It is hard to imagine Josh Henderson is only 18 when you hear him speak eloquently and confidently about his past and his future.
Henderson made headlines earlier this year when he represented Selwyn in Youth Parliament, paired with Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee.
Politics has long interested the Springfield teenager, but his true passion is motorsport – not just behind the wheel, but in the commentary box.
He has already become a familiar voice at Ruapuna Speedway and at Euromarque Motorsport Park next door.
Motorsport often runs in the family, but Henderson said he is the exception, discovering it through video games, shows like Top Gear, and televised races.
Having enjoyed public speaking at school, at 15 he took a bold step and approached Formula Ford racing series boss Andy Robertson to offer his commentary skills.
“He took a gamble on me, and I ended up travelling up and down the South Island all summer providing commentary on the Formula Ford series.
“It was great fun and I definitely learned a lot that first season,” said Henderson, who was soon invited to commentate at Ruapuna Speedway as well.
“Craig Broomhall was the promoter there and gave me a chance. He has been a huge influence on my career so far and I owe him a lot.”
Henderson attended Springfield Primary School before moving on to St Bede’s College.
This year, he enrolled at the New Zealand Broadcasting School in Christchurch to pursue a career in radio and further develop the skills he needs for high-profile motorsport commentary.
“I know my voice is my talent, so the radio course seemed like a good pathway to advance my commentary.
“At this stage I am more focused on the play-by-play commentary, but it would be great if that would lead to opportunities on radio as well,” said Henderson, who isn’t just talking about motorsport anymore, but experiencing it firsthand.
“At the moment it’s a work in progress and I have started co-driving in a couple of rallies this season,” he said.
“The more experience you get, the more opportunities will arrive, but it’s important to get that initial experience first, so I am very grateful for that.
“We now have to see what the opportunities will be for next season.”
Away from the race track – but still in front of an audience – Henderson showcased another side of his talent in Youth Parliament, delivering a keynote speech on New Zealand’s brain drain.
Paired with Brownlee, he had hoped to sit in the Speaker’s iconic chair, but instead found himself placed on what he describes as a “dining room chair” beside it.
“That was a bit disappointing and I was a bit sketchy on how I was going to deliver my speech from a dining room chair.
“Luckily, one of the other Youth MPs was unable to attend the second day, so I was able to sit in (New Zealand First MP) Mark Patterson’s seat for my speech, which was pretty amazing.”
Too young to attend Youth Parliament in 2022, he reapplied in 2025 and was selected.
Despite the thrill of the Beehive, he is not in a hurry to pursue politics professionally.
“Maybe when I’m 40. I think I’m a bit young at the moment.
“If you look at current trends, you see voters don’t tend to vote for young candidates, so you really need to find something different before you go into politics,” said Henderson, who is already building that “something different” in motorsport.
