Greive was born in Auckland in 1979, then spent the first 10 years of his life in
South London. His English mother worked as a social worker, and his New Zealand-born father initially had trouble getting work, until he got a job at the
Top Deck bus tour company. After a Top Deck owner founded the
Flight Centre travel agency, Greive's family returned to New Zealand in 1990, where his father was managing director of Flight Centre in New Zealand. His parents later became major shareholders in the
Barkers fashion label. Greive attended
Auckland Grammar and the
University of Auckland, where he studied history. Greive left university at 21 before graduating to take up a job as a
postie, as he was about to become a father. He went on to finish his history degree part-time. While delivering mail he found work as a reviewer for the Auckland music magazine
Real Groove. When editor John Russell resigned in 2004, Greive was turned down as his replacement, as he did not have a journalism qualification. So he enrolled in the
Auckland University of Technology postgraduate journalism course. Three months after graduating he became the
Real Groove editor.
The Guardian,
Pantograph Punch,
The Listener,
Faster Louder and
Sky Sport Magazine, the
New Zealand Herald,
Stuff,
Newshub and
Radio New Zealand. In 2015 he co-wrote
Dan Carter: My Story with former
All Black Dan Carter. The autobiography, published by Auckland publisher Upstart Press, was the biggest-selling book in New Zealand in 2015 and won Best Autobiography in the 2016
Sportel Awards. ==
The Spinoff ==