Gone are the days of milking cows for Chantelle Kelly who turned her passion into her job.
And it's paid off as her business, Extreme Beauty, is the winner of The Hits Rotorua Top Shop and Must-Do's latest category.
What started as a workplace debate on the best fish and chips in Rotorua has become a 2019 mission for The Hits, supported by the Rotorua Daily Post, with category six pitting locals' favourite hair and beauty spots against each other.
"I was a dairy farmer beforehand but decided I like doing nails so set it up as a hobby," Kelly said.
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Advertise with NZME.The salon, which does everything from tanning, to waxing, to nails and soon hair, was voted the winner over A Touch Of Elegance, Lady Diva and LV Mobile Tanning.
Kelly believes what puts her salon up above the rest is her staff.
"We're basically a family, all of us get along so well.
"I think the coolest thing is we all know our clients' kids names, their husbands and their dogs."
Small signs with details on how to vote are situated on the nail tables and Kelly jokes she didn't have to pay her clients too much to vote for them.
Now, after the winning news, Kelly is shouting a bottle of champagne for her staff to thank them for their service.
"I'm just so chuffed that we won, I actually can't believe we were nominated in the first place."
The Hits presenter Paul Hickey said when the results were finalised it was a clear-cut win for Extreme Beauty.
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Advertise with NZME."It's great to see the excitement from the Extreme Beauty team after reading some of the fantastic comments from their voters.
"They do a fabulous job and deserve the win."
Hickey said the next category is the final category in the year-long search for Rotorua's Top Shops and Must-Do's.
"It's not a shop, we're looking for another one of our city's 'must-do's' and it's part of the business community which is getting set for a very busy time."
The last category will be revealed on The Hits on November 4.
