MAC managers lifestyle choice

NEW Makino Aquatic Centre Manager, Nick Mannix, is looking forward to his return to Manawatu and the opportunity of working within an active community-council environment.

Nick, who began his MAC duties in late April, has bailed out of Auckland for a lifestyle job in Manawatu and the chance to extend his commitment to the fitness-health industry.

“I’ve worked in Manawatu before and it’s the quality of life that stands out,” he said. “You can travel from A to B quite quickly, you see children riding their bikes to school and the hunting and fishing is good.”

He is also impressed with the Makino and the size of the complex for a community like Feilding.

“It’s clean and tidy and looks professional. The staff is doing a great job and I look forward to learning from them and see if I can fine-tune things and take away any rough edges.”

Nick’s journey to Feilding started in the “deep south” after being raised in Invercargill and schooled in Dunedin. He joined the Army in 1985 and was posted to Waiouru, where he worked in the automotive sector before moving to physical education training.

A three-year stint as the Army’s recruiting officer in Dunedin followed before a middle management posting to Linton Camp from 2000 to 2003 where he ended his military career as a senior fitness trainer.

After moving to Auckland, Nick started a small gym, but found that “too boring” and with few challenges, so became site manager at the Auckland City Council-owned YMCA complex, Lynfield.

“My primary role was to run a fitness membership of about 1000 people, but there were also after school and holiday care programmes, and the need to balance council’s needs with those of the YMCA.”

He was also associated with a $2 million building renovation at the centre and a member of a YMCA health and safety committee responsible for 17 sites, including three aquatic complexes.

A keen sportsmen, Nick represented Otago and Combined Services at soccer and Army Colts at rugby, and enjoys triathlons and swimming. He was in position for the opening of duck shooting earlier this month and keen to track the deer in the Ruahine Ranges.

“A big thing that interests me with the Makino is the community-council feel to it and the putting together of two different wants – the council has its direction on where it wants to go and the community a set of rules on what it wants to achieve.”

And he intends calling on his past experiences to ensure everybody in Manawatu can be accommodated and to help make the Makino a flagship for the council.