He was educated at Hamilton Boys" High School and Minidoka County High School in Idaho, United States. He then studied at the University of Waikato from 1981 to 1982 and the University of Auckland between 1982 and 1987 and in 1989, graduating from the latter with a Bachelor of Human Biology in 1985, Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery in 1987 and a Diploma in Obstetrics in 1989.
Born in Hamilton in 1963, Reti is of Māori descent, and has tribal affiliations to Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Kura. He was also awarded a Diploma in Dermatological Science by the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1991. He served in the Territorial Force from 1983 to 1987.
Reti played representative badminton for Waikato between 1978 and 1982.
He was a general practitioner for 17 years. In 2007, he was awarded a Harkness Fellowship and moved to Massachusetts to work at Harvard University.
Reti remained in Boston for six years and resisted offers by Beth Israel Deaconess HospitalPlymouth and Harvard Medical School to extend his stay. At the 2014 election, he had a large margin over Labour"s Kelly Ellis.
Foreign seven years, he was a member of the Northland District Health Board.
