PRIDE OF PLACE
WORDS Liam Stretch PHOTOS Sarah Rowlands
If ever a definition of a proud Cantabrian was to be determined, Andy Ellis would fit the bill – wholly.
This former All Black and Crusader also has a notch or two in his belt when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Before lockdown, Andy was ticking off his rugby career with some time in Japan. But midway through the season, he and his young family were forced home by the impending cessation of professional contact sport and rapidly developing global border restrictions. His home was beckoning.
“This was going to be my last season with the Kobelco Steelers, in Kobe Japan. We were sort halfway through the season, unbeaten and had some big games coming up and it was going to be quite a nice finish up moment, but unfortunately, COVID hit quite quickly and literally within a week or two, we got on a plane to come home.”
Time back in Christchurch has allowed Andy to dive headfirst into a couple of projects that he, along with some business partners, had been spending time between games on: Black Origin beef and Gravity Internet.
Black Origin is a Canterbury-based Wagyu beef producer. When Andy was based in Kobe – the home of the Champagne of the Wagyu world, Kobe beef – he developed such a love for the high-quality product, that he and a Japanese businessman and personal friend, Arato Tsujino, hatched a plan to bring it to New Zealand.
The company combines ancient Japanese technique with New Zealand farming style, feed, and water to produce perfectly marbled beef.
“We really care. It’s been a great journey so far; some of New Zealand’s best chefs and restaurants are loving using it.”
His other business, the brainchild of CEO Tim Johnson, is Gravity – a high-speed satellite internet provider.
“It’s something I’m really proud of too. A good friend of mine, Tim, saw a real opportunity in the market to provide good, fast, affordable, reliable internet to some of the most rural places in New Zealand and because of the country’s geography you can’t just put fibre cables everywhere, it’s just not how it works.”
“We’ve hooked up maraes, DOC huts, salmon farms, whitebait huts, vegan retreats, rural schools, little hidden fire stations in small communities.”
With lockdown and the fallout of the coronavirus, Andy has more time to pour his efforts into both of these ventures – but his attention has also shifted to family and friends.
“My family has made a lot of sacrifices, especially on the weekends – it’s always been dad playing rugby, so friends didn’t come over on a Friday night. We missed socialising – so doing that for a little while is what I’m really looking forward to.”
It’s not all play, though. “I’m fulltime coaching the Under Six Burnside Ninjas – that’s taking up a bit of time.”
He has also been catching up with a few of his former teammates.
“I went fishing in Kaikoura with Reado (Kieran Read) last week, and Corey Flynn is just down the road; he’ll often pop his head over the fence for a coffee.”
Andy isn’t sure what his next adventure will be, for now, he is just happy to be home and being able to “put his toes in the grass”.
blackorigin.co.nz | getgravity.nz