Why Traitors NZ’s Aaron Fleming didn’t let a collapsed lung stop him from being an Ironman

Friday, 5 June 2026

When he’s not working as a regional director for the Department of Conservation, Aaron Fleming is usually training for an Ironman. The Queenstown-based 42-year-old has completed 22 endurance races, represented New Zealand in France last year, was awarded the NZ Order of Merit for his service to sport, and is preparing to compete again in Hawaii later this year.

Now, he can add another achievement to the list: contestant on the new season of The Traitors NZ. Ahead of the show’s launch, Laura Hampson caught up with Fleming just after he returned home from competing in the London Marathon to talk strategy, resilience and the life-changing surgery he underwent as a teenager.

Were you a fan of The Traitors before joining the cast?

I think it's one of the most exciting formats in television at the moment. So the opportunity to be involved was incredibly enticing. [I decided to] give it a crack, put my name in the hat.

What was the audition process like?

The process involves an audition video where you talk about yourself and why you think you'd be excellent on the show and why you think New Zealand will fall in love with you in terms of the character you could play in the game.

Then there are a few tests to ensure you're going to be able to handle the pressure, because it is not an easy game to play. So they make sure you can handle the pressure and enjoy the experience.

Were the round tables as stressful as they look?

I can remember sitting around the first round table and my heart just feeling like it's in my mouth. It’s a very nerve-wracking environment. It's definitely not normal, it's not everyday life.

And your day job is working for DOC?

I'm a regional director with the Department of Conservation so I'm in a very privileged role. I call it a privilege because I get to look after what I would say is probably the best part of New Zealand. So all the conservation land in the deep south of New Zealand, including the sub-Antarctic Islands, which is amazing.

I studied environmental science and public policy. So politics and nature have always been of interest to me. So this is, in many ways, the perfect habitat for me to be in this kind of role.

How do you balance your job with training for Ironman competitions?

Managing about 10% of the country is no small task. I don't do it on my own, it’s a huge team of people who I lead which are world-class in their own field. I’m in awe all the time of the innovation, the talent of our people, and what they do.

Sports, I suppose, is what I do in my not-so spare time. Fitness and health became really important to me when I was younger because I lost my health. In my view, any job which means you can't keep your health and fitness is not a job that's worth doing. And so I've always carried those values through everything that I've done. You know, if I can't stay healthy, if I can't stay fit, then it's not the right thing for me.

You lost your health?

I pulled a bad card when I was in my teens and ended up in hospital with my right lung essentially not functioning, so my right lung wouldn't stay up, wouldn't stay inflated. It collapsed four times within six months. The medical world couldn't solve it without some pretty horrendous and major surgery.

For me as a 16-year-old [that was] pretty horrific. I spent a lot of time away from my family, spent a lot of time off school which is important at that age, away from my friends. I got socially disconnected. I lost a lot of weight. I kind of got myself into a little bit of a mental health spiral. If you have surgery on your leg you can rest it. If you have surgery on your lung you can't stop breathing and every breath I remember just being in agony for ages.

I had a surgeon who told me that I'd never be able to physically exert myself ever again and when you tell that to someone who’s pretty determined and I suppose stubborn like me, that is just actually motivation. It took me years to recover, and it robbed me of some of my youth.

And then you decided to train for Ironman competitions?

I was inspired by a lady who was doing Ironman for charity, for her two kids who have cystic fibrosis, which is primarily a lung disease and genetic disease. I decided to give it a crack myself. I started from absolute scratch. I had no muscle. My first run was four lamp posts. My first swim was half the length of a pool. In October I'll have the silver fern on my chest with the New Zealand flag flying behind me and I'll be on the world stage.

I have a limit … I will never pretend to be a podium athlete. I could even call myself a proud back-of-the-pack athlete.

As long as I am sensible and can get through the 3.8km swim, the 180km bike ride and the 42.2km run in good health, I’ve got a good chance of finishing. I've done 22 races now. I've never not finished. I've always finished.

This mindset must have been such an asset to you in the game.

I know what a tough day is. I've been through the surgeries I've been through those years of recovery. It makes me not sweat the small stuff in everyday life. So I've become incredibly resilient and know what to worry about and know what not to worry about. I suppose that was one of the things I knew I could take into this game, knowing that I had pretty strong resilience.

The Traitors NZ airs on Three and ThreeNow on Sundays and Mondays at 7.30pm.