Society Insider: The All Whites families out for World Cup glory; Entrepreneur Kennedy Anderson quits life as influencer
Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, the All Whites are preparing for their Fifa World Cup campaign and their families are getting ready to get behind them; a trip to Egypt inspired a big change for Apprentice Aotearoa star Kennedy Anderson.
Meet the All Whites’ biggest fans
The All Whites are a week into their Fifa World Cup preparations in Boca Raton, Florida, ahead of their North American campaign, and there will be a big contingent of the players’ loved ones cheering them on in person.
The 26-player squad, led by captain Chris Wood, played its first friendly game against Haiti at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, yesterday, with a disappointing 4-0 loss. They’re hoping to fare better in their warm-up match against England on Sunday at 8am NZT, before the team’s first World Cup game proper against Iran on June 16.
Michael Boxall will be making his World Cup debut, and he’ll be supported by his wife, beauty and wellness expert Libby Boxall, and their children, daughter Maxwell Boxall, 9, and son Beau Boxall, 6.
Libby says the family couldn’t be prouder as they prepare to watch Michael play in his first World Cup.
“He’s had some amazing moments throughout his career, but this one feels different,” Libby tells Society Insider.
“Representing New Zealand at a World Cup is something he’s worked towards for years, and it’s incredibly special to see it become a reality. I’m so happy for him.”
It comes two weeks after the family were together for Boxall’s stunning send-off by his Major League Soccer team, Minnesota United, in front of a home crowd at St Paul’s Allianz Stadium.
“[It] was an emotional moment for our family, and a reminder of just how many people have supported and encouraged Michael throughout his nearly decade-long journey,” Libby says.
Michael has played for the All Whites for 14 years and was instrumental in helping the team qualify, after scoring his maiden international goal at the OFC Qualifiers Final against New Caledonia at Eden Park in March last year.
The All Whites will be based in San Diego during their World Cup campaign, and Libby and their two children will make the trip to see the team play Iran at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16 (NZT).
“They can’t wait to see their Daddy play,” says Libby.
The All Whites will then head to Vancouver for their final group matches against Egypt and Belgium at BC Place Stadium.
“It will be my first time in Vancouver, so I’m excited to explore the city and make the most of our time there,” Libby says.
She and Michael have friends and family joining them for all games, which will make it even more special.
“I’m also really looking forward to catching up with the wives and families of the All Whites. It’s a unique experience to share with people who understand the highs, lows, and sacrifices that come with professional football.”
One of those people is said to be solicitor Emma Wood, the wife of All White and Nottingham Forest captain Chris, who is expected in the US with the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, Camille.
The Woods married in a lavish ceremony on the Amalfi Coast in 2024.
It’s the star striker’s second World Cup for NZ (his first was in South Africa in 2010 at age 18). Earlier this month, he took Camille on to the pitch at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, with the pair wearing matching kits.
Wood, 34, sits among the top five earners in New Zealand sports, earning more than $10 million per season.
In February, Emma was with her husband when he was awarded the Pride of New Zealand award at the UK New Zealander of the Year awards at a Waitangi Day Gala Ball at the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel in London.
Another British-based All White, Millwall goalkeeper Maxime Crocombe, 32, will also be making his World Cup debut, and is expected to be supported by his fiancee, content creator Yasmin Bright.
Meanwhile, Wellington-based photographer Michelle Peters has recently become the most globally watched All White partner. Her Wellington Phoenix defender husband, Tim Payne, got an Instagram shout-out from an Argentine influencer, Valen Scarsini, who told his followers to get behind Payne, whom he’d referred to as the “least-known World Cup player”.
Payne, 32, now has more than four million Instagram followers, while Peters has surpassed the All Whites’ 73,000 followers.
Ponsonby-based Auckland FC chief executive Nick Becker is proud to be travelling to Vancouver with his family to support his five newly minted A-League Champions, as they fulfil their World Cup ambitions.
Becker says that All Whites Michael Woud, Nando Pijnaker, Callan Elliot, Francis de Vries and Jesse Randall have worked hard, stayed focused and are now being rewarded for their contributions after an outstanding A-League season.
Society Insider is told that de Vries’ Swedish fiancee, Lisa Gallneby, will be in Vancouver to watch the All Whites.
The pair, who met when de Vries, 31, played in Sweden for IFK Varnamo, became engaged this year.
After the World Cup, they will marry in Sweden in July.
Pijnaker’s Spanish girlfriend, Laura Catalan, is also believed to be joining her boyfriend in Vancouver.
Pijnaker, 27, met Catalan when he was playing professionally in Europe, and when he signed with Auckland FC in 2024, she moved to New Zealand.
Society Insider is told that after the World Cup, Pijnaker and Catalan will holiday in Marbella.
After the Cup, Elliot, 27, will return to Scotland, the country he grew up in, with his Auckland-based Scottish partner Keany Morey, to enjoy a holiday.
Morey regularly appears at events featured in this column, including the ASB Tennis Classic this year.
Before he left for the US, Elliot said Morey had been there through the ups and downs of his career and that she is buzzing about his recent successes with Auckland FC and making the All Whites.
Young entrepreneurs change it up
From the outside, being a professional content creator seems like it’s all glamour and free gifts, but former The Apprentice Aotearoa star Kennedy Anderson says it’s more demanding than onlookers might think.
After a recent trip to Egypt with his fiance and business partner Oliver Tyack, Anderson says he ended his contract with his talent agency and is now focusing on only his own interests, not influencing for other brands.
“Outspoken/Odd Management has been great, but I am now working with them on a job-by-job basis for public speaking,” he tells Society Insider.
“I don’t do content creation for other brands now, just the ones I own.”
Anderson says when he and Tyack travel, it helps put their problems and decisions into perspective.
“Amongst Egypt’s mesmerising history, we felt free, allowing our brains to think and strategise.”
Anderson says attending the hundreds of events, dinners, product launches, and unboxing hundreds of brand gifts was a great ride, but not lucrative.
“The list of content was long, but next time I pose in Speedos it will be because I am doing it for me, and less for the need to keep the engagement at an all-time high.”
Instead, he and Tyack will focus on their creative marketing company Kontent & Co, which is also the parent company for their internal brands: multimillion-dollar teeth-enhancement business The Whitening Co (TWC), photographic business Kollection, the soon-to-be-relaunched FMCG eco-cleaning product range Nada, and the newly added Socials2Storefront.
“Socials2Storefront is our new education product that finally teaches all the lessons I wish I had when figuring out the online e-commerce world, saving students thousands from my mistakes.”
Waiuku-raised Anderson, 28, who has created content since he was 15, and Muriwai-raised Tyack, 30, met through a mutual friend 10 years ago, while Anderson was at the Auckland University of Technology.
“Oliver has been with me every step of the business journey, watching me grow and pour everything I had into the brands,” says Anderson.
Tyack proposed to Anderson while they were on holiday in Niue last year, while they walked the island’s most scenic track, Togo Chasm.
Anderson returned the proposal on their 10th anniversary in the backyard of their luxurious four-bedroom townhouse in Hobsonville, which they have owned for six years.
“Sera Cruikshank, our friend from The Diamond Shop, helped us design the rings, so once Ollie nailed it in Niue, it was my turn to surprise him at home,” says Anderson.
Tyack left his 13-year career in the ambulance service last spring to join Anderson in running their businesses.
He was the area operations manager for Hato Hone St John Auckland Central – responsible for 180 staff across Auckland’s busiest district.
“I thought the pressure I was under in the ambulance service would lift, but it just changed as I realised the businesses and team now rely on Kennedy and my decisions; there is no fallback, and I am still on 24/7, with things growing and moving fast,” says Tyack.
The couple’s hero business is The Whitening Co (TWC), a teeth-whitening brand with dental-related services, products and kits sold nationwide.
Two years ago, Anderson and Tyack purchased the full business back from their shareholders, Victor Green and Chris Read.
Anderson says that over the years, TWC has seen him and Tyack put everything they own on the line, including remortgaging their home twice to ensure they could get the next stock order and grow the business.
“We are working towards an exit from TWC for $5 million, in three to five years,” says Anderson.
“Then we can continue the journey of growing and scaling brands.
“My dream would be to be able to invest in our startup founder projects; sometimes, all they need is a little kickstart,” he says.
As well as deciding to change up their business while holidaying in Egypt, Anderson, famous for his content stunts, unveiled TWC’s Stone E-Brush.
“We filmed it with the pyramids, hoping the beauty mixed with novelty would stand out when people scrolled,” he says.
Anderson says past gimmicks have included TWC reveals in Antarctica and the Sossusvlei desert in Namibia; both, he says, were firsts.
Travel is how the couple enjoy their success. Their trips together have included multiple destinations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Antarctica, and South America.
But it’s New York that has won their hearts, and they plan to live there for a while before building their dream home in Auckland.
As for their wedding, Anderson says they have no plans yet.
“We are thinking of a small destination wedding; it won’t be Europe; we want to be a little different.”
Party people of the week
Front-row luxury at Flockhill
More than 130 guests gathered at luxury lodge Flockhill in Canterbury’s Craigieburn Valley last week in support of Breast Cancer Cure.
Hosted by BCC ambassador and broadcaster Petra Bagust, the exclusive event combined a front-row winter runway showcase featuring Trelise Cooper, Coop and Curate with a “walk and fork” dining experience through Flockhill’s renowned Sugarloaf Restaurant.
Guests were treated to a culinary collaboration between Sugarloaf executive chef Taylor Cullen and guest chef Sid Sahrawat of The French Cafe, alongside premium wine pairings from Pegasus Bay and Peregrine Wines, cocktails from Reefton Distilling and beer from Three Boys Brewery.
Raising $118,000 for breast cancer research, attendees enjoyed meet-and-greet moments with Dame Trelise Cooper while hearing from Breast Cancer Cure-funded researchers Professor Logan Walker and Dr Vanessa Lau, who shared insights into the latest advances in research across Aotearoa.
Breast Cancer Cure CEO Sonja de Mari hosted guests including Bagust’s daughter Venetia Wilson; Pegasus Bay’s Mike and Nicky Donaldson; Mainland Cladding managing director Lisa Facoory; Christchurch real estate queen Lynette McFadden; Cocoon Hair Design owner Felicity Bruce; fashion stylist Lou Heller; Aleph Beauty marketing manager Yelena Bebich; and Flo & Frankie owner Chrissy Conyngham.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012, he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.