Tuhoto-Ariki Pene, of Te Arawa, is the first Māori to win the National Mountain Bike Downhill Series back-to-back and is a seven-time national champion.
He also won the Junior Men Downhll at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Italy.
Yet he is only 19 and has been around the world racing on some of the world's most daring tracks.
Pene started riding BMX at the age of three, following in the footsteps of his siblings who were also champions in the sport.
"It started with my older sister Kayla and my older brother Ihakara," Pene said. "They used to ride BMX and then I just followed on in their footsteps. We used to travel around in a bus and just wake up at the next track, and go race."