Nō Te Rarawa ahau
Hamish
Johnstone
Registered Dietitian
Fighter. Ultrarunner. Clinician. Māori. Sixteen years of nutrition practice shaped by the demands of elite sport, endurance racing, and the realities of everyday life.
Scottish & Croatian ancestry
"I didn't become a dietitian because I found food easy. I became one because I found it hard — and I needed to figure it out."
I came to dietetics through sport. As a competitive Muay Thai fighter, making weight was brutal — I was working full-time, training twice a day, and trying to be present for a young family. I was restricting, struggling, and getting it wrong.
That experience — the confusion, the pressure, the physical and mental cost of poor fuelling — is what drove me back to study. I needed to understand food at a deep level. And once I did, I wanted to help others avoid what I went through.
My whakapapa to Te Rarawa shapes the way I work. I approach each consultation with manaakitanga — genuine care and respect. I take the time to understand your whānau, your kai traditions, your cultural relationship with food. There is no one-size-fits-all diet, and there never will be.
Two decades of doing the mahi
Muay Thai
Champion
Three-time New Zealand champion across two weight divisions. I know what it takes to cut weight safely, fuel a training camp, and peak for competition. This isn't textbook knowledge — it's scar tissue.
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3× NZ Kickboxing Champion Middleweight & Super Middleweight titles
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Fight Camp Nutrition Expert Cutting weight while maintaining performance — personalised fight camp plans for combat athletes
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Combat Sports Community Works with Muay Thai, boxing, MMA, BJJ and kickboxing athletes across NZ
Ultra
Endurance
When most people's races end, mine are just beginning. Five 100-mile finishes, seven backyard ultras, and more than 100km races than I can count. My own body is the test lab for the advice I give.
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5 × 100-Mile Finishes Ultramarathon distances requiring 20–30+ hrs of continuous running
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7 × Backyard Ultras 24-hour personal best — looped format ultra requiring hourly starts
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8 × 100km+ Races Including rugged NZ trail races — Tarawera, Hillary, and beyond
Tikanga Māori
in practice
My whakapapa to Te Rarawa — tangata whenua of the Far North — shapes every consultation I hold. The values of tikanga Māori are not a backdrop to my work; they are the framework for it.
I understand the role of kai Māori in cultural identity, the pressures many Māori and Pasifika clients face around food and whānau expectations, and the importance of building a nutrition plan that respects — not erases — your cultural heritage.
For Māori and Pasifika whānau especially: you will be seen, heard, and understood here. Te reo Māori is welcome in our consultations.
The credentials
behind the practice
Outside the clinic.
Ready to work
with someone who gets it?
Book a free 15-minute discovery call. No obligation — just a conversation about your goals and whether I'm the right fit for you.