He grew up in the Maniototo where his father, a former stock agent, established Cotton Real Estate.
After leaving school, Mr Cotton completed an agricultural commerce degree in farm management at Lincoln University.
He spent his practical year and also worked "on and off" for the Hore family at Stonehenge in the Maniototo.
He enjoyed it immensely, saying he learned "about merinos, life and people".
He then farmed a run block at Middlemarch for a few years before selling and moving to a 100ha property at Merton, where he did casual work around the area.
He got into real estate about four years ago - "I just thought it would be a good career" - selling rural and lifestyle properties for LJ Hooker Dunedin.
He was recently awarded top rural salesperson, for number of transactions, at LJ Hooker/Harveys annual awards evening in Auckland.
LJ Hooker Dunedin/Mosgiel also won top office for the number of transactions, and other staff members also received awards, to the delight of principal and business owner Wayne Graham.
Mr Cotton, who mainly concentrated on properties around the Waitati, Palmerston and Waikouaiti areas, said sales were "ticking away".
There were not a lot of new properties on the market.
Farmers had done well recently and were happy, so were not looking to sell.
He enjoyed helping people and described it as a fun job.
He believed a successful real estate agent needed to have their own style, rather than pretending "to be someone you're not".
He described his own style as "fairly relaxed", but he liked having a time-frame, a clear plan and good marketing.
He had no regrets about his foray into real estate, saying it had been a great move, and his plan for the future was to increase sales.