Kane Brisco is a Taranaki Dairy Farmer, public speaker, personal trainer, and father. After a successful farming career he established FarmFit in 2019. What started as fitness classes for his community has now expanded into an online community for more than 15,000 followers who subscribe to Kane’s tips and advice on mental and physical wellbeing.

 itsthatmadguy (TikTok tag)

Wesley is a dairy farmer of seven years, coming from a rural family of 6 generations in NZ.  Aside from his completely standard farming career Wesley has found a hobby inside of comedy. Integrating farming with his humour and sharing it with fellow kiwis on Tik Tok he has become a familiar face in the rural community.

Tom’s focus is dialing up people’s long-term wellbeing and helping them get ahead financially, primarily by developing the Sorted ecosystem of websites, calculators, guides and blogs. His background in journalism and finance dovetails to support the Retirement Commissioner and Te Ara Ahunga Ora in its work to lift the financial capability of all New Zealanders.

From her first look in a working dairy shed as a teenager, Laura knew she wanted to work with cows, but after finding out she had a wrist condition that required an operation to fix, she chose a career in accountancy instead, and got into dairy farming more than 10 years later. Laura has since been named Southland/Otago Dairy manager of the year at the NZ Dairy Industry awards in 2022 where she also won three other merit awards.

Gonzalo Bascur

and Nayabet Espinoza

Gonz and Naya are a progressive couple in their first year as contract milkers on a 700 cow farm in Mokotua, where they work with three full time staff. This Latin American family has been on the industry for 10 years, five of them on the farm they currently have the contract for. They have moved their way through the industry ladder thanks to achieving great performance, year after year. 

Brayden Johnston

Brayden is a 22 year old who overcame challenges at school to go on and attend Lincoln University, setting him up for a career in dairy farming. He grew up on a dairy farm and has recently entered the work force as a farm assistant on a large Canterbury 1450 cow farm providing an exceptional platform for growth with large herd challenges. He has just placed National runner up in the Dairy Trainee of the Year section of the Dairy Industry Awards, Brayden is already progressing in the industry and about to embark on a small lease as a pathway to farm ownership. Brayden will speak about his passion for dairy farming, his challenges, and the opportunities he has taken head-on in the dairy industry. He sees the bright side of the industry and looks forward to sharing his story at BrightSIDE.