Meet Kingi

Matt first started out in hospitality in 1986 in Napier and 7 years later found himself running two of the busiest fast food restaurants in London, before returning to NZ in ‘96 to continue along a similar vein of work. In 2006, he opened his first BurgerFuel store and hasn’t looked back.

At the time, BurgerFuel was the new kid on the block, with a fresh face, and he wanted to be part of the exciting new brand. It had a harder edge that resonated with him and it was all about custom classics and hotrods, something close to his heart. Matt is a prolific collector with an extremely vast collection from wartime memorabilia to… you guessed it, cars.  Matt has multiple vehicles that he dedicates every spare moment to custom designing and building with a team of specialists in the field.

Matt has made a name for himself nationally in the drag racing scene and is at the top of his game. One of his favourite things to do is participate in charity Hotrod runs and he has a selection of cars to choose from. His BurgerFuel machines are a ’75 HJ Holden Ute (383 Holden stroker with Nitrous oxide, for those in the know) and a ’69 Chevrolet Camaro (Number 3 in the NZ Superstreet 2020), both painted in the iconic custom 3-tone pearl fadeaway paint job.

Matt feels a real pride in creating jobs for young locals and gets a lot out of public speaking and sharing his experiences about his journey and how he became a multi-business owner, hoping he can inspire others to follow their dreams, work hard and do the same.

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