Built
For This
A Memoir of Masculinity, Military Service, and Pride
- Published
- 2 June 2026
- Format
- Trade paperback · 304pp
- ISBN
- 978 1 991142 66 5
- Publisher
- Allen & Unwin NZ
Finalist SkyCity ED&I Leadership Award — Robert Walters New Zealand Leadership Awards 2026
For the ones who served in silence.
For the ones who stayed.
For the ones who left.
For the ones who never made it home.
The book
Almost twenty years in the New Zealand Navy — from small-town New Zealand to serving in Afghanistan.
Brad's own journey towards being comfortable with his sexuality mirrors that of the Navy itself: from a time of 'don't ask, don't tell' through to being named the most inclusive defence force in the world.
Raised among strong women, butcher's benches and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed — it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty and belonging. The rules are clear. The uniform fits.
From ship's galleys to combat zones, investigation rooms to leadership tables, Built For This charts a life shaped by discipline, loyalty and unspoken rules — and what happens when you stop accepting them.
If you've ever felt like you didn't belong — like you weren't built for this — maybe this will remind you that you actually are.Author's note
Honest, sharp and often funny, this is a memoir about masculinity — how it's built, inherited and performed — and what it takes to rebuild it on your own terms.
Pull up a stool. Let's get into it.
Buy the book
Out now in bookshops across Aotearoa, and in ebook.
Brad Poulter
Brad Poulter is a New Zealand writer, veteran and culture leader. He served nearly 20 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy before moving into professional conduct and culture work within the New Zealand Defence Force.
His career has included roles as a Military Police Investigator, Flight Deck Officer and Maritime Operational Evaluator, as well as time as a Senior Instructor in NZDF Leadership Development. He currently works as Programme Lead for Operation Respect, leading the NZDF's approach to the prevention of harmful sexual behaviour.
He is a 2026 finalist for the SkyCity ED&I Leadership Award at the Robert Walters New Zealand Leadership Awards.
You can spend your whole life sanding down your edges to keep other people comfortable. This is me, edges and all.
Speaking
Brad speaks to organisations, defence and emergency services, and Pride and wellbeing events on masculinity, belonging, leadership and inclusion — drawn from a career of doing the mahi while hiding who he was, and what changed when he stopped.
Get in touch
For speaking, media and event enquiries.
Elsewhere
Publisher & rights
Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand
Level 2, 10 College Hill, Freemans Bay, Auckland 1011
+64 (9) 377 3800 · auckland@allenandunwin.com