Former World Cup racer jumps on Vertigo Bikes success

Former World Cup mountain bike racer Paul Angus has jumped on the corporate ride at Vertigo Bikes, becoming a key shareholder after six years’ working for the Queenstown-based company.

Known as ‘Pang’ to most, the Scottish native ex pro-rider has racked up wins and accolades over the years, such as Scottish Downhill Champion, 2007 Brake Burner Men’s Team winner, and 2009 Brakeburner six-hour Enduro winner.  

He has been employed at Vertigo Bikes since his arrival in the adventure capital six years ago and currently holds the position of operations manager and “all-round in-store bike guru” at its Brecon Street branch.

Vertigo Bikes is an adventure bike tour company taking riders of all abilities and ages into some of New Zealand’s most scenic and iconic locations.  In winter the business transforms into Browns Ski Shop, one of Queenstown’s longest-established and most successful businesses.

On off-duty days he can still be found careering down his favourite bike trail, on the Ben Lomond Track, or alternatively on one of the newly built trails and jumps up on the Skyline Gondola hill.

Pang says he “relishes” the opportunity to have more participation in the company and hopes to gain more of an insight into the adventure tourism industry.

“It’s a great chance to become really implanted in the Queenstown community while doing something I’m really passionate about,” he said. “Biking is a huge outdoor sport in this part of the world and justifiably so, because there’s some really fantastic tracks and views to be enjoyed around here.

“Vertigo Bikes is an awesome company to work for and I couldn’t enjoy going to work more.”

Joint shareholder Tim Ceci, a passionate bike rider himself, said he was delighted to welcome Pang on board and saw many benefits in enlisting support from a fellow riding fanatic.

“This is a fantastic way to kick off the summer season.  Pang has a great history with riding and consistently brings a positive mental attitude to work every day.  He’s involved with Vertigo Bikes at almost every level, so this is the next obvious step for him. It’s a great way to reward him for all his hard work over the years and help him grow in his biking career.”

Vertigo Bikes has the biggest rental fleet of bikes in Queenstown and has introduced a full range of brand new bikes for summer.

The company was recently endorsed as a Qualmark visitor activity after being  assessed on the quality of its customer service, systems, safety, delivery of the ‘New Zealand experience’, environmental procedures and staff training procedures.

“We’re absolutely delighted to receive that tick of approval for what we do and how we do it,” said Mr Ceci.

“The 10-strong Vertigo team has been riding and racing for years, and it’s from this love of mountain biking that Vertigo was born.

“Mountain biking is a fast-growing tourism activity in this region with so many quality tracks around. We’ve got tracks for everyone from families to those who want a full-on adrenalin rush on gnarly, technically difficult terrain.”