Hayley Holt is certainly a woman in possession of a broad range of talents.
She seems to conquer anything she puts her mind to - from a career representing NZ as a professional snowboarder; to becoming an international ballroom dancing sensation; to a long-running presenting role on the infamous Crowd Goes Wild... And 2018 has already brought new challenges for Hayley to master.
A prolific broadcaster, Hayley is the morning host of TVNZ's popular Breakfast television show.
Hayley was born and bred in Auckland but has always had an affinity for the country and the great outdoors - with long-standing family connections to land in Waimate North.
Hayley grew up as an 80’s baby in middle-class Auckland - so the possibilities for life seemed endless. Girls could do anything, so she did - an attitude which would later lead her to accomplish many great feats.
Hayley went to Epsom Girls’ Grammar where she performed academically, and took an active role in sports. She created the first Snowboarding team (against some opposition), which took out the North Island title, earning Hayley colours. From a young age, Hayley was also an active Ballroom Dancer - the pinnacle of her career was competing at Blackpool in the UK, and the US Open in Miami.
After school, she started her BA in History at the University of Auckland - but found she had itchy feet. So she followed her heart, and gave it all up to travel the world snowboarding for the next six years. She had amazing experiences chasing winter through North America, Japan, Canada and Europe; heading home during our own winters to work in Wanaka as a Snowboard coach.
When the Dancing with the Stars phenomenon hit town, Hayley’s extensive (if not slightly obscure) background in Ballroom Dancing gave her the opportunity to be involved. This lead to three seasons as a professional dancer on New Zealand’s DWTS, and a season in the UK on Strictly Come Dancing. From there, she had a stint on Treasure Island, and eventually caught the eye of Ric Salizzo – the brains behind the infamous Sports Café.
This lead to an opportunity to work on the popular sports entertainment show, The Crowd Goes Wild. Eight years later, she has thoroughly enjoyed being part of the loving (if not slightly dysfunctional) family.
A few years ago, Hayley felt the winds of change - giving up alcohol and going back to study part-time. She grew her interest in sustainable building as she researched building an off-grid home on her parent’s land in Warkworth - and eventually became involved with the Green Party.
Her passion for the country, the planet and all people drove her become more active in the Greens and in 2017 year she ran as a candidate for the general election in the Helensville electorate.
Hayley has since given up her career in politics to pursue her next move on TVNZ's Breakfast television show.
