Hale Motu’apuaka: USU Football’s fiery warrior
LOGAN — Flames slashed around Hale Motu’apuaka as he performed. Between his legs, around his back and through the air, Motu’apuaka whirled the fireknife during a performance in June.
The spectacle was no big deal for Motu’apuaka, a three-time world champion in fireknife who started mastering the craft when he was three years old. In fact, it was a chance for Motu’apuaka to share his culture and cash in on an NIL opportunity with Wilson Motor.
“I brought some of the boys to share our culture, and I think everybody loved it,” Motu’apuaka said.
Motu’apuaka performed just a couple of months after he sacked Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. And while the two things may sound pretty different, for Motu’apuaka, it’s all in his blood and culture — Polynesians are warriors.
Motu’apuaka shares this message with his fellow Polynesians in USU’s Pasifika Student Union. There, he and his fiancée — Maile Charfauros, the 2018 Tahitian Dance World Champion — teach choreography to club members.
Safety Bronson Olevao dances with Motu’apuaka and said he is “very rooted” in their Polynesian culture.
“He’s very proud,” Olevao said. “That’s what he always tells us, is to be proud of who we are and whatever culture we represent in that Polynesian group.”
Olevao said that Motu’apuaka doesn’t just teach the dance moves — he also explains their significance to the club members.
“Before we perform, or before we start learning the number, he gives us history on each number, and he gives us the background and what these moves mean,” Olevao said.
The goal behind that education is to help connect people with their culture, even if they grew up on the mainland.
“A lot of Polynesian kids… they don’t get the opportunity to learn how to dance,” Motu’apuaka said. “Performing is a big part of our culture, and it’s a great way to share it with the world. It’s awesome to be able to share that with them and for them to learn their culture a little bit more.”
Beyond helping others connect with their families, performing bonds club members with each other.
“That connection between us as Polynesians, it comes out as we are expressing ourselves through dance,” Olevao said.
Beyond the Pasifika Student Union, their Polynesian bond extends to the gridiron. Olevao said Motu’apuaka explained how they connect with their culture in another way.
“In our dancing and everything that we do, we try and show our love and of course, get our culture out there,” Olevao said. “But one of the things he helps us remember is that we come from an ancestry line of warriors.”
That warrior culture comes out on gamedays.
“He goes into every game and every mindset like it’s war,” Olevao said, referencing what Motu’apuaka said at a Mountain West Conference media day. “I think that’s what us as Polynesians have to offer is we’re very diverse in love and humility, but also, when it comes down to it — especially on the football field — a lot of that love and humility got to go away, and we got to kind of put our war face on.”
And while the way things are presented may change from the stage to the field, Motu’apuaka’s leadership doesn’t.
Freshman defensive tackle Bo Maile said Motu’apuaka helped him adjust to the program.
“He’s been a really influential person to me,” Maile said. “We would go through drills and stuff, and Hale was always there to just like, guide me and show me what to do.”
Motu’apuaka’s reaching out was especially meaningful to Maile. In 2021, Maile’s uncle, Frank Maile, left for Boise State after five years with the Utah State coaching staff, including a short stint as interim head coach.
“(Motu’apuaka’s) been a leader on and off the field,” Maile said.
This year, Motu’apuaka will have a new person to mentor. Charfauros gave birth to the couple’s first child a few months ago.
Olevao spoke highly of Motu’apuaka’s dedication as a father.
“One of the things I’ve been able to watch is the way he treats his fiancée and the way he takes care of his son,” Olevao said. “Sometimes they come to (dance) practice with him. Sometimes Hale or his fiancée, Maile, has to miss practice because, you know, the baby, but that just shows his responsibility on and off the field.”
Olevao added he was impressed with how Motu’apuaka manages it all.
“I don’t completely understand it, me not being a father,” Olevao said. “But I think Hale’s a great father, and Hale’s still, you know, still balancing all of it with football, his fiancée, his son and also now our Polynesian Student Union.”
Maile has noticed changes in the new father’s behavior but said he is still the same on the field when it counts.
“He still comes out with the same energy every day,” Maile said. “Not much has changed as far as his leadership.”
Motu’apuaka’s next chance to be a warrior on the field will come on Sept. 24 at 5 p.m., when the Aggies face UNLV at home.
Featured image by Bailey Rigby.