Tanya O'Brien is a part-time helicopter pilot. Photo / Supplied
Tanya O'Brien is a part-time helicopter pilot. Photo / Supplied
Beauty therapist Tanya O’Brien had a hard time trying to be taken seriously when she first started in business.
At 18 years old and standing just 1.5 metres tall, or 5′ in the old measurements, people tended to discount the idea that such a young woman could own and run her own business.
It’s something she’s always had to deal with. But Tanya turned that into a positive.
“So a lot of people didn’t believe that I owned my own business and didn’t take me seriously. That just made me more determined. You can take that criticism and use it as inspiration to really make things happen for yourself.”
Tanya is new to Katikati and has opened Lavender Beauty Katikati at Cherry Court, Main Rd. She’s also a part-time commercial helicopter pilot with Tauranga’s Adventure Helicopters.
When she discovered she had a passion for beauty, Tanya left school early.
“I had felt like a failure when I was at school and but it wasn’t that at all. Find something you’re interested in and you will excel. It’s perseverance and determination... that’s what I’d like to get across. But also that you don’t have to work for someone, you can be your own boss if that’s what you want.”
Her first beauty salon was Self Indulgence Beauty in Whakatāne. She hired a qualified beautician while studying cosmetology. Tanya studied through the day, worked in the salon in the afternoons and completed her business paperwork at the weekends.
“I’d sit an exam for one thing, and then as soon as I passed it, I’d be doing it in my clinic.”
Self Indulgence Beauty became one of the most successful clinics in the area. Tanya also worked with local students, offering work experience and teaching the basics of entering the workforce. She’s also been a beauty therapy speaker at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.
Tanya O’Brien at a speaking occasion.
Tanya’s other passion was to fly a helicopter.
A skiing accident on Mount Ruapehu at age 12 saw Tanya flown off the mountain with a broken leg.
“Obviously that was pretty cool and it left a lasting impression on me. As I got older, I always liked a challenge and I took inspiration from that.”
Flying a helicopter is ''like a motorcycle in the air''.
It took three years due to her business - as Tanya was working and studying - but she gained her commercial pilot’s licence.
The initial intention was to to do six-month stints for Canada’s hunting season which was inspired by a three-month solo trip there.
Instead, she fell for husband-to-be Adrian, who she’s known since school days. They moved to Katikati after Adrian gained work at Oceana Gold.
Tanya has been a helicopter pilot for two years now.
“Helicopter flying is incredibly hard, the best way to explain it is every part of your body is doing something.
“Your left hand is controling the throttle and vertical movement, the right is controlling the cyclic, and you have pedals you are constantly using. It’s very much situational awareness... you’re constantly looking all around, you have to listen intently, and you are in contact with air traffic control. Everything is happening all at once and you have to be on to it.
“But it’s amazing, the sense of freedom you get when you’re up in the air. It’s a very free feeling. It’s a motorcycle in the air, a real freedom of manoeuvrability.”
