William Waiirua Bio

William Waiirua was born William E Cribb, in Kawakawa, a small town in the Bay of Islands area in the far north of New Zealand, to Dicey and Angela. William was just 10 when his family moved from Kaikohe to Feilding, located in the lower North Island of New Zealand. There, he attended 'Feilding Intermediate' and later graduated from 'Palmerston North Boys' High School.' He was a “class clown.” Growing up, he participated in the 'Feilding Lions' Club Line' dance meet that later helped him develop an interest in dance.

William joined the meatworks industry after completing school. At work, he was often made the subject of humor. Growing up, William played rugby and was an important player of his rugby league team. Back then, he was coached by David Lomax, who later revealed that William had an amazing talent of being funny without offending anybody's sentiments. He would have become a rugby player had he not discovered his interest in comedy.

William was associated as a youth worker with the charity 'Child, Youth and Family Department' (now 'Oranga Tamariki') for 6 years. Working with vulnerable children there and bringing smiles on faces eventually gave a direction to his life. In 2017, William promoted a playful campaign for the ‘Electoral Commission.’

William was in Manawatū when he met Aaron “Nuggie” Smith, who later became the driving force behind his social-media prominence. The two were quite popular in the Māori community, as they were the only boys to play twilight cricket in Feilding. Also, William's incredible sense of humor was revealed after his friends ‘Highlanders’ player Rob Thompson and ‘All Blacks’ player Aaron Smith shared a few of his videos with their rugby teammates. The videos became viral, and William decided to pursue a career as a comedian and thus touch the lives of people through laughter and joy.

William rose to prominence in 2017. He started his self-titled 'YouTube' channel, which currently has around 3.6 thousand subscribers. The same year, he released his music video, 'Wowwee,' featuring fellow New Zealand artist Vince Harder. Following this, William starred in a ‘New Zealand Police’ recruitment video. His 'Bohemian Rhapsody' tribute video became viral, and William became a celebrity overnight.

In 2019, William appeared on the dance reality show 'Dancing with the Stars.' His original dance moves and signature mono-lens glasses became a trend. William owns a charity named 'Attitude Trust' that works for people with disabilities. One of his rumba performances featured on the show was choreographed especially for the charity's disabled people. Unlike other rumba routines featured on the show, which were romantic and soft, theirs was aggressive and dominant. The performance moved everyone on the set and also made William's dance partner, Amelia McGregor, emotional. Unfortunately, he was eliminated in May 2019. William was in the bottom two, with Mike McRoberts. The elimination came as a shock to many. Throughout the show, William charmed everyone with his humor. However, it was his caring nature that made his elimination nights challenging for him.

William owns a website where one can find his exclusive collection of sunglasses for sale. He uses the website as his blog site, too, and shares each and every detail about his shows through it.

William's passion for boosting people's morale, through laughter, love, and care, reflects in his online pseudonym, ''Waiirua,'' which is a Maori word meaning “spirit” and “soul.” His manager's name is Johnny Gbenda-Charles.

William belongs to a huge family. Once, when his father had a heart attack, the first thing he said to the family after he gained consciousness was, "Don't make me laugh, Willy!"

William is in a relationship with Taylor Sutherland, a law student and snowboarder. She was seen on the show 'Dancing with the Stars,' cheering for William. In some of his later interviews, William has acknowledged Taylor's support when he was on the show. He has revealed that she would regularly drive with him to his training sessions and even bring food for him and his partner, Amelia. William and Taylor moved in together just a week after they started dating.

The two first met during a promotional tour for 'Rhythm and Vines.' He liked her a lot, and after the show, he asked her out. Back then, William lived in Wellington but would travel to Auckland for work. Thus, he would often stay at Taylor's place. Her mother then asked him to move in.

William owns a cute dog named Shiloh.