HASELY Hepi, not so long ago, spent eight hours being inked in the tribal lines of his ancestors.

“Which on your face,” he concedes, “is f … ing uncomfortable”.

But still, nothing like the pain which inspired it.

“For a while there, I was lost,” continues this hulking Gold Coast heavyweight, gym owner and father to three daughters.

A bone fide knockout artist who, eight years after attempting to take his own life, will now look to steal the show on Tim Tszyu’s hyped WBO world title defence.

Dubbed ‘Haze The Huntsman’, and boasting 56,000 Tiktok followers, the 130kg Queenslander will be unmissable today given his body is covered in ink representing both his Maori ancestry and Norse Pagan religion.

Put simply, Hepi wants to make a statement on his first ever No Limit card.

Although not for all the usual reasons.

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No, speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, the Huntsman explained how he is fighting as part of the same battle that also once saw him disappear, barefoot, into the expansive Gold Coast hinterland wilderness.

After being kept from the ring by a run of serious injuries in 2016, Hepi initially made an attempt on his life before, shortly after, taking off to seek answers in the sprawling Springbrook National Park.

“At the time, I was off the path,” Hepi recalls of the episode eight years ago.

“Battling mental demons, battling suicidal thoughts.

“I’ve always liked to do barefoot hikes so I just went out into the forest, just trying to ground myself.

“And it changed me.”

It was there, Hepi explains now, that he also became a Norse Pagan, meaning he believes in the same Gods once worshipped by Vikings.

“Looking back now, I realise it wasn’t a physical death that I was seeking, but a spiritual one,” he continues.

“It was about the boy becoming a man.

“That’s what put me on the right path.”

In the years since, the heavyweight has taken to inking himself in tributes to the mental battle he faces.

One each side of his head are two Nordic bears – one demonic – representing the mental struggles. Then late last year, the fighter who was born in Christchurch, New Zealand also had the traditional Mataora added to his face.

“Honouring my ancestors and honouring myself,” he says. “It’s about me becoming the man I’m supposed to be.”

Elsewhere, and as importantly, Hepi has also opened his own Gold Coast gym — Hammer Boxing Academy – where inside is a giant mural to heavyweight boxing megastar Tyson Fury, whose own battles with mental health are well documented.

Despite opening during Covid, and when he was initially training friends at a local park, the gym has now built up to boast some 100 clients, including 20 young fighters.

This, Hepi (6-1-1) explains, is now his reason for fighting.

And why he wants to put on a show in his battle for a State title against Queensland heavyweight champ, Troy Pilcher (5-0-1).

“Because what I’ve been through, we all go through it,” the fighter explains of his personal battles.

“All men.

“So now I want to help those guys at my gym who are going through similar things.

“Being a second generation fighter, I initially had aspirations of being a world champion and things like that.

“But I’m a realist.

“There was a time where (because of injury) I couldn’t fight for years, ballooned out to 150kg. And I’m starting to get some more injuries from that now.

“So I know my path, it’s about helping others achieve.

“That’s why I’m now really immersing myself in the gym and the influence I can have on the young fighters who are training there.

“Just showing them what can happen with hard work and discipline.”

Elsewhere, Hepi also praises the support of his partner Tahlia, his three daughters, and the friend who threw up $50,000 to help him open that continually expanding gym.

And as for how the Huntsman now plans to win today?

“I’m a knockout artist, that’s what I do,” he said.

“So I’m prepared to go eight rounds but I don’t want to and don’t think we should.

“We’re heavyweights

“We should be able to get each other out of there.”