Meet the Krankin’ Team!
We have an awesome team of very skilled riders coaching the Krankin' Kids each term. Our coaches all have one thing in common - they’re extremely passionate about mountain biking! A varied bunch, they have many different skills and experiences between them. Have a read and get to know more about them here…
Emma Bawtree
Krankin’ Kids Director and Senior Coach
Emma is passionate about riding her bike, and has been riding mountain bikes for over 20 years! Emma has a strong background of racing, six of those years racing on the National Mountain Bike Circuit. Emma started Krankin’ Kids 10 years ago after recognising a demand for junior mountain bike coaching. Emma loves the fact that the programme has been met with such enthusiasm from so many junior riders, and is looking forward to many more terms of fun and good times on two wheels!
Qualifications:
NZOIA MTB Level 1 & 2 and an NZOIA Assessor
PMBIA Level 1
PHEC
Emma Gray
Operations Manager and Coach
From keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes to seizing every chance to hit the trails, Emma brings big energy, warmth and a serious love of adventure to the Krankin’ Kids team. She’s in her element connecting with whānau, inspiring young riders, and helping them push beyond their comfort zones. You’ll spot her red-faced on the climbs but don’t be fooled. If it involves mountain summits, navigation, adventure racing or a fast downhill - she’s all in!
NELSON-TASMAN COACHES
Joel D’Ercole
Senior Coach - Nelson and Richmond
If you hear someone celebrating louder than the kids at the bottom of the trail… that’s probably Joel. Joel’s been riding long enough to know the lines, the shortcuts, and exactly how many snacks a young shredder really needs.
Joel loves Nelson tech but will never say no to a buttery flow trail. He’s all about building confidence, stacking small wins, and turning “I can’t” into “Did you see that?!” His coaching style is progressive and prescriptive — meaning every kid gets guidance that actually fits them, not a one-size-fits-all approach. Powered by dad jokes and genuine stoke, Joel brings warmth, fun, and a big dose of encouragement to every session.
Harley He
yward
Junior Coach - Nelson, Richmond and Rabbit Island
Harley LOVES riding bikes! Whether he’s lapping local tracks with friends or racing some of the toughest tracks and events New Zealand has to offer, Harley is all about having fun on two wheels, pushing his limits and inspiring others to do likewise.
Stacey Walden
Senior Coach - Richmond, Rabbit Island
Stacey is the ideal coach for riders taking their first steps into the world of mountain biking. With 30 years of riding experience and two decades as a teacher, she brings a rare blend of deep trail knowledge, patience, and a true passion for helping kids discover the outdoors.
Her warm energy, supportive approach, and genuine love for the sport have already made a huge impact—boosting confidence and inspiring our newest riders to enjoy every moment on their bikes.
Baxter Mosey-Reid
Junior Coach - Nelson and Richmond
Baxter is a recent graduate and an outstanding new addition to our coaching team. He brings great energy to our younger riders where his enthusiasm and supportive coaching style really shine. With a calm, easygoing vibe on the trails, Baxter helps his groups feel relaxed, confident, and ready to have fun.
We’re stoked to have him on board and excited to see what lies ahead for Bax.
Zoe Bonny
Junior Coach - Richmond
Zoe is an enthusiastic, passionate, and super motivated young rider across all disciplines of cycling. From adventure racing, to downhill mountain biking to touring the length of the South Island. Zoe loves exploring and getting out for epic missions as much as her busy schedule allows! Her positivity is contagious, and her riders are always encouraged with a beaming smile and an earful of chatter. Zoe’s fav part of coaching is seeing young riders grow their confidence and have a fantastic time on their bikes!
Ben Cooper
Senior Coach - Nelson, Richmond and Kaiteri
Ben is the coach you want when the trail turns steep, slippery, and full of roots. A true tech-trail enthusiast, he thrives on the kind of riding that makes most people hesitate - and he’ll teach you how to love it too. If you want to level up your technical skills, stay smooth under pressure, and learn to ride with laser-sharp confidence, Ben’s your guy!
Isaac Milner
Junior Coach - Nelson and Richmond
Isaac has slotted seemlessly into our coaching team with his enthusiasm for riding, and fun-loving and caring attitude with the young shredders. He loves riding and racing bikes and feels that the Nelson trails are some of the best around!! He enjoys showing people around this incredible asset and watching riders progress, so they can explore more of the incredible riding scene both locally and abroad :D
Monique Hopkins
Junior Coach - Nelson & Rabbit Island
Monique loves mountain biking! For her, every ride is a new challenge pushing her mentally and physically, helping her build resilience and reminding her just how powerful it feels to keep progressing.
Monique loves helping riders grow in confidence, skills and enjoy shredding even more. The best part? Seeing others progress and feel proud of what they’ve achieved!
Harry Browne
Senior Coach - Krankin’ Kamp specialist
Harry’s another who’s been through the ranks as a Krankin' Kid, Krankin' Trainee and now a couple of years as a Krankin' COACH! Harry is energetic and uses that energy to motivate the kids on that up hill grind ready to smash that down hill!! He is fantastic at breaking down skills and nailing those demo's.
We were so excited to see Harry graduate as a coach and know he will continue do epic things in the MTB world! Now off to uni, Harry graces us with his presence at the Holiday Krankin’ Kamps much to the kids’ delight!
Fern Cameron
Junior Coach - Nelson and Rabbit Island
Fern loves anything and everything outdoorsy, but especially mountain biking!! She does a bit of racing, but mostly just shreds for the fun of it.
An integral part of our coaching team this past year - Fern’s thrived with our younger crew, seeing how they’ve grown in confidence and developed as riders.
Annie Swainn
Senior Coach - Krankin’ Kamps
Having trained up through our Wāhine MTB coach starter kit, Annie excelled and is now a favourite coach amongst our Krankin’ Kamps crew after time coaching at Richmond! Annie builds a great rapport with the kids and really enjoys seeing riders challenge themselves and achieve more than they first though possible! Annie is great at demonstrating skills and talking riders through every step of the skill till they nail it!
Lisa Hill
Senior Coach - Kaiteri
Lisa has a heart of gold and a huge passion for Mountain Biking. Lisa has been coaching for us for a couple of years now and always puts 100% into her sessions. Her passion is contagious and her riders always come back with huge smiles, feeling proud of everything they have achieved. We are very lucky to have her on our team!
Rio Innes
Senior Coach - Kaiteri
Rio is a fantastic rider and his hard work has made him a top coach and favourite amongst our riders. Rio is patient, engaging and can give a mean demo! Thanks for being an amazing anchor to our Kaiteri Krankin’ Whanāu, Rio. Excited to see what else you can achieve!
Suz Clark
Senior Coach - Kaiteri
Suz is a brilliant coach who puts 100% into helping riders smash their goals. Suz is always smiling and brings the positive vibes to every ride. Send a nervous beginner with Suz and they always come back full of confidence and frothing for more Mountain Biking!
BLENHEIM COACHES
Fred de Zwart
Senior Coach - Blenheim
Fred has been riding mountain bikes since before they existed!! He started mountain biking at high school and raced through university. He landed a job as a bike mechanic before spending 6 months cycle touring around Europe. Scotland was also blessed with this bike mechanic before he returned to NZ.
Now, with a family full of keen riders, he loves exploring all the amazing trails we’ve got in this part of the world.
Mark Brain
Senior Coach - Blenheim
At 58 years young, Mark brings a lifetime of experience, passion, and adventure to every coaching session. Originally from the UK, he’s proudly called New Zealand home for the past decade - long enough to earn his stripes as a true Kiwi. When Mark’s not on the trails, you’ll find him serving in the RNZAF where planes take centre stage… but bikes come a very close second!!
KRANKIN’ KIDS TRAINEES
Nelson Trainees: Lucas Malham, Flynn Farrier, Dylan Sutherland, James Mackay & Isaac Bonny
Blenheim Trainees: Kat de Zwart, Margot Davis, Kobie Madsen & Emma Anderson (not pictured).