Bazzamitazz Hocking

We don't want to blow our own trumpet here, but we proudly call Mr Bazzamitazz (Barrett Hocking) one of our very own.
Barrett managed to wiggle his way through the masses with his superior Instagram Reels, and Facebook live updates, smiles and enthusiasm– not seeking to rely on his musical prowess to get some free kit and race entries (we are still waiting on those free music festival passes, wink wink).

Barrett is ever the humble South Islander, more commonly found fangirling the likes of Grant Guise and Ryan Carr than spouting on about how he has crushed the brass in the most recent festival or orchestra recital near you.
With a heart of gold, Barrett has made his way in the running community. Overwhelmed by the support he has received on the trail, Barrett likes to give back.

Spending hours of his time trawling on BSR (Big Sunday Runs), investigating who on earth Lu Kocking could be and taking fingerprints off the randomly installed gate in his honour.

When not a willing participant in an internet meme, Barrett has a side of trail running he takes seriously. He is heavily involved in The Speed Freaks, a running for recovery group created through Odessy house in Christchurch.

Full throttle into everything he does, Barrett is known for sneaking out of rehearsal, driving in the middle of the night so that he could pace one of the Speed Freaks through his first 100 miler. It is rumoured then headed back to Christchurch in the early hours of the morning and slotted back into the Symphony Orchestra for another day of hooting on his trumpet (literally).

Though he can be challenging to understand (because he constantly talks in acronyms), the man plays a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday. He has filled the shop walls with laughter, enthusiasm and luscious locks that make all the ladies jealous.

Barrett started on the brass at seven years old in the depths of Timaru. He managed to shine his light through the 100 odd students and broke away from the mould, eventually finding himself studying in London and showing the world what this south Cantabrian had to offer.
Here love for moving his feet developed to balance out the many craft beers he drank to sustain himself through the long nights of serenading Britain.

Barrett eventually decided it was time to "cool-me-down" and found himself back in the land of the long white cloud and joined the long-standing, well-loved, kiwi favourite band – the Black Seeds. Ten years later, he is still pumping around festivals up and down the country, teaching our youth how to blow a horn and be "something so cool" and well running? A lot of that too.
We don't know whether Big Sunday Runs found him, or he found it – we don't even really know if anyone understands what the group actually is – if you haven't heard of it, look it up on Facebook.

Jokes aside, the big man found a community of runners in Wellington that all shared the same froth levels for taking trig selfies, running incredibly long distances, and knabbing an FKT / VK / SK.
Barrett can be found scrolling Strava meticulously, seeing if his latest crown has been taken on a segment (that he may have created himself).

He eventually moved down to the 03 and spread his wings in the trail-running mob that infiltrates the South Island—running Kepler, Northburn, Mt Difficultly and several other next-level events in stonking times.
On the rainiest day in Canterburys' living memory, Barrett decided to spend just under 24 hours cutting laps up the pipeline and clocking a somewhat remarkable 10,000 metres vert. Barrett's community was out in full force, joining him throughout the day, sharing some yarns until they couldn't keep up with this man on a mission.

After deciding that the vertical of Everest was no longer a challenge for him, Barrett turned his eye to multisport. He put himself in the capable hands of coach Rosie Shakespeare – taking on the challenge of a small race in February from the West to the East Coast.

These days, after running up a mountain and teaching some kids the trumpet, Barrett spends his spare time on wheels or in a boat, sticking to his training programme – there are few more dedicated to an early morning paddle or cutting laps up Mt Pleasant Road.
We are pretty excited to see what the big man can do and hoping he will be providing the halftime entertainment at Klondyke corner, the Black Solo Seed special (albeit a slightly delayed performance).

If you see him out on the trails, river or road, give him a wave and spin some yarns, he's the friendliest guy we have to offer.

Written by Holly Weston - Further Faster Firebird and Barrett Hocking Fangirl.