Sport & fitness

Chess

I played chess through primary and high school, and during high school I competed at the South African National Championships. It's where I first got hooked on thinking several moves ahead and reading a position under pressure, habits that carried straight over into writing software.

Growing up

Alongside chess I played cricket and swam galas through my school years, a mix of team sport and individual racing that kept the competitive streak well fed.

After school

The sport didn't stop when school did. I've played action cricket and squash, and I've completed a number of Warrior Race obstacle course races, mud, walls, monkey bars and all.

The health journey

How did I get there? Life got loud. I went self-employed in 2016, exciting, but a financial tightrope. Around the same time my wife and I spent a couple of years trying to start a family, including a round of IVF that didn't work. Then, against the odds, our miracle son arrived in late 2019, just months before the COVID lockdowns turned everything upside down in 2020.

Between the pressure of running a business, the emotional toll, a new baby and a world in lockdown, my own health became somthing I'd "worry about later". I became sedentary without really noticing, and the wheels slowly came off.

In 2024 a visit to the doctor came back with blood results that were all over the place. That was the wake-up call. Since then I've gotten everything back into the green, and now I'm pushing past "okay" toward genuinely healthy, hitting the gym and dialling in the habits.