Meurant Botha

Company Owner and partner

Meurant’s role in the company:
Event organiser
Consultation
Contracts
Master Trail Builder & designer
Sponsorship Manager
Artwork - Designer
IT

Arina Botha

Company Owner and partner

Arina worked in the service & wine industries during holidays & weekends since she was sixteen.  After matriculating at Paarl Gymnasium, she first completed the National Diploma General Management at Cape Technikon, before working & travelling in the UK & Europe for one year.  Back in SA while working at a wine estate, she realized the travelling bug was too strong, and for another two years she lived, worked & travelled in the USA where she mostly had adventures on the West Coast & Hawaii.  During this time she started MTBing (skiing & hking trips too) in the Rockies & Sierra Mountains. Dollars were earned mostly in the service industry abroad, but back in SA the wine industry called again, and she worked at famous estates for more than 10 years - PR, Sales, Exports & Admin, Marketing etc. Loving mountain biking singletrack always, competition was never in her blood - rather trail riding, but she did compete in provincials XC & downhill for a few years. After meeting Meurant in '95, and getting involved with MTB events part time, she finally left the 'monthly salary' to be a full time partner in Dirtopia by 2003. Now also teaching their daughter, Kaylee the love for outdoors and farm life...  Time on the bike is less now, with the business and little one keeping her busy :-)

Arina’s role in the company-
Administration
Event organizer
Finances
Trail Centre Manager
PR & marketing manager
Website support

Nicolene van der Merwe

Event and administrative liaison

Nicolene studied a BCom Tourism Management Degree at Tuks and spent a year working in the motorsport industry as an event assistant. She then spent two years in England doing pretty much anything from dishwashing to admin. whilst there she completed a diploma in event planning. Once back in S.A. she took an eventing position working for her dad on a 4x4 competition-The Spirit of Africa. After a background of 4 wheels decided it was time to try out 2 wheels and took the position at Dirtopia in February 09.

Nicolene’s role in the company-
Administration
Marketing
Event assistant
Website support

Dirtopia also contracts a construction trail building team and has various part-time crew members that assist on events and in the trail centre.