Murray "Deaks" Deaker, ONZM

New Zealand Order of Merit

The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

, is a New Zealand sports radio

Sports radio

Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...

 and television talk show host, acclaimed sports author and New Zealand icon.

He was a former club rugby

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

 lock and an opening batsman in club cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

, and prior to working in radio was principal of Takapuna Grammar School

Takapuna Grammar School

Takapuna Grammar School is a decile 10 secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont, North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, TGS currently has a roll of around 1600 students from the North Shore. It serves many communities such as Bayswater, Belmont, Devonport, Takapuna...

. As well as radio he hosts an aptly titled television show on Sky Sport "Deaker on Sport". Murray's trademarks are his straight-talking and his love of Biomag. His bald head has become a cult symbol in New Zealand popular culture, fondly parodied in shows such as TVNZ's Facelift.

Deaker was diagnosed with bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...

 in 2003. His acquired resilience has set him up well to act as a mentor for sports personalities such as Jesse Ryder

Jesse Ryder

Jesse Daniel Ryder is a New Zealand cricketer. He is a middle-order batsman for Tests and is an opening batsman in ODIs. Ryder also bowls useful medium-pace. He has previously represented his country in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup of 2002...

, a New Zealand cricketer.

Deaker has had a number of high profile interviews, including the last interview with Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...

before his tabloid controversies of 2009.