Our story / Meet Menno
Could an e-bike be built to do a better job on Wellington’s hills? In 2017, that question set Menno on the path to Environmentalist.
Follow the journey ↓
An engineer at heart
Menno loves understanding how things work. Taking an idea apart, following the problem and finding a useful solution—that is where he feels at home.
His technical background began with training as an electrician at secondary school. He went on to study electronics at polytechnic level, followed by General Physics at a technical university. His dissertation focused on process control and sustainability.
That background sits behind his practical curiosity: understanding how a system works, measuring what is happening and finding ways to improve it.
Environmentalist grew out of that curiosity. We are a husband-and-wife business on the Kāpiti Coast, shaped by real projects, persistence and a belief that useful things deserve more than one chance.
Menno had already built two mountain e-bikes for us. He understood the challenge: finding the right motor and battery combination for Wellington’s strong winds and demanding hills. There’s a reason we call it “Windy Welly”!
He decided to use his savings to design his own e-bikes and have them built in China. The Cheetah bikes were the beginning.
Selling bikes took time. As a small, unfamiliar business, we had to earn people’s trust. Meanwhile, Menno kept exploring the part that interested him most: the battery.
He learned through practical work, mistakes, research and conversations with other people working on similar problems. There was always something else to understand.
As the bikes began to sell, Menno also started repairing and repacking batteries from other bikes where the packs allowed it. That practical knowledge grew into the battery work Environmentalist offers today, including suitable power-tool batteries.
He likes a difficult problem. Just as important is knowing which packs he can work on, and when to say a repair is outside the service.
Home battery storage had interested Menno for years. Now our own solar panels are on the roof and part of the fence, and the battery and inverter system is taking shape.
With an EV and a home to run, he is working through the questions of generation, storage and everyday use for our own household. That experience is opening the next chapter: helping others think through their solar and battery choices.
Why the cheetah?
The orange and cheetah came with Menno’s e-bike brand. He loves the animal, and it has stayed with us as Environmentalist has grown. It is a little of his personality, right there on the page.
A practical next step
A battery problem or a solar idea—tell us what you’re working on.
