Jared Donkin’s first job was delivering the Beacon in Ōpōtiki – now he runs one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing production companies.

Mr Donkin’s company Radlab has offices in Auckland, Christchurch and Sydney, a staff of 15-and-growing, and 60 projects in various stages of production.

He’s recently returned from a job in Australia and is preparing for a trip to Dubai although he is staying close-lipped about the client.

He’s come a long way since leaving Ōpōtiki College, working at Caltex in Bridge Street and popping Beacon’s into local letterboxes.

He said he was “not really suited for school”.

“School wasn’t really for me, but it wasn’t that I had bad grades or anything,” he said.

He excelled in computing and did okay in maths and English.

And it wasn’t that he was work averse; more that he had a difficulty sitting still and paying attention.

“I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until two years ago, but I had dyslexia as well, which didn’t help with schoolwork,” he said.

“It was good be told about the diagnosis; that I wasn’t like everyone else and there’s a reason I bounce off the walls a bit more than everybody else.”

Mr Donkin said it wasn’t until the Covid shutdowns that he realised something was up.

“I went from working up to 90 hours a week to a complete standstill.”

On the other side of the Covid slump, Mr Donkin said he now worked more reasonable hours, sticking to 50 hours per week but doing up to 70 hours when they were busy.

“There was a week about three weeks ago when I did 85 hours,” he said.

Radlab specialises in creative content, content strategy, video production, photography, animation and live streaming.

For Mr Donkin, it all started with an interest in interest in BMX riding.

He spent a lot of time at the Ōpōtiki skatepark in his youth and after moving to Auckland to study, he was at the Victoria skatepark when he was handed a camera and asked if he could take a few photos.

Later, he met Karl Periam at the skatepark, who had a passion for videography, and they realised they could start a business together.

Radlab has grown larger than they expected and over the years has worked with some of New Zealand’s top brands.

“We try to have a good culture and good working relationships with everyone we work with,” Mr Donkin said.

“We try to ensure we’re always delivering the best work we can, going the extra mile to ensure things are done right.”

The company had retained many of its clients for a long time and much of the business growth had come from word of mouth.

Currently, it has about 60 active projects, from simple photo shoots to large campaigns.

“There’s a lot going on at the moment,” Mr Donkin said.

Leading by example is important in the creative industry and Mr Donkin is very hands-on with the creative work.

“You can’t critique someone’s work and bring value unless you understand what it is you are critiquing,” he said.

“I work on creative concepts, shoot stills and I also direct a lot of our work.”

Ōpōtiki is still home and Mr Donkin comes back when he can

“I try to get down there a couple of times a year,” he said.

“I love the community and it’s good to catch up with friends and family.”

While Auckland offers “the right stuff at the moment,” Ōpōtiki might be the place to retire to, but having recently turned 30 years old, that’s far in the future for him.

“I have a lovely partner and we are engaged,” Mr Donkin said.

Like his father, Chris Donkin, the Auckland creative has a strong motoring interest.

“Car project is something that runs in the family.”

The proud owner of a Ford Escort Mk2 1975 and a 1987 BMW E30 coupe, the Ōpōtiki boy also has a 2005 Triumph Bonneville T100 motorcycle.

“I also have a dirt bike, because you can’t take the country guy out of me.”