Meet the Team

Steve is most commonly referred to as 'The Irish Guy' 'The Bald Guy' 'The Guy with the Beard' or just all three. Steve's knowledge in utes comes from his time working in a sales role in one of NZs top RV dealerships, advising customers on suitable tow vehicles for caravans. The rest of his experience comes from his time running around Western Australia in a Hilux Surf 4x4ing in the dunes.

Steve enjoys his role talking to people to find out what purpose you want your ute for and he will help steer you in the right direction of what vehicle might suit you best. Being the adventure lover that he is, Steve is always looking for fun activities and the gear needed to make that happen, so is also very knowledgeable on what accessories you might need for all sorts of activities.

When Steve is not on the yard you might find him anywhere between the mountains to the sea, with a tray full of toys, ready to try something new and most likely with his partner Kirsty and their dog, Henry.

Darren has been surrounded by cars, 4WDs, and accessories his whole life, thanks to growing up with parents who owned an auto accessories business and a 4WD tour company in Australia. For the last 20 years in his own working career, it has been his loving wife Lisa who is also a car enthusiast, that has assisted Darren to pursue his passion of all things automotive. Darren has been involved with all aspects of selling and management in mostly Prestige European dealerships both here in Christchurch and his home town of Brisbane.

As a co-owner of Ute Nation, Darren will continue to use his strengths in Sales Management and look after the day-to-day sales with the team. Building rapport with clients and being the person they want to buy from is something Darren has built his career on. This will continue as he guides the culture at Ute Nation and the growing team.

Darren and Lisa have a busy home life looking after their three active teenage children, Jade, Jordan, and Luke. With school, sport, and youth activities for all three kids, their spare time sees them playing taxi driver most nights of the week and a major part of their weekend.

Yuri brings with him a wealth of experience from every corner of the automotive industry - starting out spinning spanners as an apprentice mechanic, then workshop manager, parts manager right through to new vehicle sales roles and managing successful sales teams in a prominent Christchurch dealership.

As a co-owner in the business, Yuri takes care of company operations and oversees vehicle preparation. With considerable experience and success in businesses of his own, attention to detail and clear lines of communication ensure repeat business from his well-established network of friends and clients.

Yuri's (long-suffering) wife Jess has developed an impressive tolerance for his impulsive and enthusiastic buying and selling of "toys" ranging from cars and motorbikes to boats and jet skis, so joining the team at Ute Nation will undoubtedly continue the trend!

Today, Yuri's biggest passion by far is raising his two daughters Isla and Brooklyn, who share their dad's enthusiasm for cool cars and silly jokes.

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Having spent the last 10 years working as a mechanic, Jayden understands the inner workings of our vehicles better than most. He has an eye for detail, ensuring each of our trucks are prepared to an extremely high standard.

Keeping himself busy as our stock coordinator and after sales specialist, Jayden works tirelessly with our suppliers and subcontractors on everything from servicing and body work to fitting lift kits and bull bars.

Jayden is well known within the industry and by his friends and family for his enthusiasm, energy and high speed of work. Jayden only has one pace, and that's 110%.

When he's not building New Zealands best utes and 4X4s, Jayden is busy working on one of his many BMW projects he has on the go.

Away from the tools, Jaydens focus is firmly on spending quality time with his son Hugo and partner Tess.

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