The hills of Wellington might not be the safest place to drift trike, but enthusiasts say it has some of the best spots. A young couple from Porirua has opened NZ's first Motor Drift Triking centre for all fanatics to enjoy in a safer environment.
Two weeks in and this business is already taking off.
"It's exciting, people come in and they leave with a huge smile on their face and they're like 'Wow I really wanna come back and do this", says Rawinia Rimene from Te Whakatōhea.
Drift Trikes NZ opened its doors last month. It's the first business of its kind in the country.
Justin Leelo from Drift Trikes NZ says, "So motor drift trike is a trike is pretty much, so three wheels one in the front two in the back with a motor put on the back, which allows you to drift."
Leelo is an electrician and builds the trikes from a basic kit with his own OSH approved safety guards. Rimene is a former Te Wānanga o Aotearoa business student and handles the books.
"After he had his first ride he really enjoyed it and so he decided to make one and then the idea to start up a centre came to mind and yeah here we are.”
In the beginning, the couple were stalled by a number of challenges.
"The first one was that we didn't have a prototype to go off. The next obstacle was finding a warehouse, we found that there were a lot of racist comments around Māori and Pacific Islanders being in business”, says Rimene.
They have two employees and want to expand their business.
"We're planning towards organising the first indoor motor drift trike competition and our long term goals are to franchise Drift Trikes NZ across the larger cities in New Zealand and eventually and hopefully go international", says Rimene.
The couple hopes their business continues to grow and people come to enjoy motor drift triking.