Renold Vatubua Quinlan is a “proud Dunghutti man” with Fijian heritage. He grew up on the mid-north coast of New South Wales around Port Macquarie and Kempsey. Known as the Dunghutti Destroyer, Quinlan is a professional boxer who held the IBO super-middle weight title from 2016 to 2017. “My biggest experience in my life was winning the world title,” he said.
But although Quinlan made it to the top of his sport, he did not find it satisfying. “Winning the world title, having everything and then losing everything at the same time—feeling like I was at rock bottom. I thought I had found happiness and peace. But I hadn’t.”
“The peace and happiness that I found was by turning to God. And now I’m at this place.”
The place Quinlan is referring to is Mamarapha College, a haven of education and faith on the outer suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, that trains and equips Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from all over Australia.
However, Quinlan had quite a journey before ending up at Mamarapha. From being on top of the world in his boxing career, Quinlan found himself with a failed marriage and spending time in jail.
Rock bottom
Quinlan’s family had tried to give him the best start. His family were Seventh-day Adventists on both sides, and he grew up with his grandparents. His dad spent a lot of time in jail, while Quinlan’s mum walked her own path. “I never had my dad or mum. My dad is in jail. My mum had her own life. I knew that she loved me so much, but I can’t make that as my excuse. I had two good [grand] parents that brought me up in church knowing the word of God, not around drugs and alcohol.”
He would attend church with his grandmother but as he grew older, he “started drifting away from God and finding myself in trouble”.
That trouble included armed robbery. And more recently, his marriage ended in a messy divorce.
It was being in jail for a second time that caused Quinlan to rethink his life and take ownership of where he had ended up.
“I think going to jail this time around, especially going through a divorce and stuff—to see something that you’re charged with and seeing others in there for the same thing, you think a lot about it.
“I think it drew me closer to God, [helped me] to realise that, as a man, you’ve got to take ownership. There’s a lot of things—especially from an Aboriginal-Pacific Islander background—a lot of guys, we don’t like to communicate, we don’t like to take ownership.
“Something I learned by sitting in that cell and praying and reading—God made me realise, [you need to] take actions for what you’ve done wrong and own it, which I have done.”
Developing this new attitude and taking accountability for his past helped him find hope for his future.
“I’m 35 years old. I didn’t know where I want to be in five years’ time. My dad always used to say, ‘Where do you want to be in five years son? I don’t want you being where I am all my life.’ Dad’s never touched drugs or alcohol, but he chose to do other things like robbery—and not to be there with me.
“My dad always gave me, gave me, gave me, gave me, but I would prefer my dad to be out [of jail] to raise me than for him to give me money.
“That’s the way he thought that he could show me his love—by always giving me everything. Even to this day, I’ve said to him, ‘Dad, you know, I’d give anything for you to raise me as a child, to have a mum and dad with me [rather than] to have things that you gave me.”
One thing that helped Quinlan to start to rebuild is the faith he learned from his grandparents.
“I learned about God from a young age. It’s not until now that I’ve actually reached back out to God and asked Him, ‘God help me. I’m going in a path where only You can see what’s ahead of me’. And that’s my prayer every day, like, ‘God, what is before me? If there’s distractions or things ahead, please steer me away from it, but help me in all areas of my life. Where I’m weak, strengthen me in the place where I’m weak’.”
After being a world champion boxer, Quinlan is learning that there are some opponents he cannot conquer on his own. He knows he will face opposition, from others and from himself on this new journey.
“Even though the enemy, the devil, is going to try all he can to stop me, but I’m not going to stop. I’m going to continue to keep my eyes fixed on heavenly Father.”
In Christian theology, the devil, or “Adversary”, is the great enemy of God whom the Bible describes as coming to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Combatting the lies of the devil may be the biggest fight of Quinlan’s life.
“The devil’s always going to try to bring up your past. When you ask God for forgiveness for what you’ve done, wholeheartedly, He will forgive you. But the devil’s always going to try bring it up, remind you of how low you got.”
Quinlan has four children. He sees them in Sydney whenever he can and although he doesn’t see them often, he is encouraged that they are being raised to know God.
“It’s a blessing that they’re being brought up Seventh-day Adventist. They know God at the end of the day. I can’t save them, but every time they’re with me, I’m always teaching them about God. But at the same time, I’ve got to make myself right.”
Journey to Mamarapha
“I actually stepped out in faith coming over here to Mamarapha College, because the devil was trying to stop me—in all areas of my life to take me back down my old path—but coming here was so much [of a] blessing.”
Quinlan shares how he’s learned so much in the classroom, experienced spiritual growth and learning things he had never known.
“It’s actually been the best thing,” he said. “If you know the Lord, you can be a big comfort to those that need it. The life experience you may have faced, you might see someone else go through. You can share with others, like people in your own community, maybe even in the church.”
Quinlan is not sure if he’ll finish boxing soon or what he’ll do after he retires from the sport. At the time of this interview, Quinlan was completing a unit at Mamarapha but had a fight coming up in Melbourne in June.
“A lot of family was telling me, maybe I have to hang up the gloves. Or maybe put on the gloves for God, fight for God. With my boxing career, being at the top of the sport and having everything, you may think there was happiness, but there wasn’t.”
But boxing is all he’s ever known.
“All I’ve done was boxing in my life. Boxing meant I always had money, I hardly had to work. But looking back, they say ‘dishonest money goes quick’ which is something I’ve learned. When you work honestly, you’re more grateful. A lot of family members probably say I was spoiled. I always had everything because of boxing so I just took it all for granted—never appreciated it. My talent got me so far.
“After this fight, I’ll probably give it up. We’ll see what happens.”
Now he wants to help people.
“I’m a very shy person. I stepped out in faith this time around and whatever [God] would have me do, I’m hoping to do this time.
“Whether it’s doing ministry or helping to get the word [of God] out there or helping others. There’s a lot of men who are in these places I’ve been—maybe I could be a help to them. Whatever it is that the Lord has me do or whatever Mamarapha wants me to do—anything I can do, I’ll do.”
Interview courtesy of Mamarapha College and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministries department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia. A version of this article first appeared on the Signs of the Times Australia/New Zealand website and is republished with permission.