Year in Review: 2025

Two years ago, I started doing yearly reviews, as a way to reflect on the year that has passed, and plan for the year ahead. Here's last years review of 2024.

When I started doing them I tried to do a last year vs next year type of approach. The issue with this is, it's not really how it works in real life. In reality it's much more fluid.

So while this review happens to be written around the time when we transition from one year to another, it's actually going to be a snapshot of where I am currently at and where I'm headed. Ideally I should do this a few times a year to reflect and adjust, but for now I'll start with this one.

As always, my over-arching philosophy is MAXIMISE FREEDOM ↔ BUILD A LEGACY

Becoming a parent

This is a new section, and I'm putting it first because it influences and will continue influencing the rest of the sections for the foreseeable future.

Me and my wife got married very young, straight out of university. Initially people thought we might be getting married because we "have to". There were even a few rumours circulating in the small town I grew up in.

Unbeknownst to us, it would not be that easy. After about 4 years being married we decided that we were ready to start a family, and my wife went off her contraceptives.

Month 1, nothing. Maybe next month, nothing. Some people take up to a year right? About now we started wondering what was going on. We reach out to a fertility clinic in Cape Town and started the long emotional roller coaster of fertility treatment.

After three years of trying to conceive, my wife is finally pregnant. We went through multiple hormone treatments, various medications, two surgeries, and one cycle of IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation), all while doing everything we could to stay as healthy as possible.

I have not written about this ever throughout the journey, but now I believe it's important that other people know that it's not always that simple, but there is always hope, albeit through a different path.

I can honestly say that going through this process has been the hardest challenge I have ever had to face both personally and in our marriage, but luckily we weathered the storm and I believe we are stronger than ever because of it.

At the time of writing my wife is 18 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, and the scans and testing indicate that he is healthy and getting ready to take on the real world.

This has obviously put me on a new path of musing and I am looking at everything through a different lens. The second part of my over-arching philosophy has always been build a legacy, but the fact that in a few months time I will have a baby boy, has come and made this a concrete reality.

At the moment, we are being inundated with advice and stories of how other people raised their kids, and I'm trying my best to take the best and disgard the rest.

At the moment, the scarlet thread through everything is that I want to raise a good man, who's not a doos. Sounds simpler than it is - but I will give it my best shot.

I'm continually working on a type of Life Operating System, with principles that I think are important, and I will try and instil these in my kids. This system is not complete and probably never will, but I will adapt and improve it as I navigate through life.

Mental + Spiritual Health

This is also a new section, but I think it's important to reflect on it.

In the last 3-5 years there have been faced with two periods that have posed severe mental and spiritual challenges.

• I knife attack on a close friend, where I had to race him to the hospital, through ongoing traffic and I believe he almost died.
• Trying to conceive a baby for 3 years and undergoing fertility treatment.

Both of these have challenged my belief system and I've went from being extremely involved in Church; going to cell groups each week and church each week, leading a cell group, going on a mission trip to India to not being involved at all.

I've been plagued with the standard questions of:

• Why us?
• Why does prayer not work?
• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• I did everything I was "supposed" to, but why do I still feel abandoned?

At the same time I realised that the Christians around me are self-soothing by always defaulting to "God has a plan" or "He will make all things work out for the greater good" and avoiding the reality that sometimes we just have to face it and do something about our situation.

"Trust in God, but tie your camel" - Arabic Proverb

At the moment I'm finding myself in a Catch 22, where I know that the Christian values are a good way to raise a child (however calling them Christian values is a misnomer, because they are actually just Good values and you don't have to be Christian to have them), but coming from an extreme church background that bordered on cultish, I want to avoid that semi-brainwashed state and raise children that are not "so up there that they're useless down here".

At the moment, I'm not saying that I don't believe, I just realised that religion/faith/belief is not as simple as I believed it to be when I was 21 and swept up into the mission of "saving the world" at all costs - and I'm not sure if I want to mislead my child to believe that everything is black and white, when it's actually nuanced.

Physical health

This year was probably one of the best years for my physical health after my "prime years" of competing seriously in powerlifting back in university. In summary I tried to take a more balanced approach to ensure I am still healthy when I am older. It would be awesome if I can be physically and mentally healthy to one day play with my grand kids and be the cool grandpa.

• Played squash 2 times a week with my wife (some periods of the year we played less due to the fertility treatments). This will probably become less and less, but I might try and find another partner to play with.
• I have been doing strength training 2-3 times per week, and my strength is pretty good. I've not been pushing this too hard, to ensure I recover for the other workouts.
• Improved my home gym by improving equipment storage, bought a pull-up bar and a adjustable weight bench and this has allowed me to train much more effective.
• Added in VO2 Max Training using the Norwegian 4x4 Protocol to improve cardiovascular fitness using an Assault Bike and running on a Skill-mill.
• Seeing that we will be able to play less squash this year, I want to start doing swimming. I swam when I was in primary school, so the base is there, I believe this could be great training and it might also help drop some stubborn body fat.
• I started doing more Cross-fit type workouts to build strength and endurance in shorter 20-30 minutes workouts. These workouts are very effective if you don't have a lot of time or you want a lot of bang for your buck. I've been following David Winne on Instagram, he is an active soldier in the US Army and he regularly posts workouts, which has been the inspiration for this.
• Two years ago, I decided to start getting a comprehensive set of blood tests done annually. The goal is to establish a strong baseline of my key biomarkers while I'm at my physical prime, so I can track any changes over time, spot potential issues early, and make targeted lifestyle or health adjustments to optimise longevity and performance. Here are the biomarkers I monitor, along with a brief reason for testing each one and a short explanation of what the marker measures:
  • Magnesium (essential mineral for muscle, nerve, and energy function) Reason: Common deficiency; supports heart health, energy production, and reduces risk of cramps or fatigue.
  • Vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D, key hormone-like vitamin) Reason: Widespread deficiency; vital for bone health, immune function, mood, and reducing inflammation.
  • S-Iron (serum iron, measures circulating iron levels) Reason: Part of iron status assessment; helps detect anemia or overload affecting energy and oxygen transport.
  • S-Transferrin (protein that transports iron in blood) Reason: Evaluates iron binding capacity; useful for diagnosing iron deficiency or chronic disease.
  • Transferrin Saturation (percentage of transferrin bound to iron) Reason: Indicates how well iron is utilized; imbalances linked to fatigue or organ stress.
  • Ferritin (protein that stores iron in cells) Reason: Best marker of stored iron; low levels cause fatigue, high levels may signal inflammation or overload.
  • HbA1c (hemoglobin A1c, average blood sugar over 2-3 months) Reason: Tracks long-term glucose control; key for preventing diabetes, metabolic issues, and accelerating aging.
  • Apolipoprotein A1 (main protein in "good" HDL cholesterol) Reason: Protective against heart disease; higher levels support better cardiovascular health.
  • Apolipoprotein B (main protein in "bad" LDL and other atherogenic particles) Reason: Superior marker for heart disease risk; reflects number of harmful cholesterol particles.
  • ApoB:ApoA1 Ratio (ratio of risky to protective particles) Reason: Strong predictor of cardiovascular risk; better than standard cholesterol ratios for longevity.
  • hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, marker of low-level inflammation) Reason: Detects chronic inflammation; elevated levels increase risk of heart disease and other age-related issues.
  • S-Cholesterol (total cholesterol in blood) Reason: Overall lipid overview; part of assessing cardiovascular and metabolic health.
  • S-HDL Cholesterol ("good" cholesterol that removes excess from arteries) Reason: Higher levels protect against heart disease; supports fat transport and hormone production.
  • S-LDL Cholesterol (measured) ("bad" cholesterol that can build up in arteries) Reason: Direct measure of atherogenic particles; key for heart disease risk evaluation.
  • S-Triglycerides (blood fats from diet or excess calories) Reason: High levels linked to insulin resistance and heart risk; reflects metabolic efficiency.
  • Chol:HDL Ratio (total cholesterol divided by HDL) Reason: Simple indicator of cardiovascular risk; lower ratio is better.
  • Free Testosterone (unbound, active form of testosterone hormone) Reason: Supports muscle, energy, libido, and mood; tracks age-related decline.
  • Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) (protein that binds sex hormones) Reason: Affects free hormone availability; high levels can reduce active testosterone/estrogen.
  • Total Testosterone (overall testosterone levels in blood) Reason: Essential for vitality, strength, and metabolic health; monitors hormonal balance.
  • Cortisol (primary stress hormone from adrenals) Reason: Indicates stress response and adrenal function; chronic highs/lows impact energy and recovery.
  • TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone from pituitary) Reason: Screens thyroid function; imbalances affect metabolism, energy, and weight.
  • Free T4 (active thyroid hormone thyroxine) Reason: Direct measure of thyroid output; supports energy, mood, and overall metabolism.
  • Creatinine (waste product from muscle breakdown) Reason: Assesses kidney function; important for detoxification and long-term health.
  • Full Blood Count (CBC) (complete analysis of red/white blood cells, platelets, etc.) Reason: Overall health snapshot; detects anemia, infection, inflammation, or blood disorders.
• I'm not going to share the full panel of results, but on both this years tests and last years tests, I saw that my cholesterol is a slightly high, however the ApoB:ApoA1 Ratio indicates that I don't need to worry about it.
• Over the past two years of annual comprehensive blood testing, I've consistently found that my free testosterone levels are slightly low. I don't have a baseline from when I was younger (e.g., age 18), and it's possible that I have high androgen receptor density, meaning I might achieve similar physiological effects with lower circulating testosterone than someone else. That said, I still want to optimise my levels proactively.

Low Free Testosterone Rabbit Hole

After researching potential causes, I learned that low testosterone can stem from primary hypogonadism (issues with the testes themselves) or secondary hypogonadism (insufficient signalling from the brain/pituitary). Additional blood panels showed low LH (luteinising hormone) with normal FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), pointing toward secondary hypogonadism. In theory, increasing LH should stimulate the testes to produce more testosterone.

One common medical approach is prescription medications like clomiphene (which boosts LH production), but I preferred to explore natural options first. That's why I chose to try Fadogia agrestis—a herbal supplement traditionally used as an aphrodisiac and promoted for potentially increasing LH and testosterone—for an 8-week cycle.

(Note: While animal studies suggest Fadogia agrestis can raise testosterone and LH in rats, there are no robust human clinical trials confirming these effects, and some rodent research raises concerns about potential toxicity to the testes, liver, or kidneys at higher doses. I'm monitoring closely with blood work.)

Maintaining optimal testosterone offers many benefits, including better energy, muscle maintenance, mood, libido, and metabolic health—especially as levels naturally decline with age. This has become a priority for me as I focus on long-term vitality.

In a few weeks, I'll retest my full panel to see if this approach made any difference.

• At the moment my supplement regime is:
  • Creatine (10 to 20 grams per day)
  • Omega 3’s
  • Magnesium Glycinate
  • Vitamin D
  • Zinc
  • Multi-vitamin
  • Whey Protein
  • Fadogia Agrestis
• I know that once our baby boy arrives, it won't be as easy to maintain my health, but I'm going to try my best to do it. Whether that means working a bit less, getting up earlier in the mornings, I will find a way.

Computer Programming

For the past 2 years, I have made it my goal to code every single day, and while I don't always manage to do it, it is definitely the one "work" activity I do, which gives me the greatest joy and I believe it's the greatest lever I can pull in terms of maximising my freedom and building a legacy.

Some of the highlight of my coding in 2025 was:

• Migrating all of my projects to use the same programming technologies. This makes it much easier to maintain and it creates a synergistic effect where a improvement on one project, can be implemented on all other projects.
• My squash club started using squashbooking.com and through the year we added 2 more clubs. At the moment we have 1115 users and an average of 1500-2000 bookings made per month. I don't get any financial gain from the project, however we don't use pen and paper for bookings anymore and that in itself is a win. At the moment I'm just making small improvements and exploring ways to monetise in a way that does not take away from the current utility of the app.
• I launched a new project, called Piko - Pickup Reminder, which solves a very annoying problem where clients placed online orders and use the Local Pickup option, but they never collect the orders. At the moment the app is installed on 28 different online shops of which 6 are paying clients and the rest are on free plans.
• I made a lot of progress on SendKit, and it has become a fully fledged email marketing platform. I use it to send marketing and transactional emails for all my projects. At the moment I am working on building a Shopify App that allows merchants to use SendKit on Shopify and list it on the Shopify App Store, because I've had great success with my other app mentioned above, getting many installs without actually doing much marketing.
• I made loads of behind the scenes improvements on Daily Bulk Wine making it easier to buy and sell bulk wines.
• This year I continued refining Daily Sync, which is an in-house program I have developed, which automates and runs most of my main business The Daily Wine and Koelenhof Wine Cellar's online sales.
• I built a home-lab which is essentially a server that runs in a closet in my house. I use it for tasks that require a lot of power and storage. (for the nerds out there, it has 128GB of RAM and 4TB of mirrored backup capacity in other words 8TB of storage)

Income Streams

I've continued to try and increase the amount of income streams to create a robust monthly income that's resilient to changes out of my control. I believe that once our baby arrives I will start reaping the benefits of building these income streams the last 5 years to be as automated as possible and being able to run them remotely.

Daily Bulk Wine - this year I made some new connections which resulted in good bulk wine commissions and I believe that these connections will continue to be fruitful in 2026.

Kiki & Co - unfortunately me and my business partner decided to close the business down. It was due to a combination of factors and while it was sad to do so, I have gained lifelong friends from the endeavour and I would not have it any other way.

Nurudev - we have solid tenants in our property and we are focusing on paying of our bond on our first property so that we can start using the cash from the first flat to finance a second one. We should be able to do so in 2-3 years. The recent decreases in interest rates will allow us to do this.

The Daily Wine - while the general wine industry was down about 20%, our sales were only down about 10%. That being said we still made more profit than the previous years due to cost savings on couriers and advertising. I believe that I've found the niche we need to serve, which is find the best wines at great prices and deliver them to the clients nationwide.

Koelenhof Wine Cellar Online Sales - we've had another record year of online sales, an 10% increase from last years sales. There is definitely more room for growth as our clients become more online savvy.

SendKit - at the moment the only two paying customers is The Daily Wine and Koelenhof Wine Cellar - however it provides me with a good amount of income to finance nice-to-haves and unforeseen expenses. Of all my income streams I believe that SendKit is poised to become the biggest earner if I can continue adding clients, whilst maintaining performance. I aim to do this, by building a Shopify App that allows online retailers to easily send email marketing from their dashboard. I saw with my other app that this is an very effective way to get new clients.

Piko - Pickup Reminder - At the moment I have 6 paying customers and 22 users on the free plan. The income is not significant, but it's definitely something and I believe that I can continue growing this if I put more effort into marketing it.

At the moment I don't have any plans for adding another income stream, that being said if I have a good idea, I will certainly pursue it. If I do add another income stream, it needs to be in the programming arena, as this is the best way I've found to make money, whilst maximising freedom.

Investment Strategy

• I stopped investing in my Retirement Annuity every month (I still use it at the end of the tax year to try and push myself into a lower bracket, because it's deductible from my gross income).
• I focussed on maxing out my Tax Free Savings account first, before I start investing in my Retirement Annuity on a monthly basis again.
  • I'm mainly investing in off-shore ETF's like the S&P500 and the NASDAQ and also in commodities like SILVER and GOLD.
  • The reason for these choices are that I don't believe the South African economy is a great place to put your money and due to global economic uncertainty due to wars I am trying to preserve wealth by purchasing assets that maintain value.
• I invested R2000 per month into Nurudev and made a R20 000 lump sump investment at the end of the year. I see it as a priority to maximise my shareholding in Nurudev, because I believe that while it's not generating much income now, once it snowballs it will be significant. So while other shareholders are either stopping contributions or not making lumps sump payments, I need to double down and increase shareholding.
• We made a good return on livestock in 2025 (outperforming any other investments made). The other benefit of owning livestock is that it gives me the opportunity to "farm" and get some cow dung on my boots every once in a while.
• I made a lot of improvements on our primary residence this year including painting the outside of the house, breaking down a redundant wall, adding a water storage tank in irrigation and re-doing the garage electric wiring. Our home is our largest investment, and I believe it's important to continually improve and maintain it.
• I've continued investing in crypto, my main investments being in Bitcoin, Ethereum and more recently Zcash - which I believe will be the next Bitcoin (the reason I like it is due to it's privacy features, which is lacking on Bitcoin and others) - you can read more about it here.
  • I've also been toying around with doing trading using Technical Analysis. This is something I explored when I was at high school, but I am re-visiting this now and I am trading Zcash.
• A few years ago, when we decided we are ready for a baby, my wife and I decided to create a family trust. The purpose of the trust is to build generational wealth and allow our children to inherit one day without paying inheritance tax. As soon as our baby is born, we will register him for tax and start utilising the trust structure to ensure that one day he will be sorted financially.
• We will also start investing into his tax-free savings account as soon possible to max it out and allow the money the maximum amount of time to grow. Compound interest is amazing, and we want to utilise it to it's full potential.

NOT-TODO List

Often we create todo lists to manage the things we need to do, but this year I want to start working on a NOT-TODO list. Basically the things one this lists are things that don't bring me joy, that I need to avoid doing at all costs.

• Don't build websites for other people. They are never happy, they stay your problem forever, and it's not worth the money.
• Stay away from social media, unless it produces directly measurable results for my goals. Otherwise it's not worth the mental toll. For example getting a workout on Instagram to do is fine, doom scrolling funny pet videos is not. There are many other examples.
• Don't say yes to a social commitment, unless it makes you very excited. It needs to feel like a full-body yes.

And that's it for this mammoth of a review. If you've ready all the way through, thank you for your interest! Till next time.