Masina Taule’alo

> *“I regret/own nothing”*
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> - Message at the end of credits in videos to avoid copyright notices.
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**Parents**

* Frances Taule’alo (mother)
* Setu Taule’alo (father)

**Grandparents**

* Dr. Vanya Taule’alo (Setu’s mother)
* Ieti Taule’alo (Setu’s father)
* Patricia Maxfield (Frances’ mother)

**Masina Alae Taule’alo** (/m(ɑ)siːnə ɑlʌɪ tʌ(u)liɑlɒ/) (born April 9, 2002) is a Samoan Australian film director, editor, sound recordist, animator, illustrator, photographer, and Autism Advocate. He is well known for his visual portrayal of the Autism Spectrum in his films and his YouTube channel MasinaT. He is slowly becoming an advocate for Autism Acceptance and Neurodiversity. He is the grandson of renowned Pasifika artist Dr. Vanya Taule’alo and the great-grandson of New Zealand artist George Johnson.

## Physical appearance

Masina is a tall male with brown/black hair & blue eyes. He wears a grey jacket, black pants & a black vest. He stands 188 centimeters tall.

He is of Scottish, Irish, German, and English descent.

## Likes & dislikes

### Likes

* Weet bix.
* Trains (even when riding them).
* Bikes (even when riding them).
* Making videos.
* Chocolate (especially dark).
* Potatoes.
* Writing stories.
* Building websites.
* Riding his bike downhill.
* Creativity.
* Adventures.
* Being funny.
* Equality.
* Neurodiversity.

### Dislikes

* Riding his bike uphill.
* Losing things.
* Missing the train.
* When his (video) creating goes wrong.
* Computer viruses.
* Trains delayed.
* Replacement buses/coaches replacing trains (when he has his bike because buses can't have bikes aboard).
* Lags (in technology).
* Bad teachers.
* Losing track of time.
* Bad internet.
* Racism.
* Persecution/discrimination of autistic individuals.
* Salt in foods (as he believes it would increase the risk of a heart attack)
* His language taken the wrong way.

## Biography

### Early life (2002)

Masina was born in the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia & was raised in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Later on, his mother Frances Taule’alo had three other children Litara Taule’alo, Vanya Taule’alo & Tiva Taule’alo, along with her husband Setu Taule’alo, who is also believed to be on the autism spectrum.

In his late childhood years, he got a PlayStation 3 and an iPod for Christmas and used it to watch videos. He has developed an obsession with gaming and watching videos as he finds them enjoyable and stress relieving. He also developed creativity skills when he played with Lego, by building some simple trains without the use of instructions.

As he reached 13 years old, he was interested in how people make their videos and started to make his own. He made a video about him and his dad walking to the shops through a forest and about him going to Luna Park. He has since then gotten into advanced editing software and has developed an expert focus for making videos. He can focus for a really long time and never stops. He has also used a program called Lego Digital Designer where he builds models of train stations, trains, and trams out of memory.

### 2016

Masina goes on a school camp on a heavy rainy day with his school friends to Valley Homestead in northeast Victoria but never does any activities. At night, he is woken up & informed the place is going to flood & leaves. He still used his camera, but he posted another video explaining what had happened.

2 months later, he goes to Valley Homestead again, and they do activities this time. On the third day, they start a camping activity which involves surviving out in the mountainous forest. On the last day, he & his friends leave for Melbourne.

He has documented what has happened at the camp & edits his footage for his project: MasinaT goes to Valley Homestead.

### 2017

Masina & his family moved out of their home to live in Samoa for 2 years with Setu’s parents. They go to Melbourne Airport to take a plane to Faleolo Airport in Samoa, the main airport in Samoa. They get picked up by Setu’s parents to take them to their house. He has filmed the plane trip and is making his other upcoming project MasinaT moves to Samoa, which gets delayed due to other videos he makes.

### 2018/2019

For a year 11 film project, Masina debuts his first short film as a music video called *Paua on the Beach*, which screened at multiple film festivals in 2021.

Masina & his family move back to Melbourne and live in separate houses until they get a house themselves. He documents their adventure through a video camera and writes a script narrating their experience, creating his new project Masina moves back to Melbourne.

### 2020/present

Masina is now studying at Swinburne University of Technology and doing several film courses. He has made a documentary called *Eight Steps* reflecting on his experience in the Australian education system. It won multiple awards in 2021. He also worked as an editor on short film *Hide and Scream* and a sound recordist in *Foxes in Love*.

## Personal life

He spends most of his time alone & he doesn't talk to people much often. He is very smart, especially when he edits videos. He has sensitive hearing and is easily distracted by loud and high-pitched noises, which can make him feel stressed, and finds some social situations overwhelming.

In 2007, he was diagnosed with Autism by an autism specialist Dr. Richard Eisenmajer in the ASD clinic. He attended two different primary schools in Melbourne and then attended Fitzroy High School in 2014 at full time and most of the teachers got to know about his condition. In primary school, one of the staff had mistreated him and his mother knew that they were not good with autistic students.

He has developed an interest in trains after watching *Thomas the Tank Engine*. He and his mother started riding the trains and he liked how they run smoothly along the track and the noises they make, leading to his obsession. He makes films to give people an insight into his condition and to also spread the word about Autism Acceptance. He also engages in bicycle riding, where most of his bicycle trips involve riding trains to places where he can ride. It made him feel like he achieved something, and fit, free, relaxed & wonderful. He is already producing a video series on his bike trips.

## Trivia

* His video-making community is named after his first name & the initial of his last name.
* His first name means “Moon” or “Month”.
* His last name means “Branch of Alo”.
* He is known for his crazy smile & his family doesn’t like it, because it looks like a psychopath or an evil guy.
* He is proud of his Samoan heritage as he believes it is where his autism comes from.
	+ Although his father is on the autism spectrum, Dr Vanya Taule’alo (his mother) doesn’t believe she is autistic.
	+ This made him think that Ieti (Vanya’s Samoan husband) is somewhere on the autism spectrum.

## Gallery (2016/2019)

Masina’s face portraitMasina’s scary face portraitMasina’s face portrait 2016Masina’s face portrait 2017Masina Taule’alo in the thumbnail of MasinaT goes to Valley Homestead part 1 - Ridin' the coach!Masina Taule’alo in the thumbnail of MasinaT goes to Valley Homestead part 2 - Trying some activities!Masina Taule’alo at Vavau beach, Samoa
## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantean\_language