newland stuck the knife between his teeth, hopped out of the canoe, fixed the ama and jumped back into the canoe with the knife still in his mouth – his crew dubbed him Rambo after the combat-ready film character, and the name stuck.

Newland spends half the year shooting footage of outrigger events – already this year, he’s filmed events in New York and San Francisco and he’s done the Takapuna Cup and the Moloka’i race.

He uses his footage to promote an event in the months leading up to it, and he posts his films online following an event.

His footage features on a blog he’s been keeping for seven years, and on major event websites, including that of Vaka Eiva. Twenty minutes of his Vaka Eiva footage – featuring champion paddler Jane McKee and the Big Island Girls – aired on cable television in the U.S. awhile back.

Rambo does what he does for expenses only – it’s a passion for the sport that keeps him going. This year, Cook Islands Tourism asked him to come back again and shoot Vaka Eiva – what Newland called the “most fun event on the outrigger planet”.

“I just love doing the event – I love it and I want to see it grow,” Newland said. “The whole point is for someone who hasn’t been to watch (the film) and go, I want to go there.”