#57 Eugene Bareman: The Story Behind NZ's City Kickboxing & UFC Champions
episodePreviously titled “#57 Eugene Bareman” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 5, 2026
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Who is Eugene Bareman and what is City Kickboxing?
Just sat down and had an amazing conversation with Eugene Berman from City Kickboxing, the man behind some of the baddest, some of the meanest, some of the best fighters on the planet. The style bender, Dan Hooker, Carlos Olberg, you've got Navajo, Kai, and he also talks about some of the up and coming people you must watch. We spoke about his childhood growing up in West Auckland, wanting to be a rugby star and a series of moments. And it's crazy when you think when he talks about these moments, if they'd gone the other way, there'd be no CKB. And so I actually quietly backed out because no one saw me.
No one came to the door.
And I was like, okay, back to rugby boys. He spoke about the hardships, you know, and the struggle of starting a gym, going through really a decade of not making any money.
And it all started as a vehicle for me and Doug to get on with our fight career and train some office ladies in some classes.
We spoke about Fo Vake and that was a tough part of this conversation. Fo was taken from this world far too early in a coward punch. And now it's driven him and his team to advocate and to push for law change so that something good can come out of such a sad and devastating tragedy. I promise you this is an amazing episode and you are going to get so much out of it. Don't forget to like, comment, share and subscribe. Eugene Berman, enjoy. This podcast is made by the amazing team at Fanaticals. They put up with me, so they're pretty epic. Eugene, thank you so much for joining me, brother.
Yeah, yeah. Good to be here, Dave. I've seen you pop up on my YouTube and most recently with my old coach Lolo, so it's cool to be on this side of it.
What did you learn from him, bro, when he was your coach? It shaped the way that I...
look at the sport, like my perspective, how I look at the sport. And to be more specific, you know, a punch wasn't just a punch and a kick wasn't just a kick. It became something else. It became something very scientific, like something very cerebral, something very intellectual. And he made me kind of see that side of it. And then... When you start to look at it from that perspective, you realize that combat sport is a very, very deep and meaningful pursuit. So it was him that shaped the way that I look at the sport, really. Wow. How long were you with him for? Wow. Man, he would have to tell you, but I don't know, maybe a decade. Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, a long time, I feel.
Man, I just sat down with him for two hours and learnt so much. I can only imagine how much you learnt from being around him for that amount of time.
Yeah, I mean, Lolo's lived a life.
What challenges did Eugene face in building City Kickboxing?
So many lives have been touched by that man. And the combat sports industry... attract some, as you know, attract some very colourful characters from all different walks of life. So it kind of inevitably leads to like a very interesting life because you're meeting so many interesting people. That's his life personified, you know.
Where did you grow up, bro?
I'm a Westie. Yep. Yeah, I'm a Westie. I was born and bred in a little place, little suburb called Massey, which I thought was a beautiful place to grow up. It's a very... mixed kind of neighborhood, like socioeconomically mixed. It had people that did all right, middle income people, had poor people. And then in terms of like all the different cultures, had a lot of like Islanders, Marys, people from all over the world living there, a lot of Pakeha. Yeah, I thought it was a fantastic place to live because it gave me a very broad kind of outlook on life.
Yeah, I live in West Auckland now. I love it.
What tragic event impacted Eugene and his team?
But I never thought I'd move out of South Auckland.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love it so much.
What is the Walk Without Fear Trust and its mission?
And then when I moved out because my wife's a Westie.
Yeah.
Man, I love it.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, everybody, everywhere is, we share a lot in common, right? But everywhere, every part of Auckland kind of has that little bit of, has a slightly different flavour, you know? A slightly different way that people carry themselves and the way people walk. But I think that kind of is what makes it interesting, right?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Eugene Bareman and what is City Kickboxing?
0:00–2:53
2
What challenges did Eugene face in building City Kickboxing?
2:53–4:02
3
What tragic event impacted Eugene and his team?
4:02–4:06
4
What is the Walk Without Fear Trust and its mission?
4:06–5:16
5
How did Eugene’s childhood influence his career in combat sports?
5:16–7:17
6
How does Eugene define leadership and resilience in sports?
7:17–12:36
7
What qualities does Eugene look for in a champion?
12:36–23:24
8
How does Eugene plan to impact the future of combat sports?
23:24–59:27
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Unfiltered with Dave Letele
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