Ethan Mitchell knows a thing or two about success. As a track cyclist competing in team sprints for New Zealand along with Sam Webster and Eddie Dawkins, he has been a world champion three times, has two Commonwealth gold medals and won silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Now retired from sports, he’s found a new challenge as a high performance coach for Bayleys top real estate agents.
Q: Growing up, did you know what you wanted to do for a living?
I always wanted to do something to do with sport. I played rugby and cricket and actually only started cycling because I wanted to be fitter for those sports. But I got hooked. I was about 16 when I started taking it seriously, and I never looked back. I was lucky enough to meet Sam Webster, then Eddie Dawkins, and the three of us were able to create our own vision.
Q: What was the highlight of your cycling career?
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Getting silver at the Olympics was pretty special. My family were in the crowd for that and I loved seeing them there.
One of the best moments was when we won our first world championship in 2014. It was in Cali, Colombia, and we were pretty new to the scene. We’d had a few results, but nothing like winning a world title. I remember crossing the line and thousands of Colombians cheering, “All Blacks, All Blacks!” It was incredible.
Afterwards it took us two hours to get on our bus because the line of people wanting autographs was so long. We felt like sporting royalty – I had never experienced anything like that before, and I haven’t since.
Getting to be part of a team with Sam and Eddie was really special. I feel so lucky to have experienced that.
Q: Was it hard to retire?
There’s this cliched thing that you always hear as an athlete and that’s when you are ready to retire, you will know. I always rolled my eyes at that because when you are really immersed in something, regardless of what it is, you have blinkers on and don’t see anything but forward. I couldn’t imagine not cycling. But then after the Tokyo games I had a couple of months without a race on the horizon where I could properly assess the situation and I just knew that after 16 years, it was the right time to stop.
Q: Did you have any ideas about what you would do next?
Throughout my cycling career I took a lot of leadership and coaching courses, and I was involved in coaching too. I always saw myself getting into coaching or some form of leadership, I just wasn’t sure what. My New Zealand cycling team-mates Sam Dakin and Callum Saunders had started a recruitment agency called Podium with the sole vision of linking athletes to suitable jobs, and they’ve managed to place a bunch of athletes into all different types of work. The role as a high performance coach with Bayleys came up through Podium so I applied and went through a process that involved four or five interviews. I was really happy to get it, I was very impressed by Bayleys and the people working here.
Mitchell says he has to save for a bit longer before he can get a house in Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Q: Had real estate crossed your radar before this?
No. I had never been involved in property and neither had anyone in my family. I have been through the process of buying a house – I bought a place in Cambridge in 2013 just before the market there went crazy when the velodrome opened and the whole of cycling New Zealand moved to Cambridge. I still own the house – my parents live there – so I haven’t been through the process of selling. I would like to buy a property in Auckland but I am going to have to save a bit more before I can do that.
While I did come into the industry not having worked in it before, in a lot of ways there is a direct correlation between sport and real estate. They’re both very competitive and dynamic, and the skills you hone being a high-performance athlete transfer quickly to real estate, which is really driven towards high performance. In both you can go through highs and low, peaks and lulls, and there is a lot of raw emotion attached to what you do every day. It’s quite eye-opening how similar the environments are.
Q: You started in February – has it been a steep learning curve?
It has, but I am really enjoying it. I have been learning a lot about the industry. I’ve been learning the lingo, going to appraisals, to viewings, to auctions, I’ve been on the road with agents, I’ve met vendors. Everyone I have worked with has been incredibly welcoming and willing to share their experiences and their expertise.
Mitchell: “I don’t cycle! I haven’t been on a bike much at all since I retired - instead I have started running.” Photo / Fiona Goodall
I do know a lot more now about real estate than I did, but obviously there’s nothing about real estate I can teach anyone; what I am doing is to working with people who are already performing well to help them achieve even more, drawing on what I have learned in sport. I do that through things like coaching courses, performance workshops, mentorship, one-on-one catch-ups… it’s about forming a mindset and a structure and a performance lifestyle that will enhance their business.
Q: Have you had mentors who have helped you?
Since I joined Bayleys I have been very lucky to work with Hayden Stanaway, director of residential for Auckland and Wellington, and Raymond Mountfort, who is general manager of sales and coaching for Auckland and Wellington residential. They and development coach Dee McQuillan have been so supportive.
In cycling, I was fortunate to have had a bunch of amazing coaches but one person who I could always talk to throughout my career was [Olympic gold medalist] Sarah Ulmer. She was always there for me to lean on for anything, big or small.
Q: Has anything surprised you about the real estate business?
I don’t think I realised just how hard people in the industry work. I knew that because it’s commission-based, you have to sell X number of properties to be successful. But I am just amazed by the volumes of sales some people are doing. They are juggling a lot of things at the same time, it’s fast-paced and they have to have the ability to think clearly. They have to be good at problem solving, and often do it on the spot. There’s a lot more to the job than most people realise.
The agents I have been working with are really at the top of their game. Everything they do, even outside of real estate, is high-performance. I am so impressed by their performance mindset, which is similar to athletes.
Q: What do you do out of work?
I don’t cycle! I haven’t been on a bike much at all since I retired - instead I have started running. I’m living with a few friends and we try to go running three or four times a week. I’ve been enjoying that.
I like to spend time with my sisters’ kids – I am a proud uncle of three, going on four. Becoming an uncle has flipped my life for the better, I love it. I also try to catch up with friends when I can. I grew up in Auckland and have got lots of school friends here – we like to go fishing. I’m lucky to be surrounded by amazing people.
Q: Will you get back into cycling, even just for fun?
I was a cyclist for 16 years and that is a long time to be crouched over on a bike. I need to let my body straighten up for a bit. Maybe in a couple of years I will be ready to get back on a bike. We’ll see.
