From near-death experience to creating his own business: Meet Troy Hall

Troy Hall and daughter Nevaeh.

Twelve years ago, Troy Hall was fighting for his life in a hospital bed with third-degree burns across 60 per cent of his body. Unable to move or talk, the then 22-year-old had been electrocuted twice while picking avocados for work on an orchard in Tauranga. Told he’d likely never walk again, Troy vowed to recover, assuring himself, “I’ll show them”.

Now, the 35-year-old dad of one is an entrepreneurial success on the Kāpiti Coast, having launched his fresh fruit and vegetable business Crispy Avo two years ago. Selling quality produce at stalls, in wholesale, and in weekly subscription box deals, Troy has customers all across New Zealand and no plans of stopping.

“I took my first steps a few weeks after being told I’d never walk again in hospital, out of sheer determination. Then I regained my voice not long after,” says Troy, who launched a fruit and veggie delivery service around the Kāpiti-Horowhenua region this month. “I’m really grateful for where I’m at now and realise how powerful the mind is. It’ll make or break you.”

Troy was electrocuted twice by 110,000-volt power lines while working in wet conditions on a cherry-picker in 2011. The first flashover struck him on the right side of his head, jumping from the powerline and killing him. Miraculously, as his helpless father raced towards him, a second bolt struck Troy through his chest, bringing him back to life but burning him from the inside out.

He vaguely remembers being completely blind and only able to hear voices, as an ambulance officer placed him on a stretcher. Troy’s body swelled to about five times its size and the former Kāpiti College student was told he needed to be put in a coma.

Troy Hall received third-degree burns to 60 per cent of his body when he was electrocuted twice while working on a cherry-picker in 2011.

Two weeks later, the determined dad to daughter Nevaeh woke to find he couldn’t move, see, or talk properly. Weighing just 35kg, Troy had third-degree burns to his leg, torso, and arms. At one stage, doctors warned he’d likely need to have his right leg and arm amputated.

While he admits the few years following his accident were dark and painful, seeing him slip into depression not long after the birth of his Kāpiti-based daughter, who is 9, Troy clung to hope and the thought of his young girl.

When he started Crispy Avo in 2021, it was a way for him to regularly travel down from Tauranga to visit Nevaeh, while making money from selling avocados at the Paraparaumu Beach Saturday Market.

Today, he has a regular Saturday spot there from 7.30am to 12pm, having realised the popularity of avocados after Kāpiti locals lapped up the freshness of produce handpicked from one of New Zealand’s fruit-growing hotspots.

“I thought, ‘I should be doing this more!’” laughs Troy, who contracted on orchards for eight years before venturing out on his own. “Being in direct contact with the public was also a way for me to overcome my anxieties around people seeing my burns. I’ve found that once we get talking about it, they respond to you in a different way. It’s like breaking the ice.”

Troy chose the unique name Crispy Avo in hope it’ll spark questions from curious customers about his burns and he tells, “People say, ‘Avocados aren’t crispy,’ and I reply, ‘but I am!’ Then they start to learn my story.”

Troy Hall behind his stall at the Paraparaumu Beach Saturday Market.

Troy now works with a speech coach and has stood up in front of hundreds of people at safety days for large-scale earthworks and roading companies, sharing his inspiring and heart-wrenching experience.

“It’s hard when you’ve got all those eyes looking at you, but again, it’s about taking control of that anxiety and I get myself into a space of being excited about it,” Troy says. “At the start they’re kind of like, ‘Why are you here?’ But a minute into my speech, I show them the first picture of me after my accident and they’re all of a sudden locked in.”

Prior to his accident, Troy’s father warned him to be careful around the overhead powerlines, which the then “fearless” youngster laughed off.

“I speak on self-care and worrying about others around you in your work environment because a lot of us, especially males, can put our ego in front of doing the right thing and do stupid stuff. About 89 per cent of deaths in the workplace are male, so they’re my target audience.”

Troy is also supplying fresh avocados to local restaurants, cafes, and sushi shops, and will provide the food for a healthy eating programme that’s being run by a fellow business owner in collaboration with Ministry of Health.

“I was never really an avo fan!” Troy admits. “But I got into eating them when I realised they’re a superfood and I’ve noticed a difference in my health. I’m passionate about promoting a healthy lifestyle now.”

After a successful summer selling seasonal berries and fruits last year, Troy will be back under a gazebo providing bright, fresh fruit at the markets this summer, happy to share his tale.

“The long-term goal is to have my business franchised and little Crispy vans all around,” he enthuses. “I’m a few steps from there, but it’s definitely the vision.”

To order Troy’s fruit and veggie boxes, head to: Crispy Avo.