Hugo, 12, loves freeride and because his mum Claudia Guisolan supports him and his sister Elsie, 14, by herself, he decided last year to help her out and raise money for his lessons and competition fees.
He has previously mowed lawns and raffled donated items to raise money for his lessons.
Last weekend, a part-time Wānaka flower grower came to his aid and donated masses of sunflowers, dahlias, and lilies for Hugo to sell outside Kai Whakapai cafe.
"Last year I had Luke Jurgo and Sam Lee and Corey Levine as my coaches. I love it. I started doing the comps and stuff about two years ago, when I was 10. But I first skied when I was about 3."
Ms Guisolan said her son had displayed a lot of natural ability and his coaches were keen to help him progress towards his dream of a podium finish for New Zealand.
Although she does not ski much herself, she was keen for Hugo to stay in touch with the positive male role models.
Sea to You owner Johnny Shea had helped Hugo’s fundraising last year by donating items and had been a good role model.
So too had this year’s donor, who Ms Guisolan only met last week after he reached out on social media to give his flowers to someone who wanted to raisemoney.
"He is just a really kind soul. Super kind," she said.
While happy to show the Wānaka Sun around his flower patch, the grower — who works full-time in another industry — did not want his identity revealed.
Hugo’s Saturday street market was a sell-out and the grower also made his flower patch available for picking on Sunday, for a koha. All proceeds went to Hugo’s 2025 training campaign.
There is a range of freeride ski programmes available at Treble Cone, and Hugo’s goal is to raise about $4000 to cover two days a week training, plus a school holiday programme.
