In the spotlight:
Celebrity chat with Nicky Styris.
Newshub sports presenter and reporter Nicky Styris is a former competitive trampolinist who taught history and physical education at secondary school before becoming a journalist. She has two daughters, aged 14 and 27, and is married to former Black Caps all-rounder Scott Styris. In 1989 she was runner-up in the Miss New Zealand competition.
Is sports reporting and presenting something you have always done for a job?
In respect to media yes, but I started out as a phys-ed (physical education) and history teacher. I didn’t go into journalism until I was 30 so I was quite late to the party. I did my degree at the University of Otago in phys-ed and a BA in history. And then I went and taught for three years at Auckland Girls’ Grammar School. It was sort of while I was there that I was in the careers room looking and I thought, ‘Actually I’d quite like to do a post-grad diploma in journalism’ because my mum had always put me in modelling things when I was younger and I sort of had this strange love for a camera.
How sporty are you?
When I was younger I was a trampolinist and I did that for a number of years. Then I went off to university but I always sort of kept sport in my life. I still play touch rugby and I go to the gym and I run. But I’m running less and less these days because I’m getting on.
How did you become involved in trampolining?
I just was like any other kid. I was about 12 and I just loved jumping around and flipping around. I actually met somebody who was
involved with a club and before I knew it, I was fully entrenched in the world of trampolining, which was obviously amateur back then. We used to go off to the world champs and that type of thing.
Do you still have a trampoline?
No. I literally just sold Emison’s (her youngest daughter) trampoline because she stopped using it. People always say to me at parties, ‘Oh get on the trampoline and show us a thing or two’ which is not a good idea. Because it’s funny how you lose your spatial awareness as you get older and then you get on and you start to go a bit dizzy. I try to stay away from them.
You’re married to a former Black Cap. Is cricket still a big part of your lives?
It is in the sense that Scott is still involved professionally with cricket commentary. So yes, in that respect, there’s an ongoing interest and it’s a sport that I’ve always enjoyed watching so in fact, if anything, I probably watch it more than he does because I guess he does it for a job, and you sort of find yourself escaping from it a little bit.
You were a runner-up Miss New Zealand. What do you remember of that time?
Well, look, if I’m honest, I’m more of a tomboy by nature. But I did used to do a bit of modelling and stuff in Dunedin when I was at university. They (the modelling school) actually entered me into it, unbeknownst to me at the time. They sort of said, ‘Oh, you know, you’re down to the last 15’ that was in the Miss New Zealand Universe when you’re not Miss Otago or any of those. You’re just sort of an individual entrant. So I just thought, ‘Oh, well, could be a bit of fun’. So I rocked along to that and lo and behold, finished runner-up. So then I was annoyed – because I like a good competition – that I didn’t win. It seems like a distant memory that’s for sure.