FROM GROWING UP IN THE REMOTE CHATHAM ISLANDS TO SPENDING FIVE YEARS IN THE ARMY (WITH A DECENT PORTION OF THAT IN ANTARCTICA), ROBIN GOOMES IS A FRESH-FACED FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. ARMED WITH VIBRANT ENERGY AND SOME IMPRESSIVE INTERNATIONAL RESULTS, SUCH AS BEING THE FIRST FEMALE TO LAND A BACKFLIP IN COMPETITION AND BEING ONE OF THE FIRST FEMALE RIDERS AT AUDI NINES, ROBIN IS ONLY WARMING UP.
THE CHAMPION OF THE CHATHAMS
Robin was born in Christchurch and raised on the Chatham Islands, 800km off the coast of Christchurch. “The Chats” is renowned for its abundant wildlife, fishing and remoteness. Generations of the Goome family have lived in Wharekauri, with Robin’s grandmother and relatives still residing there.
Robin’s youth was spent burning around the island on motorbikes and helping her Mum, a DOC ranger, feed burrowing birds and plant trees on the remote islands.
“We just lived on our dirt bikes. We’d go into the hills and build our own tracks and jumps. It was so cool,” she recalls.
Home-schooled for as long as possible, Robin benefited from a tight-knit community and
