What I’m AFTR.
To lead, serve, inspire.
I’m a professional hybrid athlete, I compete internationally. But, I’m also a professional rugby coach, husband and father.
I don’t necessarily fit in with the content nowadays, cause I’m a 42 yr old and people think I’m weird when I wear my hat backwards! Between all of this, life gets busy. Very very very busy!!!
Most people only see the finish line. Very few ever see what comes before it. The early mornings. The sacrifices. The thousands of decisions that nobody applauds.
People often ask me:
Why keep doing this?
Why train before work?
Why run when your legs are already tired?
Why lift after a full day of coaching?
The answer is simple:Because growth doesn’t happen when life is easy.It happens when you choose to keep showing up.Again. And again. And again.
For the past 10 years Hybrid fitness has challenged every part of me. Not just physically. Mentally, emotionally, as a coach, as a husband, as a father. It has taught me that success isn’t built on one great performance. It’s built on thousands of ordinary days where you simply refuse to quit.
Every race I do, every time I have the privilege to line up at the start, is a result of years of consistency, of choosing discipline over comfort, purpose over excuses, action over intention.
I love competing at the highest level. Not because I believe I’m extraordinary. But because I believe ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things through consistency.
As a coach I often tell my players that a team will eventually take on the personality of its leader. The same is true in life. The standards we live become the standards we inspire in others.If we expect commitment, we must first live commitment.If we expect resilience, we must first live resilience.
Leadership starts with example.
So what am I AFTR?
I hope that my journey encourages someone else to believe that it’s never too late to chase a goal. That age or circumstances is never the barrier, mindset is. Keep pushing, keep going AFTR it. Your story might be the key that unlocks someone else’s prison.
Lead. Serve. Inspire.
Lift heavy.
Run far.
Stay Hybrid.
#forGodsglory
- Riaan van Straten
Instagram - @riaan_vs