MOHAWK MEDIA - ORIGIN STORY

Mohawk Media was launched in 2006 in Auckland by Helen & Chelfyn Baxter. They chose a name that would stand out on their regular slots as technology and science commentators on Radio New Zealand & TelevisionThe name was inspired by their colourful hair, and background in producing independent media, running a digital download label, streaming radio shows and over a decade of online publishing.

Mohawk Media - Helen & Chelfyn Baxter
Helen

Helen Baxter

Helen was born in New Zealand and moved to the UK, ending up in Bristol in 1991. Yes, she knows who Banksy is and no, she won’t say! She was Training Manager at an ISP, delivering the first accredited internet course in the UK , developed a cutting edge elearning module – ‘All You Need to Know About the Internet…’ (Digital Cognition, 1998)  and ran workshops for journalists at the Bristol BBC office, which led to regular spots as a technology commentary on BBC Radio & TV.

Helen became Founding Editor of KnowledgeBoard, an award-winning international community for Knowledge Management & Innovation, a role she continued from New Zealand, and according to the NZ Herald she is one of New Zealand’s first international teleworkers. 

Chelfyn Baxter

Chelfyn Baxter moved to Bristol from his native city of Newcastle in 1995 to work as a 3D animator and motion graphics designer at 4:22:videographics, for award-winning science documentaries such as Body Story and BBC TV natural history series. He also worked on popular TVs shows, such as Bouncing Back with Jonny Ball and as a 3D modeler for game design.

Helen & Chelfyn were married on the legendary Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2000 before moving to New Zealand in 2001, settling in the Waikato, then Waitakere before relocating to Wellington in 2010.

Chelfyn

Auckland

The first project from Mohawk Media was creating 3D animated brain graphics for a TVNZ documentary – Decoding Dyslexia – which played at Cannes MIPDOC and had aired on global TV. 

‘The Baxters’ started appearing as science & technology commentators on Afternoons with Jim Mora, Radio New Zealand, with Helen writing a column on digital tools for creative entrepreneurs in The MsBehaviour Files at the Big Idea, (2006-2017). She is now a technology commentator for Sunday Mornings (Radio NZ).

Radio New Zealand Podcasts with the Baxters (2008 – 2021) 

the g33k show

In 2008 they wrote, presented and produced the g33k show, an animated science and technology series, made with a two person team from ‘somewhere in West Auckland’, using a mobile phone camera, broadcast TV tricks and animated avatars as presenters.

The first season of the g33k show was broadcast on indie free to air station ALT TV, SKY TV, streamed online and podcast, before evolving onto a weekly web streaming slot on the Radio Wammo show, Kiwi FM until 2012.

You can watch episodes of the g33k show here.

the g33k show
Wellington

Wellington

Mohawk Media’s HQ is now on Cuba Street in the capital’s creative quarter. Since moving to Wellington in 2010, they have focussed on building up a network of creative, technical, communication & training professionals including te reo Māori voices, and have worked with some of the largest organisations in New Zealand.

The team are proud of the content and training they have produced, which has always had a strong health, science, tech and community focus. They love making content that makes a positive impact on New Zealand and the world. 

 

Their favourite quote from a client is: 

"Mohawk Media are creative and edgy, (but not too edgy), and deliver professional results."