An explosive and exciting winger, Gear has a career dotted with highlights.

His career includes one of the most coveted trophies of all - a Commonwealth Games gold medal when he was part of the New Zealand Sevens side - while he also has World Cup sevens medals.

Born in Gisborne, he has played for the national Under-21, Sevens and for the New Zealand Maori. He has also played for a number of provincial sides including North Harbour, Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Poverty Bay.

In 2004, Gear signed with the Nelson Bays Rugby Union, and capped off an exciting year by being named in the All Blacks squad for the European tour.

He first played for Auckland in 1998 after coming north from Gisborne where by the age of 19 he had played third division rugby for Poverty Bay. His stint in the Auckland side was curtailed by a serious knee injury.

He was born and educated in Gisborne and for two years studied anthropology at Massey University with an emphasis on Maoridom and Maori language.

He is a member of the Te Aitanga, a Makaki sub-tribe of the Ngati Porou and the family marae is at Mangatu.