Joseph Sullivan is a HERO!  But I feel like he is one of those under-the-radar heroes.  Where the name rings a bell, but you can’t quite recall where you know it form.  And that is just the way this unassuming fire fighter and father from Bay of Plenty likes it.
At the 2012 Olympics, he won a gold medal.  His rowing race was so epic that he won a Halberg Award for "New Zealand's Favorite Sporting Moment".
He retired prematurely in 2014 after being screwed over by Rowing NZ, something which broke him and took a while to recover from.
Since then, he has found a new purpose in the NZ fire service.  He got married, had 2 kids.  Oh, and trained as a grinder for Team NZ and won the Americas Cup.  Twice.
It was such an honor to sit with Joseph at the Kawarau fire station to cover all aspects of his incredible life so far.  The very high highs.  And the very deep lows.