Trent Mankelow

📍Wellington, New Zealand | Former tech entrepreneur

📝 Editor’s Note | Rob Belk

Thanks for humoring me last week with the men’s style edition . Sure enough the “views” engagement were higher than normal, with the Saturday Stretch Pants and Autry Sneakers leading the pack. I also learned that I have several friends that think they should have been profiled (I’ll get you next time Neely and Rafkin).

This week I sat on Zoom, where I was tempted to bring out several of my favorite ice-breakers:

• First AOL Screen Name: “UNCboy” later changed to “UNCguy” because I didn’t think it sounded tough enough. I was also a huge UNC Tar Heel fan at the time. Shout out to Julius Peppers for being my favorite childhood athelete.

• First Concert: Dave Matthews Band at the Verison Wireless Amiptherer in Charlotte, NC. Still love the song Crash Into Me.

• First CD: Smash Mouth. All-Star, what a banger. I distincly remember my sister Anna getting a CD from Everlast, because it had the Parental Advisory sticker and my dad didn’t notice. What It’s Like might be my favorite song of all time.

Who is bold enough to respond with their ice-breaker in the comments? I know we’ve got to have some good ones…

Without further ado, this week’s profile…

Why Trent?

A few weeks ago, I posted a note about my ‘best feelings in the world’. Trent replied to me directly with a list of 89 of his own. Yes, 89. Here were five of my favorites:

1. Hip hop, something to nod the head to, skilled scratching

2. Talking shit with friends - nonsensical, silly, witty oneupmanship

3. Presenting when I’m on form - when I know what I’m talking about and am articulate and funny and relaxed

4. When Ada or Stan mispronounce words (scaffolging, exbibition, i lus you, trickle treat)

5. A long, satisfying tennis rally - I don’t even have to win it to enjoy it, if I’ve played well and the winning shot was a goodie

As you can imagine, this immediately warranted an ask to Trent to let me profile him…

Self-Description

Two-time exited founder, semi-retired advisor and investor, full-time Dad. Award-winning home brewer, mountain biker and lover of all things outdoors in New Zealand.

Trent’s 6 Recommendations

1. Multi-Day Backpack

2. Musicians from Around the World

3. Finding Out What You Really Care About

4. New Zealand Tips

5. Unapologetic Cookbook

6. Bolo de Laranja

Bonus: Digital Gardening App

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Written in his own words…

1. Granite Gear Blaze 60 ($165)

In 2022 I was looking for a new multi-day backpack and saw a gushy review for the Granite Gear Blaze 60. At first I thought it looked a bit fussy and I wasn't confident that its lightweight build was going to do the job. But it has become the piece of hiking gear that I am most likely to recommend. It is comfortable, super versatile, has lots of useful features and I use it for everything from overnighters to long multi-day hikes. Here I am using it for a mountaineering trip:

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2. International Musical Acts

May I commend three international acts for your listening pleasure, depending on your mood:

Biffy Clyro is loud, melodic Scottish rock for singing in the car.

Chinese Man is eclectic French hip-hop mashed up with dub and funk and drum n bass, for when you need to wake up.

Although Chinese Man will never beat Marc Rebillet's Your New Morning Alarm as a wake up song:

Fat Freddys Drop is low-key dub, funk, soul, and jazz from my hometown, for when you need some background tunes at your next house party (but you also want guests to think you are cool and say, "who is this?!")

Here’s a photo of them playing in January:

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3. Four Magic Wand Questions

I’ve been experimenting with how to give back lately and was flailing around until someone shared a simple framework — the Four Magic Wand questions.

If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change about your…

1. Neighbourhood?

2. Your city?

3. Your country?

4. The world?”

These questions helped me cut through the noise and figure out what I actually care about—and where I can make the biggest difference with the money and time I donate.

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4. Visit New Zealand + Tips

It would be remiss of me not to promote New Zealand as your next holiday destination. I do a lot of hiking (we call it tramping) so three recommendations on that theme:

1. Visit in winter. Because we are an island it’s never bitterly cold and the snowy views are well worth it.

2. Base yourself in the South Island.

3. If you are going to do some walking, maybe don’t do one of the 11 famous Great Walks. Sure, they are called Great Walks for a reason but getting a place is now a (literal) lottery. Instead, buy the Tramping in Aotearoa book and choose one of the 45 lesser known but just as spectacular options.

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5. Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook ($11)

My 12-year-old loves “silly YouTuber doing silly things for clicks” kind of junk content. I’ve been nudging him toward videos where you actually learn something, and recently he became interested in a YouTube chef called Joshua Weissman. I leaned into it and got him Joshua’s cookbook for Christmas and we’ve since made smash burgers, fried chicken, chicken katsu, breakfast burritos and more—every dish has been a hit, but the real win is that my son is actually learning to cook.

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6. Bolo de Laranja

A couple of years ago I set myself a challenge to host a dinner party based on a cuisine I'd never eaten before. I chose Portuguese and this Bolo de Laranja (Orange Cake) I made for dessert has been a staple ever since. It's huge, delicious, can be made ahead and is always a winner.

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Bonus: Greg

During the first Covid lockdown our local hardware store had 50% off all houseplants. I went a bit crazy (it was a crazy time, after all) but the trouble with owning 44 plants is keeping them alive. Of course there's an app for that! Greg tells me how much to water them and when to do it. No more dead plants!

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Plug | Dear Sam: Advice on retiring early

I've been writing a Substack which is partly about my own early retirement journey, and partly advice for others following the same path. For a taster you might want to read one of the three most popular posts: What to Expect from Early Retirement, Craft a Plan for the Long-term, or Manage Your Wealth.

What to Expect From Early Retirement

Want to get in touch with Trent? If so, send him a message on Linkedin

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P.S. from Rambull — Yes, yet another “ai tool.” But wait! This one is special. Whisper Flow is a simple app with a command prompt that you can add to your computer or phone for voice-to-text. It finally came out for Desktop (team PC). It is a gamechanger for writing emails. My favorite use case? Writing notes in person and then reading them into a word doc or notion file. S/O CJ Casselli for the rec.

Remember to drop your ice breakers in the comments (or send to me):

First AOL Screen Name

First Concert

First CD