Now to a story about kiwi ingenuity using the old number 8 wire philosophy.
Alex Herbert wanted a special pair of skis for skiing in New Zealand's back country - the Powder Runs.
However he could not get what he wanted, so using a bit of traditional number-eight wire ingenuity, Alex Herbert made his own.
Now his creation has become a business.
In the basement of a disused building in Lyttelton near Christchurch, Mr Herbert now hand-makes skis to order.
"We have had skis sold to Afghanistan, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, Japan and America," he says. "A huge variety of people."
Mr Herbert made his first pair six years ago, which took a bit of working out.
"I cut up my favourite pair of skis," he says. "I just wanted to see if there were any secrets in there and poach a few of their ideas."
To make his skis, Mr Herbert first cuts out the base, followed by the core which is made from bamboo.
He then uses a router to shape and cut off all of the excess bamboo off the tip and tail.
"It's all a bit home made, but it works," he says. "I don't see why I should change it."
The ski's edges come from Austria and are bent to fit around the tail and tips of the skis. And once the pieces are cut out, they are then all glued together.
"Everything is done by hand rather than by big machinery," Alex Herbert says. "We spend a lot of time making sure there is no imperfections or air bubbles, no wobblies. Plus we can customise our skis for our customers whereas the big manufacturers don't do that."
After a visit to the ski press, the skis are all ready to go the following morning.
In the last part of construction, the skis are cut out and then grinded into perfect shape ready for waxing.
Finally the skis are polished and ready to be sent off.
"My biggest satisfaction is skiing on them myself on a good day, can't beat that," he says. "But the thing that makes me feel the best is sending them off to someone and getting feedback from them that it has improved their skiing, or they had a great day. They feel great about our product. That's the best satisfaction."