From having set up shop just to give themselves an excuse to settle in town, they’re nowadays 40% owners of a highly-regarded outdoor sports chain that has six Southern Lakes premises, another in Tekapo and a strong online presence.
Raised in Akaroa, Invercargill-born John boarded at Timaru Boys’ where, aged about 15, he recalls running 100 miles (160km) in a week "just to see if I could, basically".
He spent nine long years at Canterbury University, finishing with a PhD in physical chemistry, and was in a group analysing upper atmospheric ion molecule reactions that led to fluorinated gases being banned in the making of refrigerators.
During that time he started competing in triathlons, but got more serious when moving to Dunedin, where he also got into outdoor retail.
There he met Dunedin-raised Judy when she was trying on a wetsuit, though it wasn’t till they were both in England, after she completed a European OE by bike, that they hooked up — their wedding in December ’92 was the first ever at Arrowtown’s Millbrook Resort.
By then John was enjoying a stellar few years as a pro triathlete, placing sixth in the world triathlon series in ’91 while they summered in Colorado in the United States.
"There would be $40 left in the suitcase sometimes and when John went to Europe to compete I’d say, ‘you have to come back with prize money’," Judy says.
She also enjoyed a fine running career, finishing top-three in Fiordland’s grunty Kepler Challenge for five years running, including first in the first year, between many years as a primary school teacher.
And she became a media darling after winning a renowned off-road race in Colorado.
In ’94 John was also in the winning team in the multi-day, multi-sport Southern Traverse — a team-mate was Kiwi yachting legend Grant Dalton.
However, he pulled back from tris when he couldn’t match rivals taking high-performance EPO drugs.
Wanting to live in Queenstown — John’s family had a Frankton Rd bach — the couple opened Outside Sports on October 4, ’95, originally in the Bay Centre, a day after Judy had given birth to their son Benji.
Their original partner was Craig Wanty whom John had worked with in Dunedin.
The following month they relocated to premises at the top of The Mall, replacing a ski shop tenant who hadn’t paid his rent.
Business boomed from the get-go.
John: "We opened seven days a week till 9 o’clock in the evening and no one was doing that."
Uniquely, they also catered for both snowsports in the winter and biking in the summer, and had some great suppliers, their longest-lasting, Icebreaker, resulting from a visit from founder Jeremy Moon just months after opening.
They were also handily located opposite the former Post Office.
A favourite memory is December 31, ’99, when Americans flooded town to see in the new millennium, only to be caught off-guard by a cold spell.
"They were five-deep at the till and our turnover that day was $68,000," Judy says.
For a time they had another Mall store and briefly one in Arrowtown, only to return there last year.
Their top-of-The Mall rent doubled, however, and they then took over three levels in a Shotover St building in 2004 — even taking a shareholding to try to safeguard against rent increases.
Foot traffic was great when Fergburger opened next door, however, after exiting their shares just before the global financial crisis, their annual rent rose to an unsustainable $1million-plus.
Their last years there were their most challenging, Judy says.
In 2015 they took over their current premises up the road in a building purpose-developed by Trojan Holdings and the late John Martin.
Though initially off the beaten track, business was humming before Covid struck.
Meantime, they’d opened originally Icebreaker-branded premises in Queenstown Airport and in 2009 there were some ownership shuffles.
They merged with Peter King’s Wanaka business and with John Greaney’s Te Anau store — King remains as a 20% shareholding while Wanaka’s Floortje and Darren Grimmett took over Greaney’s 40% in 2017.
Aided by Asian visitors and mountain biking’s growing popularity, summer business, John notes, has surpassed their winter trade.
Judy, 63, continues working on the frontline while John, 66, works more on rather than in the business.
"You have to keep your finger on the pulse, it’s really easy for things to get out of control," he says.
"And the volumes we turn over now, it’s really significant, like, we’re the biggest supplier of Patagonia [clothing] in Australasia."
Judy adds: "We won’t be stepping back any time soon, and who wants to sit around in a bloody chair waiting, you’ve got to keep busy.
"And when we’re not working we’re out playing in our playground, which is, well, the hills, the bike trails, the swimming pool, the lakes.
"We never take for granted this amazing town that has given us and our family so many opportunities."
