Ryan Cole. Photo/Stephen Parker
He failed school tests and exams, flunked a polytech diploma in his specialist subject but - and this is a very big but - Ryan Cole's so bright Mensa has accepted him into its ranks.
Mensa's the international organisation that ranks IQs, placing those who pass its rigorous mental challenges in the top 2 per cent of the population's most intelligent members.
It's not that this 22-year-old's a self-promoting intellectual whiz kid with an over-inflated self image that we tell you his story.
To the contrary, he's verging on introverted; quizzing him about himself was one of those 'blood from a stone' interviews punctuated with long, thoughtful pauses on his part.
He's plainly uncomfortable being the focus of attention but caved in when we pointed out his outstanding achievement emphasised those who believe in him's claim that schooling as we know it isn't a 'one size fits all' learning experience.
What swung him was our assurance that others who struggle academically will likely find his success beyond the classroom personally inspirational.
Ryan's the first to admit he and school never were bosom buddies.
"During my school years I had some really cool teachers, on the other hand I'm sure there were those who couldn't wait to see the back of me. I was certainly never a shining star of the education system."
He acknowledges this candidly and without rancour.
"At school I was quite stubborn, the square peg in a round hole type, if I was told to do things a way I didn't like I didn't do it.
"I couldn't stand copying from a whiteboard.
"It was only when we were doing something that really interested me that I co-operated. I now know my attitude really held me back."
He left school without qualifications, today he's running his own IT business, specialising in building clients' websites and software packages.
This is the same young man who flunked that polytech diploma we referred to earlier. Ironically it was in computing.
Ryan blames his failure entirely on himself, not his tutors.
"I started that course at level 4, because I was 16 I couldn't do anything higher so my heart wasn't really in it although I did get 97 per cent for one paper, but when it came to the final assignments I simply didn't bother handing them in. That is now one of the biggest regrets of my life because I'm so passionate about computers."
Which begs the question how does he view himself, a nerd maybe, or a geek?
This is one response that comes quickly ."I try to strike the balance between being human and a techie." Point taken.
From polytechnic he moved into manufacturing soap, enjoying the chemistry side of the process. A spell with a video games outfit followed.
"Then I was out of work for quite a while living with my mother, not doing anything constructive with my life. I was sitting at my computer most of the day, computers are more of a passion for me than a hobby. At the back of my mind I had the thought they could help me with my future life."
Back in the workforce he moved from kitchen hand to Zorb 'launcher'.
"It was really cool, as a shy person I got to meet and talk to some really interesting people."
The company tapped into Ryan's IT skills. "I'd been helping with a few technical problems so they dedicated me to the computers, I installed a new point-of-sale system, upgraded their website, it was a great learning experience."
Two years ago Ryan and a mate from Waiariki days were invited to build a website for a home-based Tauranga business. He'd hit pay dirt.
That company, E Juice Bar, has gone gangbusters, in on the ground floor introducing the vapour that's all the rage with smokers attempting to butt out of their addiction.
It now has branches in Tauranga, Rotorua and Hamilton, the Rotorua side of the enterprise recently opened its third CBD premises - all of which has kept Ryan so flat-tack he's operating from one of the shops, although other, smaller companies remain clients.
It's also brought Ryan a life-changing perk.
"I smoked from a very young age until Ben [Kitson, E-Juice Bar's co-owner] gave me a vaporiser and I turned to vaping, a couple of weeks ago I quit that too so I'm fully done with inhaling things."
Ditching his inhibitions he comes up with a commendably frank, unprompted insight into the Ryan that went before.
"I smoked quite a bit of weed, now I've completely stopped, it's a personal choice, I haven't got anything against it as a recreational thing. By stopping it I've lost some friends but gained motivation."
So where does Mensa fit into the jigsaw that's this complex young man's life story?
It began when he spotted an ad for free testing at the library.
"I hate tests but this attracted me; I like completing sequences, patterns, which this was based on. It wasn't something I'd ever thought about but it involved the same sort of things I do for a living.
"You have to answer questions within a timeframe so you're under pressure, I have anxiety quite badly at times so for me it was pretty intense, I went into it unsure what to expect. To make the grade you have to score 98 per cent or above."
Ryan doesn't know his exact results "but I got this email saying I'd got in, let's face it IQ's a very fluid thing, there are a lot of different areas to the brain. I guess I fitted in because I'm logical, analytical, but very definitely not the world's greatest brain box".
Ryan intends to use his Mensa membership on an international level.
"It has members in many countries, I want to travel so I'm hoping to find friends in other places, do a bit of couch surfing, see the world.
"I'm planning to learn German, the software I'm using is German so I'm hoping to move there at some point to work."
Ryan Cole:
Born: Rotorua, 1995.
Education: St Michael's, John Paul College, Rotorua Intermediate, Western Heights High, Waiariki.
Family: Mother: Suzy Cole, half sister, grandparents John and Jocelyn Cole.
Interests: Computers "obviously", Photography, "I'm looking at developing this further." Mountain biking, hiking, reading sci-fi "that's pretty standard for a techie".
Cooking "I'm not very good but . . . "
On his Mensa achievement: "Because I wasn't good enough at school this is kind of a middle finger to the teachers who gave up on me."
On Rotorua: "It's very diverse."
Personal philosophy: "For all the actions in my life to come out as positives."