A Hamilton man has made a little boy's day by paying him a visit while doning an impressive Mario Kart themed costume before spending the day at the Hamilton Sevens.
Maioro Barton got professional help to build his Mario costume, which includes a custom built kit to make his wheelchair look like the iconic Mario Kart.
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"I put a message... on Facebook called the Cambridge Grapevine asking if anyone could help me transform my wheelchair into a cart for an event," he told Newshub.
"Dave [Lind] said that he could help me out and so we spent about four, five hours together coming up with a prototype and then the next day he made it all nice and stuff.
"The next day I took it to Sign Boss Cambridge and they put the decorations on for me."
Mr Barton didn't shave for nearly a month so he had a bushy moustache for his two day stint at the Hamilton Sevens, but made one stop off on the way the tournament.
He visited a five-year-old boy who loves Mario so the child could get a look at the impressive outfit.
"I got a message on my Facebook page from this lady who said that her son was a big Mario fan and [asking] if I could spend some time and come in and meet him," he said.
"So I thought I would make his day this morning before coming to the sevens and he was rapt."
Raymond Phillips' mother Taila Hikitere Tarei told Newshub her son was extremely happy to have met Mr Barton.
"Had the most happiest boy this morning. It was so overwhelming he was star struck was a dream come true for our boy to meet Mario and see his Mario Kart as he a big fan," she said.
Mr Barton said it felt good to give something back to the community after it helped him to get his costume together.
"The Cambridge community has given back to me and I was giving back to somebody else. Just paying it forward I guess."
But the costume isn't all for show, speaking to Newshub outside Hamilton Sevens he revealed it contains a phone holder, bottle holder and speaker.
Mr Barton said he's able to play the Mario Kart theme and 'Ridin' by Chamillionaire on the speaker.
Newshub.
