Meet Shawn King one of our Vehicle Inspectors at our Mount Wellington Testing Station who has a wonderful and colourful career history to share.<\/p>\n
Leaving high school in 1995 Shawn joined the New Zealand Army as a Heavy Automotive Diesel Technician. \u201cThe Army was great\u201d, says Shawn and \u201cI found the physical training as well as the technical very rewarding\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Army\u2019s trade training was based in Lower Hutt at the Hutt Valley Polytechnic. Shawn passed his Trade Certificate and Advanced Trade Qualifications at first attempt and was chosen from a class of 36 to be posted to Auckland. \u201cI was the only apprentice in my year to be posted at Auckland\u201d says Shawn,\u00a0 and \u201cI was promoted very quickly at the age of 21, that\u2019s when I decided to leave, to join VINZ\u201d.<\/p>\n
Shawn says, \u201cI already knew many of the inspectors, as they were ex-Army friends of mine, so the transition was smooth and painless\u201d. Shawn worked at VINZ Mount Wellington for a couple of years then moved out to the Airport Testing Station.<\/p>\n
After a few years with VINZ, Shawn mentioned that he \u201cleft VINZ to chase my dreams of being a stuntman and to pursue my love of Boxing and music\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started my own stunt company called Asphalt Assault and performed road bike stunt shows professionally all over the country. I picked up a role as the Red Ranger in the Power Rangers TV franchise and I also moonlighted as the Mascot “TOKI” for the New Zealand Warriors rugby league team for some time. Most recently I have appeared on the West Side TV show doing some stunt work on motorcycles\u201d says Shawn.<\/p>\n
Shawn also went on to start up his own gym in 2007.\u00a0 By 2012, Shawn says \u201cI wound up the gym and started a music school for kids called Tone Deff Music School. I still teach children and a few parents on various types of instruments to this day\u201d.<\/p>\n
Shawn says \u201cwith all of my personal-life goals now ticked off, I came back to VINZ as an older wiser version of the inspector and person that I used to be. Minus a full set of hair and the athletic body I use to have\u201d \u2013 he laughs!<\/p>\n
\u201cI became a Vehicle Inspector originally because the thought of being able to finish a full day\u2019s work and to be able to go home and switch off without stressing, appealed to me\u201d says Shawn. \u201cThe thing I like most about working for VINZ, is that the team is small and very close knit. We strive to carry out the best inspections we can as a Team, and for us safety is paramount as is the standard of inspections between inspectors. Everyone here works well together and you are made to feel like you are a part of a professional family\u201d Shawn mentions.<\/p>\n
Shawn says, \u201cThe most important thing I had to learn at VINZ is how to communicate with people on multiple levels. Sometimes it is hard – as you are often telling customers that they are going to have to spend money on their vehicle. In these tough times this can bad news for most customers\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur biggest challenge at VINZ is turning this news around into a positive. Explaining to customers that for their families, safety is important, or that their wife and kids would rather see their Dad come home safely after a day at work driving his truck than the alternative\u201d says Shawn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Meet Shawn King one of our Vehicle Inspectors at our Mount Wellington Testing Station who has a wonderful and colourful career history to share. Leaving high school in 1995 Shawn joined the New Zealand Army as a Heavy Automotive Diesel Technician. \u201cThe Army was great\u201d, says Shawn and \u201cI found the physical training as well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":53568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n