2025 Update

Kia ora, Talofa, Hello everyone.

If you don’t know me, my name is Mark Fa’amaoni, but you can call me Big Mark. And if you do know me, then odds are you haven’t heard from me for a while. My bad. That's just how I get sometimes.

So, for those who do know me and haven’t heard from me for a while, I just thought I’d give you a bit of an update.

Back in 2016, I had what is called a pulmonary embolism. I’ve talked about this before. “The good news,” the doctor said to me at the time, “is that you are not dead.” It put me in the hospital for a week. It unfortunately forced me to effectively retire from photography; I only really cover the circus and the dragon boats now.

Last year, during my annual check-up with my cardiologist, they found that I had “dilated cardiomyopathy.” In simple terms, my heart muscle becomes enlarged and weakened, making it harder for my heart to do its job of pumping blood. Gemini breaks it down:

“Imagine your heart as a powerful pump, like a muscular bag that squeezes to push blood around your body.

Now, with Dilated Cardiomyopathy, that muscular bag gets stretched out and floppy. It's like a balloon that's been blown up too many times, and now it's just big and weak.

Because it's stretched and weak, it can't squeeze as effectively. This means it struggles to pump enough blood to meet your body's needs.”

The doctors measure this with something called an 'ejection fraction' – for me, it's currently pumping at less than 30% efficiency, when a healthy heart is typically around 50% or more. This explains why I've been experiencing things like feeling tired or breathless.

So, I’ve had to take a bit of time out. I’ve worked closely with my Cardiac Nurse, the absolutely wonderful Lisa, on a programme to get a bit better. I lost a lot of weight. But I put a bit back on as well. They’ve adjusted my medication; I’m on a few relatively experimental things now, and they’ve taken me off the pill that made me wee multiple times in the morning and replaced it with one that makes me wee multiple times a day.

And I’ve committed to doing a daily walk to the park. I send my sister a photo of myself when I get there, partly to keep me honest, but also… proof of life.

But taking time out has taken a toll. As you can see: I need a shave. And a haircut. And probably some new clothes. And I haven’t really been able to take on new work. I’ve finished a handful of projects. But I haven’t been in the position to earn any money. For the last year, I’ve focused on getting better, both physically and mentally.

It's time to get back to work.

At the time of writing, I am 51 years, 1 month, 11 days, 450,144 hours, or 1,620,518,400 seconds old. So I spent much of the time I was away figuring out exactly what I wanted Big Mark & Co to be. Because there isn’t much time to reinvent myself again. I’m on the final stretch. As the saying goes, it's time to either get busy living, or get busy dying.

AI has had a significant impact on the creative industries, web design, graphic design, and photography in particular. So I want this business to be able to offer something that AI will never be able to do. Which is how I came up with our new tagline: “Websites built for your business, made by someone who cares.”

That's Big Mark & Co in a nutshell. I manage the process from start to finish. I’ll actually listen to you, and I’ll argue with you if I think you are wrong. We will work hand-in-hand to develop a strategy that will help your business grow. I’ll build your website myself, audit and test it before launch, and help you fix things down the line if you ever run into trouble, even if you aren’t hosting your website with me any more.

I take things personally. It's one of my strongest assets, and probably also one of my biggest weaknesses. But if you're not happy, then neither am I. And I’ll work with you (even at no cost) until we come up with a solution.

That's what I bring to the table.

New Look, New Services, New Framework

We now offer a range of web design services. I specialise in custom websites built in Webflow. If you run a small business, this is probably the best option for you. I’ve built an entirely new framework that makes it even easier for you to add new content and keep the website up to date.

We also build e-commerce websites in Shopify for New Zealand businesses that want to sell more. Fast, flexible, easy to manage, and comes with everything you need to run your store, from payments and shipping to inventory and analytics.

Not everyone needs a custom website. If you need a website that looks professional, works properly, and gives people the right first impression, then we can customise a WordPress theme for you.

Original content helps you stand out from the AI crowd. We create original content for small businesses – photography, video, logos, graphics, and copywriting. Everything you need to bring your website to life. Either I will do it, or I’ll bring in trusted partners to do it for you.

And sometimes things aren’t working properly on your existing website: we can help you fix it. We’re not experts in everything. But we will take a look at your website and if we can’t fix it, we will help you find somebody who can.

Photography: I’m Still Kinda Doing It

I’m retired from photography. Mostly.

I can’t do event or conference photography any more. If you need it, my associates Masanori, Abbie, and Jo are all FANTASTIC, and I couldn’t recommend them more.

And if you need photos for your website, I can take care of that for you as well. It won’t be me taking the photos.

I’m still available to do environmental portraits because that’s a thing that not only am I good at, but I still love to do. But my mobility is limited, and you will have to help cover the costs of getting me and my equipment to your location and back.

And I’m still available to do photography mentorships and workshops. I don’t have a page up for it at the moment, but I’ll get onto that. If that interests you, just send me an email.

Lastly: I’m planning on starting a brand-new photo project shortly. I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the lens properly, and I’ve chosen a relatively easy project to ease myself back into it. It's time to get creative again.

How You Can Help

I need to be honest. The last twelve months have not been great. So if you know me, and haven’t chatted to me for a while, please reach out and just say hello :) I promise I’ll get back to you.

And if you don’t know me, but there is someone in your life that you haven’t heard from in a while, and you are wondering how they are going, reach out to them. It’s little things like that that can change the world.

If you know anyone who runs a small business or a non-profit, and might need some help in the digital space, please send them a link to here:

https://www.bigmark.co.nz/web-design-services

I’m happy to help in any way I can, even just giving some advice.

And if you’d like to help get me back on my feet, in particular getting my photo galleries back online, any support you feel able to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Ngā mihi nui,

BIg Mark

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