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Meet your next airport ride, and Dance Mom returns

Welcome to The Nugget, a 24k gold newsletter about Castlemaine's people and events

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The Nugget
January 17, 2025

★ MEET YOUR NEXT AIRPORT RIDE ★

Nick “Castlemaine Flyer” Frederiksen

Nick Frederiksen is a builder of companies and self-professed “Tesla fan boy”. He smartly smooshed those two truths together and created Castlemaine Flyer - a Tesla airport transfer service.

It started as "a little idea" when Castlemania blew up with news that the airport shuttle bus would no longer be stopping in Castlemaine.

Nick was still working a day job, but wanted to give it a go. "I started driving at book ends of the day. I thought, I'll just do some early mornings and late nights, see if this works," Nick says.

"Now we've got seven cars operating 24-7. There are three trips on today. I'm about to do a double header — a drop off and a pickup. It's been a fun little journey."

This is a new chapter for Nick, after selling his portion of Timing Solutions, a company he co-founded.

Timing Solutions offers registrations and results software for sports events. The company helped Little Athletics shift from using paper-based race results to wireless timing gates. Parent volunteers across the country no doubt wept tears of joy.

This was all happening in Melbourne, back in the early 20-teens. In 2014, family ties brought Nick and his wife to the Goldfields.

"My mum is Italian. She came out when she was four, couldn't speak English. She was living in Harcourt. This little Anglo girl down the road, (my wife's mum), couldn't speak Italian but they knew how to play. So they were besties from four our five years old."

When Nick’s Melbourne landlord wanted to move back into the house he was renting, the Harcourt house sprang to mind.

Nick and his wife had three little girls at the time and didn’t need to be in the city for work. The orchard house in Harcourt where his mum grew up was empty. A tree change seemed like the right move.

"It's weird. Just a random sequence of events. We ended up back in the house at Harcourt."

They later moved to Castlemaine, where they love being able to walk everywhere, mountain bike and have great conversations.

As he was transitioning out of Timing Solutions Nick thought a good side hustle would be doing Uber in Bendigo.

"I'd been waiting for my first Tesla to arrive and thinking, I love this car, I don't mind chatting to people, why don't I make some money at night if the girls are busy and I'm free. I could either be Netflixing or getting out, meeting people and adding some value."

The end of the airport shuttle bus’ Castlemaine service opened up a new opportunity close to home.

So, why Teslas?

"We wouldn't be doing this business if it wasn't for those cars. The EV in general makes the economics work to do the trips. The fuel is so cheap — free if you've got solar,” Nick says.

“The batteries are good for 1M kms. There's no servicing at all apart from tires, washer fluid and wiper blades. So as long as you plug in, you've got a nearly free overhead. And it's safer — literally 10x safer — with it driving and me observing, compared to the alternative.”

Nick is stoked for the next update, which will help detect and avoid kangaroos.

Customers appreciate the door-to-door service, word of mouth is spreading and the business is growing.

Nick and his fellow drivers are constantly blown away by the wild and wonderful locals they are getting to know on their airport runs.

"One lady, she's Ozzy Osbourne's manager and a mom of three. Nothing happens in the Osborne family without going through her,” Nick says.

“And Mr. Porsche. He's the head of Porsche education and training in Australia. Just all sorts of people."

Unexpected, but not, because, Castlemaine. It is the home of characters with killer stories. And now, a Tesla airport transfer service, too.

❀ DANCE MOM RETURNS ❀

It’s true. Dance Mom has emerged from the holiday haze and she’s working on the family calendar. The date for Hot Moves No Pressure 2025 is coming soon. I. Can’t. Wait.

♡˖ EVENTS ˖♡

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