What is your history with sports and athletics?
I played various sports at school and went on to play a few sports while in the South African Navy but after a few major obstacles in my life I gave up everything except golf which ended up being more of a drinking game than a sport.
During 2016/2017 at age 42 and weighing around 120kg I suffered three minor heart attacks and my doctor told me that if I don’t change my life around drastically I won’t live to see the age of 45.
In the last 3 years I have done exactly that and have become a double Ironman South Africa Tour Series medal recipient and an inspirational (hopefully) charity athlete.
What do you enjoy most about being an athlete?
Through Ironman training and events, I have shown others that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they just shift the focus of why they do it from themselves to others.
In the beginning I was unable to walk along the beachfront without stopping to rest and recover, to meet my son on the red carpet in his first IronKids event and cheer him over the finish line.
This year my whole family (including my mom-in-law) is involved in events throughout the year and we are actively involved in fundraising for charities that are very dear to me and which mean a huge amount to all of them.
An Ironman journey is just that – a journey – and there is a starting point and a destination and the road that we travel between these two points is what makes us who we are and determines the reasons for us taking this journey in the first place.
We also need to have fun along the way!
I said three years ago that if I was able to inspire or motivate just one person to be better then I would be happy with what I have achieved and to date I have done so much more.
Have you experienced any challenges or obstacles?
With all the health issues I had when I started it was an immense effort to just climb on a bike, walk around the block or do anything other than sit on the steps of the swimming pool.
The first thing I had to do was join an organisation (team and charity) who would hold me accountable for the effort I had put in so that if I didn’t stick to the program I would be letting them down instead of myself.
I also had various challenges when it came to equipment because I had nothing when I started and relied completely on hand-me-downs and clothing, shoes and even a bike that people had lying around who were willing to take a chance on me and help me out.
My family became my greatest asset and supported every kilometre of my journey because they could see the different person that I was becoming despite my endless complaining and need for extended periods of rest and recovery.
They started making alternate suggestions to events when I was at my limit and got themselves involved in my story because it was a story that they wanted to be a part of and share with me now that they could see I might be around for a while.
What is your “why?”
This journey is not done yet and my road has taken a whole new turn to include so much more than what I initially intended.
I continually remind myself that even though I am reaping the rewards health-wise, this journey and what I do is not about me!
I am so honored to be associated with Smile Foundation, ironman4thekidz and Ironman for Nature, and to be able to help others in a way that, despite the time constraints, fits into my new lifestyle.
I am exploring new options, finding new obstacles, making new friends, building new relationships, crossing new borders and covering new ground and I am so excited to share this journey with anyone and everyone in the hopes that someone realizes they are able to do so much more or be so much more than what they think when they are stuck in a hole that life has dug them into – especially in the times we find ourselves in currently in 2020.
What is your favorite gear or training equipment?
In the last couple of months because of my charity efforts through our hard lockdown period I have been thoroughly blessed with Venture Sport International loaning me a #CORE carbon tt-bike with #SALTcarbon wheels to aid me in getting faster and stronger on the bike leg of my races.
I have also partnered up with HOKA ONE ONE and 32Gi Sports Nutrition who give me discounted rates so that I am able to sustain my level of training and participation without it affecting my work life.
I have gotten myself a coach at Aspire#LiveFit who understands the effort that charity work, a full time job, a large family and training/competing takes and who is flexible enough to help me reach the goals that I have set for myself.
What’s next?
As a charity athlete I rely entirely on the generosity of others, whether it be through direct donations to the charities or through sponsorship of equipment or race fees, to keep me doing what I do.
I am privileged to get my entry fees for all Big O Sports Events sponsored by my company which gives me a new dimension to my training (which now incorporates trail running) which I thoroughly enjoy as it brings me close to nature and allows me share the experience with my family.
But will this all one day get me to Kona?
My family and I dream of travelling one day and me competing (them supporting) in an international race but financially I am not even at the point of a smart trainer in order to do the IronmanVR Rouvy courses yet so I still have a very long way to go before I can even think along these lines.
For now my goals are all related to the charities I support!
Any fun facts about yourself?
I do my best to have as much fun as possible and do as many new events as I can so please feel free to follow me on social media or make donations to my various charities:
Do you have any advice for someone interested in getting started?
Stop making excuses and start!
If I was to list all the reason why I wasn’t able to start on this journey I would probably not be alive to tell my story.
Get your family involved, join a charity/team/club if you can – friends let you down unfortunately but family sticks with you and supports you and being a part of a group that shares your passion will ultimately get you where you need to be.