July 2022, Case Studies

Athlete case study: Prime Minister’s Scholarships - Josh Scott

Cycling athlete Josh Scott has adopted an entrepreneurial approach to his PM’s Scholarship which he first received in 2019.

The Christchurch-based cyclist’s first study focus was in the real estate sector however his love of video games and business, along with a gentle nudge from his HPSNZ Performance Life Coach, turned into an enjoyment of video editing, leading to study to combine these two interests. 

“I wanted to find a way of combining my love of video production with the real estate industry to see if I could turn it into a scaleable business opportunity,” says Josh.  

The first course Josh completed was a Certificate of Creative Media but he found the course not challenging enough other than learning how to use the Adobe suite to help improve his video production skills.  

“Then I came across a course out of the US which I thought had great potential to grow my skills.  Long story short it was the best course I could have spent my study support on.”

Josh completed the course in late 2021 and, using some of his scholarship funds, purchased a high end Mac Studio, camera and lens and set up Josh Scott Productions specialising in property video productions for the real estate market.  

“My workload shot up from nothing in March and I haven’t looked back since.  I’m now working with some of the leading agents and agencies in Christchurch and have a team of three to help keep the standard of production high.”  

Gaining an education with the financial burden removed while still training and competing is huge says Josh.  “Your sporting career could be wiped out tomorrow so it is extremely important to have something up your sleeve.

Josh Scott

“I feel incredibly privileged to have gone through the PMs Scholarship programme which has not only given me a tertiary education but has allowed me to build a business with so much potential from nothing.”

Josh’s ambitions for the business are limitless.  “I want to be the best real estate video company in Christchurch and then will look to diversify into other industries in the next one to two years.” 

About the Prime Minister’s Scholarship programme

Prime Minister’s Scholarships support athletes, coaches, support team members and officials to gain educational or professional qualifications while continuing in sport.

Established by the Government in 2000 to help New Zealand’s elite athletes pursue tertiary study while developing in their sport, the programme has evolved to include scholarship categories for coaches in 2002, officials in 2005 and support team members in 2006.

The programme is administrated by HPSNZ.