Rotorua rangatahi Alex Miller, 26, spent his whole life working towards a career in civil engineering - just like his dad.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, he discovered a love of making videos and changed course.
Instead of being mad at Alex, dad Mike Miller has ditched his own engineering career to join him.
Alex runs Local Gecko Productions as a whānau-run business specialising in livestreaming community, sports and cultural events.
He started making funny videos in lockdown after COVID-19 interrupted his studies.
"We tutu'd around with a couple of cameras to be fair and made some very funny videos. Well, we think it's funny anyway."
Alex's parents, Moana and Mike, saw an opportunity for Alex and the whānau to start livestreaming local events.
They've mortgaged their home and hustled to buy cameras, gear and broadcast equipment.
The foundation of the business is giving high school-aged rangatahi the chance to work and learn about media production.
Moana said a lot of her whānau send their children to work for Local Gecko.
"They feel safe sending their babies to work with us."
The crew of rangatahi handles almost all aspects of the broadcast, from operating cameras to using drones, taking photos, and directing action from the control room.
"We're very proud. It's not just about the skills they learn behind the camera," Mike said.
"There's a lot of stuff they need to learn about. It's sort of [learning about] working as well."
Local Gecko Productions has now broadcast a number of cultural, sports and business events in the rohe over the past couple of years, including making local rugby games available for whānau living overseas.
The company is carving a place of its own in the media landscape.
"We see the digital space is exploding, but we don't know what it's going to look like," Moana said.
"Over the next two to three years it's going to develop exponentially and it's going to develop fast - our team is ahead of that game."
Made with support from New Zealand On Air and Te Māngai Pāho
