Life + Style 10 June 2016

21 August, 2015 life+style The Weekend Sun 1

Featuring Property | Food & nutrition | Fashion | LeisureTHE WEEKEND

Business behind the suits,See page 2

2 life+style The Weekend Sun 21 August, 2015

Add value to your homeSelect the right agent

Phone 07 571 4102

Deal with the business owners at Ray White Tauranga today -Ian & Rachel Grindle and Rodney Fong

Reid Realty Ltd Licensed (REAA 2008)

It’s not all about the properties we sell, it’s about the relationships we build

Phone 07 571 4106

Deal with the business owners at Ray White Plenty today -Frank & Nicolette Aldridge and Adrian Sage

Trending Realty Ltd Licensed (REAA 2008)

21 August, 2015 10 June, 2016 21 August, 2015

They employ more than 13,000 staff, more than 1900 property

management professionals, manage about 230,000 rental

properties and help about 220,000 homeowners and

purchasers successfully buy and sell property every year.

Those are the national fi gures Ray White is proudly boasting.

But nestled in the heart of Tauranga CBD, seven agents of two local branches show Life+Style the other side of the suits. Ian and Rachel Grindle, Nico-lette and Frank Aldridge, Adrian Sage, Rodney Fong and Sue Peard from Ray White Tauranga and Ray White Plenty are putting the ‘real’ in real estate.

Licensee of both businesses, Ian sits in this interview as though he’s at the beach – arms back, legs up, dressed in smart casual attire. This is his personal side.

“I’m a big kid really,” says Ian. “I’ve never thought of myself as old really.”

The 57-year-old is a motorsport fan, likes a good time and the odd glass of chardonnay. Ian lives in Tauranga CBD with wife Rachel and their two maltese bijons “babies” Penny and Cherry. Their daughters, aged 18 and 19, go to Auck-land University.

“We’re empty-nesters, hence the photos with the dogs,” jokes Ian. Penny and Cherry are sitting in on the interview too. Ian and Rachel enjoy walking their fl uffy companions most mornings and evenings, dining out for dinner, going to the movies and socialising.

“We just like having fun because real estate is so full on,” says Ian.

“You’ve got to be available all day, all night and all weekend, so it’s good to look at the lighter side of life.”

Rachel and Ian have been in real estate for more than 45 years between them and started Ray White Tauranga in 2009. Rodney Fong came on as a full business partner in 2011, before a partnership with Nicolette and Frank Aldridge and Adrian Sage in 2015.

Ian says he’d be lying if he said the

agents ‘sell’ the Bay lifestyle. They don’t need to, the lifestyle sells itself. “People who want to buy here already know they want to be here.

“They come here because of the coastal lifestyle and the weather, and it’s a lot more relaxed.”

Nicolette and Frank Aldridge have been living in Tauranga for 10 years with their children Richard and Megan.

“Most of our time is spent juggling kids, running the new business and participating – when time permits – in sports and voluntary organisations.

“We love living in Tauranga and love what we do. The mix of living in Tauranga, selling real estate and having a family works well for us and we’re excited about the future ahead,” says Nicolette. Meanwhile, Rodney – Ray White Tauranga real estate agent and auctioneer for both companies – has been in real estate for more than 10 years, with almost half that time as co-owner of the business with Ian.

Wife Danielle is his biggest advo-cate. “He’s got people skills and is approachable.” He’s also a great dad to 20-month-old son Thomas.

“You have to make time for family,” says Rodney. “I try not to talk about work when I get home, or when the phone’s not ringing.”

Home time is family time, work stays at work. “We’re passionate about what we do,” says Rodney. “It’s very differ-ent to a 9am-5pm job. “It’s satisfying running your own business. It’s pretty stressful at times, but when you do sell houses it’s really rewarding.

“What do you on the weekends? Work. What do you in the weekdays? Work.” He’s joking, he loves his job.

He’s selling a “really cool” property on Fifth Ave. “It’s one of the original mayor’s houses, a guy called J.C. Adams. It’s an 1882 heritage building, number 11 Fifth Ave. “Getting to sell things like that and being part of Tauranga’s history is really cool.”

Sue Peard, who has more than 25 years real estate experience in the Tauranga market assists Rodney as his sales associ-

Putting the ‘real’ in real estateThe other side of the suits

ate and is a valuable member of the team. Sue lives in Matua, loves her job, enjoys travelling and spending time with her family and new granddaughter Lilah.

Ray White Plenty’s Adrian Sage has also been in real estate for more than 10 years. He met wife Lisa in real estate. “He’s a bloody good agent,” says Lisa.

And he’s got a good reputation. “It’s about being honest with people rather than trying to get a deal for the sake of a deal,” says Adrian.

“If you’re not straight with people, it doesn’t work in real estate. It doesn’t take long to get a bad name.

“A lot of the people you sell for end up being friends, not just customers.

“I can go back 10 years with some people who I’ve helped sell for. It makes you feel like you’ve done the job properly.” Zoe Hunter

The Grindles.

The Fongs.

The Sages.

The Aldridges.

21 August, 2015 life+style The Weekend Sun 3

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10 June, 2016

Sam Watherston’s enthusiasm and energy is infectious.

He bounces around his small shed, music blasting, cutting bananas, measuring seeds, mixing smoothies and sealing bags, all while posing for photos and answering questions about his business for Life+Style.

Sam describes his smoothie business, Just Blend, as a cottage enterprise – and at the moment that’s exactly what it is. The father-of-two couldn’t be prouder of his backyard business in Mount Maunganui. It’s just the beginning for Just Blend.

The business offers a simpler lifestyle – frozen smoothies delivered to your door.

The idea for the frozen smoothies came from his children.

He was rushing to make a smoothie for eight-year-old Eva and six-year-old Mila when he thought there had to be an easier way.

“I thought there has to be something out there that I can just take from the freezer and blend up straight away, so that’s where the idea was born,” says Sam.

“The idea of freezing it was to keep all the nutrients inside, so they’re basically whole-foods.” Just add water, milk or a liquid of your choice and chuck the ingredients in a blender. Simple.

A chef by trade, Sam has always been con-cerned with what goes into our bodies, and says Just Blend uses only natural ingredients, which are locally sourced where possible.

And he’s incredibly passionate about sharing his desire for wholefoods with the nation.

“This is goodness, sweetness. This is the

future, come on New Zealand!”Just Blend smoothies aren’t just healthy for

you, they look great too!“It’s balanced nutrition. With every blend

we incorporate all food groups, so the carbohydrates, protein, fi bre, everything,” says Sam. “And some of the colours are just electrifying.”

Currently offering fi ve different smoothies but planning on expanding to 10, Sam uses a variety of seasonal ingredients in the blends and a few unusual ingredients thrown in for good measure.

“I take my lead from a nutritionist, she tells me what is good for what.

“I create the blends based on her expertise,” says Sam.

One smoothie contains turmeric, another chilli seeds, a third advertises a splash of apple cider vinegar.

But Sam has carefully crafted each smoothie so the fl avours meld together and no one ingredient is overpowering. And the blends aren’t just for adults.

Sam has changed his number one smoothie – a breakfast smoothie that contains coffee beans – to suit children.

He’s currently selling his smoothies at Mount Maunganui’s Blake Park during the week after sports games as a healthier alternative to hot chips and fi zzy drinks.

“This is the easiest way to get nutrition into a child sometimes!” Sam laughs.

Ordering is easy, says Sam. The website has information on each blend and subscriptions can easily be tailored to suit your preferences.

But being a new business, there’s always

room for improvement. Sam is currently in the process of repackaging his smoothies to something that is both eco-friendly as well as easy and convenient for customers.

He’s also trying to organise a better delivery system.

Sam currently hand delivers each order, which limits his reach to the Tauranga area.

But he aims on spreading Just Blend so it can reach the nation.

“We hope to be nationwide and are striv-ing to develop a system where this can be achieved,” says Sam.

“This is a fi ght. A revolution against fast food, crappy convenience foods that have no nutrition benefi ts.”

Nutrition in every blendJust blending into the future

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Bethlehem TreasuresStars led the three wise men to Bethlehem, but

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Come in and see the beautiful range of homewares, gifts and décor available at Options Living, Bethlehem Town Centre.

For, superfoods and supplements visit Bethlehem Health & Tea Shop opposite Bethlehem Town Centre on State Highway 2, Bethlehem.

Come in and see the

Bethlehem Town Centre.

For, superfoods and supplements visit Bethlehem Health & Tea Shop For, superfoods and supplements visit Bethlehem Health & Tea Shop opposite Bethlehem Town Centre on State Highway 2, Bethlehem.opposite Bethlehem Town Centre on State Highway 2, Bethlehem.

For, superfoods and supplements visit Bethlehem Health & Tea Shop opposite Bethlehem Town Centre on State Highway 2, Bethlehem.opposite Bethlehem Town Centre on State Highway 2, Bethlehem.

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Our stylish range of shoes, bags and accessories will keep you warm and looking great this winter! Footloose Bethlehem, in the Bethlehem Town Centre.

Find a unique, handcrafted gift, or that perfect piece for your home

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The Weekend Sun 5 life+style The Weekend Sun 5 21 August, 201510 June, 2016 21 August, 201510 June, 2016 21 August, 2015 21 August, 2015 life+style 10 June, 2016 21 August, 201510 June, 2016 21 August, 2015

See the full range of stunning Jane Daniel designer fashions and exquisite Kagi jewellery at After Hours Eventwear in

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Steve Trott is a real Kiwi bloke. There’s Tui posters of scantily-clad women on his garage walls and an aeroplane made from beer cans

hanging from the ceiling.

But this man plays with toys, expensive toys. Ten prize model powerboats sit neatly on shelves inside the 51-year-old’s garage. We’re in his workshop, where he spends hours, sometimes hundreds of hours, building and tinkering with his toys.

“You’d start with a 10cc nitro-powered deep vee; they’re probably only really capable of about 60km/hr on a really good day. They’re primarily designed for rough water offshore-type application.

“Then it escalates to the other end of the scale which is a twin 90 outrigger hydroplane, which is well capable of 140km/hr. Then you’ve got every-thing else in between.” Some of the boats are replica of the real thing.

“They’re built to an exact one eighth of the full size boat,” says Steve.

“You contact the owners of the boat and ask for some drawings, you get a full plan set and then you shrink it to the right size and then you just start cut-ting things out.

“Generally, the true-scale boats are hand-built because they’re off a plan and they’re very unique.

“There’s not another one in the world like it, unless there is another guy somewhere who happens to have built off the same plan.

“I’ve moulded mine because I thought if I’m going to spend that much time on it and make that investment, my mould is my insurance policy. If I wreck the boat in a crash I want to be able to build

the same one again.” Steve invests between 100-200 hours building each boat. A lot of time devoted and a lot of money invested.

“We bought one for my son second-hand for $150 and this one is about $7000,” says Steve, showing Life+Style his prize possession – a twin 90 outrigger hydroplane.

“Not many people would go that far, but I do because I’ve been to two world championships and I was within an inch of taking it out last time; and I thought: ‘Next time I’m going to go back with the absolute weapon’.”

The world championships are occasionally hosted in Australia about every 10-12 years.

“The fi rst time I went was 1993, then 2008, so we’re hopefully coming up to the next one.”

Then there’s Steve’s other toys – his motocross bikes. It was an accident that caused the 51-year-old Tauranga man to jump from one ‘toy’ to the other. Steve was 18 years old at the time, and it happened in Taranaki.

“I’ve been riding those things [motocross bikes] since I was about 10 and at 18 I had a bit of a prang and was pretty knocked around,” says Steve.

“When I was racing one day in Taranaki I didn’t take a jump the right way and ended up going com-pletely upside down. The bike came down on top of me and smashed my shoulder to bits and hurt my back and all sorts of other things.” He couldn’t walk for a while after a “really bad back injury”.

Twelve months later Steve was back on his feet – but not on the bike – and he was walking through Pukekura Park in New Plymouth when he heard the noise and smelled the smells the motocross rider was so familiar with.

Big boy’s toysOne man’s passion for model powerboats

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21 August, 2015 life+style The Weekend Sun 7 10 June, 2016 21 August, 201510 June, 2016 21 August, 2015

“I came across some guys who were racing power-boats and I thought: ‘Well they’re making the right noise and they go reasonably fast’ and: ‘Hey that’s something I could do’.”

So Steve joined Taranaki Model Powerboat Club and model powerboats fueled his need for speed while his body continued to mend.

At age 30, Steve moved to Tauranga with his boats – but had nowhere to race them. So Steve and a fellow model powerboat enthusiasts proposed to Tauranga City Council to clear the gorse-covered stormwater pond at The Lakes.

“When I fi rst went there you wouldn’t have known there was a lake there because the gorse right around the lake was way over head-high,” says Steve.

“I went down there with a scrub-cutter and a chainsaw and basically cut a path down to the water. “It was a band of gorse about 15m wide, so we had to cut a track through that.

“Then we started off just by taking the old lawn-mower down and continuously mowing that track a little more at a time. We ended up clearing an area about 30m long.”

Working with TCC and area developers IMF, Steve and his friend were given the okay to use the area for model powerboat events. With a new venue came more interest, and the duo and friends became Bay of Plenty Model Powerboat Club, which Steve is now president of.

He is also secretary and life member of the New Zealand Model Power Boat Association.

Now the Bay of Plenty Model Powerboat Club’s main race venue, the club – which now has about 30 members – has since held three national model powerboating events at The Lakes.

Set up at a picturesque spot with six numbered pit lanes and a pit area, the venue is still being developed into a high-class racing arena.

The club is trialing what Steve calls a NZ-fi rst three-hour non-stop enduro race. “If that goes well, we’re trying a 12-hour non-stop enduro race.”

Racing one of his model powerboats at The Lakes during a photoshoot with Life+Style, Steve is calm and collected as he fi res facts at the reporter.

His eyes are focused on the boat and his hands are tight on the controls as he speaks.

“It takes seven-eight minutes before it runs out of gas,” states Steve, as his model boat reaches up to 90km/hr.

“With that speed you’ve got to be really accurate and careful. I’ve actually won a race with a boat fl ying backwards and upside down,” laughs Steve.

Contact the BOP Model Powerboat Club on Facebook, or visit www.nzmpba.co.nz

“With that speed you’ve got to be really accurate and

careful. I’ve actually won a race with a boat fl ying

backwards and upside down”

Zoe Hunter

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Life + Style 10 June 2016