Amy McKenzie

The minute Amy McKenzie’s Instagram feed flashes up on-screen, it’s easy to see where her passion lies – it’s hard to find a photo of her without her beloved mountain bike!

There’s virtually no off-road track in New Zealand that Amy doesn’t want to conquer, and she’s amassed 20K followers in the process, as she documents her two-wheeled escapades on Instagram.

Brimming with positivity, energy and enthusiasm, adventurous Amy followed her father and two older brothers into the sport when she was a child. To Amy, it is the perfect hobby, as it combines nature and the freedom of being outdoors, while feeding her thrill-seeking tendencies and love of a challenge.

The Wellingtonian native grew up in a close-knit family, a bit of a tom-boy by her own admission – always outside doing her own thing, which continued into adulthood – you won’t find Amy running with the crowd.

At birth Amy was diagnosed with a condition which causes a significant compression of her chest, which creates interference with the function of her heart, lungs and blood flow. At 15years old Amy had another hurdle to contend with when she was diagnosed with a intestinal condition, and has since had subsequent surgeries in relation to this, experiencing this has meant that Amy never takes being well for granted, and that maintaining her health and fitness is her number one priority.

As her Instagram following grew organically, Amy wanted to find more ways of entertaining and connecting with her tribe. She came up with her campaign “Making Monday Great Again,” which combines two of her favourite past-times - riding and dancing - to play on the negative rap Monday gets, while lightening people’s moods and making them laugh (she calls this “Mac Music Monday”).

From that flowed “Short Person Saturday;” Amy’s video and photos in which she plays on being five feet tall and encourages people to embrace their differences.

Amy wakes up every day driven to create, whether it’s sharing positive experiences through her unique videos; her photography and art; or through making other people laugh. Amy trained as an Intensive Care Unit Nurse. Her life – and work - centres around giving her time to people who need it.

She supplements her busy lifestyle with healthy living, ocean swims, music, dance, skiing and traveling. Amy is passionate about creating original content that inspires others to make the most of whatever situation they find themselves in at any given moment, and she loves collaborating with businesses which share her energised outlook on life.