Beau MacKey-Kawiti was born in Gisborne, Aotearoa New Zealand, on October 9, 1983, as a twin. His father named him Beau, after Beauregard "Bo" Duke from the American television series Dukes of Hazzard.

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Beau’s identity is deeply shaped by his whakapapa, a blend of Māori and Scottish ancestries he has documented on and off for over 17 years. Through his paternal grandfather, Enoka, he is connected to the Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, and Ngāti Konohi tribes. His lineage traces back to the ancestors Paikea who traversed the sea on the back of a whale from Mangaia to Whangara, Porourangi from which Ngati Porou derive their name from, Konohi, to Rawiri Te Eke-tu-o-te-Rangi (a prominent Chief who signed the Treaty of Waitangi), and his son Rutene (Brother of Hirini Te Kani). Rutene’s daughter, Mere Whakaangi, married Rawiri Maki, a soldier for the Forest Rangers who fought against Te Kooti and lived with Te Kani-a-Takirau, the Paramount Chief of Te Tairawhiti. Rawiri was the son of James David MacKey, a Scottish whaler and British Royal Navy veteran who was shot in the cheek during the Greek War of Independence before immigrating to New Zealand. On his father’s Scottish side, the MacKey clan originates from the Royal House of Moray, with direct Male Bloodline descent to Scottish Kings Lulach and Malcolm III.

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Through his paternal grandmother, Olivia Rihimona, he is linked to the Ngāi Tai, Whakatohea, and Te Whanau a Apanui tribes, and descends from the chief Te Reti Whatiia of Ngāi Tupoto, Te Rarawa. His Great Grandfather's Kerehona MacKey and Wharetini Rihimona served in World War 1 for the Maori Pioneer Batallion.

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His maternal lineage, through his grandfather Reverend Charles Brown Shortland (a Māori Anglican minister and personal chaplain to Māori King Koroki), descends from Paramount Ngati Hine Chieftains Hoterene Pi Kawiti and Maihi Paraone Kawiti (grandson and son of the Paramount Chief of Ngati Hine Tribe; Kawiti, who led his people against the British during the Northern War) and through his maternal grandmother, he connects to the tribes Ngāti Hine, Te Uri Taniwha, and Ngāti Whakaue of Te Arawa.

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A severe burn sustained in a childhood accident to the back of his head from a fireplace is cited by him as a formative event that profoundly influenced his life. Beau’s father introduced him to Rugby League at age 5, which he played until he was 13, and his passion for basketball was ignited by collecting cards. At age 15, at a Tall Blacks Basketball camp, he was awarded Most Valuable Player after stealing the ball five times from Dillon Boucher, a man with a record number 13 championships in Australasian basketball history. In 1999 and 2000, he played for Whangarei Boys’ High School's 1st Basketball Team and also for the 1st 15 Rugby Team in 2000. That same year, he was named Co-High School Basketball Player of the Year with his twin brother. Following his secondary education, he studied a Diploma in Sports and Leisure in 2001.

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He went on to represent Northland for nearly two decades. In 2003, he made the National Premier Men’s Northland Basketball Team. In 2004, he was the only player selected from Northland and a starter for a National Basketball Tournament Team to Vanuatu. He was scouted by the New Zealand Basketball League team Taranaki Mountain Airs. He then trialled for the Auckland Stars with Coaches Kenny Stone and Mere Tait, impressing the coaches they started him at point guard in the trial game, despite a hard-earned effort, his professional contract slipped away due to mismanagement.

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Beau’s personal life saw a significant change in 2005 when he met the mother of his two sons, born in 2007 and 2008. After their separation, he secured shared care as a solo father and began a serious pursuit of spirituality and philosophy.

In 2010, Beau played for the Northland Suns basketball team. He also founded a Club Basketball team which he Captained and named Raumanga Royals, winning the Inaugural Northland Basketball Competition in 2011 which involved the Northland areas Whangarei, Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Kaikohe of Northland. After a falling out with his mate, Northland Sun’s CEO, he transitioned to club rugby league, playing two seasons for the Hora Hora Broncos, a period characterized by travel, social gatherings, and hanging out with gang members. He had an opportunity to trial for the Northland Swords Rugby League Team but declined. 

In 2015, Beau entered a relationship with the daughter of a German village mayor. Their time together involved travel across Europe where he saw the Dalai Lama in Frankfurt, performed a solo haka in Berlin's Mauer Park, sought the counsel of a Mongolian shaman in Switzerland for PTSD and experiencing life among the homeless during the night in Paris, an experience that would foreshadow his own struggles.

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Upon his return to New Zealand, Beau became homeless after leaving his flat due to a flat mate's drug use. He lived in a tent and his mother's car while battling depression for months; while working as a traffic controller and laborer, he eventually bought a van and adopted a nomadic lifestyle. He lived from his van, working out, showering and charging his gadgets at a gym as well as traveling regularly to his ancestors' homelands and the beach. Following separation from his ex-girlfriend, Beau worked at the Marsden Point Oil Refinery while experiencing severe depression, he then worked for a Scaffolding Company. 

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At the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, Beau gave up work and a trip to Cape Reinga, the top of the North Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand which resulted in his mate's vehicle becoming stuck on 90 Mile Beach, leading him to a profound tramp inland for three hours where he saw wild horses. This led to a transformative five months living alone in nature. During this time, he endured mental health challenges and a raw survival experience spending four consecutive nights exposed to winter weather, which he credits with healing from PTSD which led to a distressing incident in a cemetery where he attempted to dig up his father's body, inadvertently stumbling upon an unfamiliar, spiritual yet daunting phenomenon. Diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis, he was admitted to mental health facilities seven times and had numerous police interactions, including public nudity, injuries in custody, an alleged assault, and a romantic entanglement while institutionalized.

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Despite the turmoil, Beau’s commitment to personal growth has remained unwavering. Since 2012, he has immersed himself in philosophy, spirituality, and genealogy. Now a dedicated historian, he is working on writing several books and curating an exhibition.