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The Mountain Club Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Mountain Club
Conversations with industry leading minds, business extraordinaries, creative thinkers and valued members of Mountain Club. Empowering business, commercial and community growth, we are here to discover what drives our members to connect. Jointly hosted by Paddy Kluts and Clare Irons, we're here to do cool sh!t with cool people.
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- 1 weeks ago48 min
The Journey Is the Product: Nigel Hobbs on Betting on Wellness Tourism and Scaling Tourism Innovation Group
Paddy sits down with Nigel Hobbs, Managing Director of Tourism Innovation Group (TIG), for a conversation on betting on wellness tourism, scaling a group of touring brands, and stepping into his own era of Queenstown tourism.Nigel reflects on the mentors who've shaped his career, and talks through the old guard and the new guard. Why he now sees his generation as the ones taking control of what comes next for the region, building on what the old guard set up. He explains why TIG's brands, Altitude Tours, Black, and Fiordland Tours, have always been about the journey rather than the place, and why his newest venture Tussock Ridge is different: an outdoor hot pool destination cantilevered off a hillside above Lake Johnson, each pool private enough to see the stars and the lights of Coronet Peak. Nigel believes it could be one of the best hot pool locations anywhere in the world, opening at the start of next winter.A well worth while listen on legacy, wellness tourism, and building for the long game in Queenstown.
- 3 weeks ago46 min
Inside WIT Queenstown: Roger Sharp on Travel Tech, Innovation, and Economic Resilience
Paddy sits down with Roger Sharp, founder and chair of Technology Queenstown and former chair of Webjet, who watched Queenstown's tourism-dependent economy buckle under COVID and decided a one-industry town wasn't good enough anymore. Roger explains how he convinced a university to launch a tech campus in Queenstown, why he bet on tourism itself as the way into a travel tech ecosystem, and what it actually took to bring the global WIT conference here and fill Memorial Hall with some of the world's most famous CEOs from Agoda, Air New Zealand, Expedia, and more.He shares the tangible momentum already building off the back of it, from new AI platforms choosing to pilot in Queenstown to the investors now paying attention, and what the next decade of jobs, investment, and infrastructure could look like if the plan works. An exciting, forward-looking listen on tech, tourism, and the future of Queenstown's economy.
- Aug 11, 202646 min
The Future of Fashion in Aotearoa: A Live Panel with Lou Heller, Hamish Acland, Christina Perriam, and Nat Newlands
Recorded live for New Zealand Fashion Week, Clare Irons sits down with four people shaping the future of the industry in Aotearoa: stylist Lou Heller, Mons Royale co-founder Hamish Acland, Perriam founder Christina Perriam, and Nat Newlands, designer behind NEWLANDS and Legacy Land. All four grew up on farms, and all four have built businesses at the intersection of creativity, sustainability, and identity.The conversation moves from origin stories to the hard realities of making fashion in New Zealand. Christina makes the case that longevity is sustainability, and why a $400 piece worn for ten years beats fast fashion on cost per wear. Hamish explains how New Zealand's narrow supply chain which once a disadvantage, is now becoming a competitive edge as EU transparency laws raise the bar. Nat argues the first responsibility for sustainability sits with designers, not consumers, and Lou unpacks why knowing your personal style is the antidote to the dopamine hit of the hunt.A live conversation that's a little funny, very real, and full of insight into the future of New Zealand fashion.
- Jul 28, 202642 min
The Right People, the Right Drugs, the Right Reasons: Dr Pragati Gautama and Grace Cooper on Medicalising Psychedelics
Psychedelic-assisted therapy is coming to New Zealand. Paddy sits down with two Mountain Club members, Dr Pragati Gautama, a GP and rural hospital specialist with more than 30 years in medicine, and Grace Cooper, a former registered nurse and counsellor, for an illuminating conversation on the practice they are building following the country's approval of its first prescriber in June 2025.Pragati and Grace delve into the personal motivations that led them to this groundbreaking field, tracing the history of psychedelics from ceremonial plant use to modern medical advancements, and the science of how these substances work on the brain. Pragati walks through the legislation now in motion and the opportunity for New Zealand to become a genuine source country given psilocybin already grows here. Grace explains the actual structure of treatment, from screening and preparation through an eight-hour supervised session to months of integration, and how this work is reshaping communities and opening new pathways for healing.A groundbreaking, hopeful listen on mental health, regulation, and the future of psychedelic medicine in New Zealand. Dr Pragati and Grace will soon be practising in New Zealand under the name Medicine for the Mind. You'll find the link in the podcast, and they'd warmly welcome any questions.
- Jul 14, 202639 min
Know Your Customers by Name: Annika Grant on Country Lane, the Collective, and Community-First Development
What happens when a family farm runs out of reasons to keep raising sheep, but the family refuses to give up the land? Host Paddy sits down with Annika Grant, co-founder of Country Lane, a working farm on the outskirts of Queenstown reimagined into a 28-tenant boutique village built from salvaged and relocated buildings, including the old Queenstown District High School and cabins rescued from the demolished Lakeview Holiday Park. Annika shares how it began with her sister-in-law sewing a children's clothing line in a converted hay barn, why the hand-picked Country Lane Collective is built on short-term leases and a strict no-chain-stores rule, and what's coming next: ten hot pools on the farm's hillside overlooking Lake Johnson and Coronet Peak, a holistic health hub, and the restoration of the farm's original homestead. She also weighs in on Queenstown's growth, the proposed gondola crossing the family's farm hill, and why she would rather build somewhere people linger than somewhere built for stop and shop. A grounded, honest listen on place-making, community-first development, and building something that lasts.
- Jun 30, 202642 min
Leading Te Araroa: Matt Claridge on New Zealand’s Longest Trail
What begins as a walk often becomes something far greater. Clare sits down with Matt Claridge, Chief Executive of Te Araroa, New Zealand’s 3,000 kilometre pathway stretching from Cape Reinga to Bluff. More than a track, it weaves through cities, backcountry, and communities, offering a deeply personal journey for those who step onto it.Together, they explore the evolving role of the trail, from tourism and sustainability to community connection and access to the outdoors. The conversation moves beyond logistics into meaning, unpacking why people walk and what they discover along the way.Through stories from the trail, we discover how Matt is helping shape Te Araroa into more than a national asset. It is a growing movement, encouraging more New Zealanders to reconnect with the land and discover what exists beyond the everyday.
- Jun 16, 20261h 7m
The Augmented Human: Drew Knowles and Dr Simon McKenzie-Nickson on the Science of Sustainable High Performance
Host Paddy Kluts sits down with Drew Knowles and Dr Simon McKenzie-Nickson, the duo behind the Augmented Human Series, for a conversation on burnout, busyness, and the biology underneath both. Drew brings three decades across behavioural consulting, stress physiology, and human performance. Simon brings a PhD in neuroscience and deep flow state research.Together they trace the exhaustion so many ambitious people are quietly carrying back to its roots in the nervous system, hormone biology, and behavioural patterns that were never built for the 50 gigabytes of input a day we are currently taking in. The conversation cuts through hustle culture and quick-fix biohacks to land somewhere more useful, a biology-first framework for performing at a genuinely higher level without burning out in the process.A grounded, science-led listen on stress, sleep, focus, and the upstream shifts that change everything downstream. Book workshops 2 and 3 of the Augmented Human Series via the link in the external links in this episode.
- Jun 2, 202648 min
Pete Seligman: You Don’t Have to Start a Business to Own One
What happens when entrepreneurship shifts from starting businesses to acquiring and growing the ones already built? Paddy sits down with Pete Seligman to explore the growing momentum behind entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) across Australia and New Zealand, and why it is becoming an increasingly compelling path for operators, investors, and aspiring business owners.Together, they unpack the foundations of a successful ETA ecosystem, from community and investor alignment to the relationship between an operator and the business they choose to lead. The conversation explores succession planning, long-term ownership, and the opportunities emerging across both sides of the Tasman.Set against the backdrop of Queenstown, Pete also reflects on why places like this are attracting ambitious people looking to build businesses differently - balancing growth, lifestyle, and meaningful connection.
About The Mountain Club Podcast
Conversations with industry leading minds, business extraordinaries, creative thinkers and valued members of Mountain Club. Empowering business, commercial and community growth, we are here to discover what drives our members to connect. Jointly hosted by Paddy Kluts and Clare Irons, we're here to do cool sh!t with cool people.
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