Interview by Allister Arendse
Image by Nick Aldridge
Occupation: Actor and TV producer
Age: 35
Residence: Parkmore
The cool thing with running is you can go anywhere. You don’t have to pack a bike. You can run in the suburbs or on a trail. You can zone out and get into a nice meditative state. It’s an easy way to get fit.
The longest run I’ve done is about a 10-K otherwise my knees start talking back to me. My goal is to run 10km without having to stop to catch my breath.
The only thing I don’t like is injuries. Tripping over a log or being chased by dogs… that’s always the downside of running in a park.
Most of the time I run by myself. I have a housemate in Joburg I run with. There’s a little bit of competitiveness that comes in. We tend to speed up over the last kilometre.
I run three times a week, five to 10 kays max. I’d like to run more. My wife looks at me funny when I say I’m going to run. It’s like: “Do you expect me to stay and look after the kids?
People don’t recognise me. I usually wear a cap and I’m sweating and I’m red in the face. I don’t look like I do on TV. I look more like I just stepped out of a boxing match.
I prefer shorts. Tights are too warm.
My favourite piece of gear is my iPod shuffle. I’ve got Die Antwoord, a little bit of Busta and the local rock band Aking. Anything with a lekker beat to keep up a good pace.
I run an NGO called Vrede Foundation for Young People with Cancer (vredefoundation.co.za). My brother Herman past away from testicular cancer. He was 29. He didn’t think medical aid was important so my parents had to pay for chemo, hospitalisation and everything. Through the organisation we now help others in a similar position. We use sport and music to raise awareness.
I swam, played hockey and cricket at school. Did a bit of track but wasn’t fast enough.
I’m a morning runner. It’s nice and quite. There’s usually a bunch of other runners out there. I’m not the only one slogging kays.
I’ve got kids and they’re both small. When they’re that old you’ve got to be up at 5am to get them sorted and then go to work. I can start running again now. Anyone who has kids knows you plan your life around them. The cool thing with running is if you got half an hour you can go.
Admit One is my production company. We do promos for Supersport and other DStv clients.
My career goal is just to do something I enjoy. Making enough money to provide for my kids. If I can do that I’m happy. I’m not trying to be a billionaire.
When friends say, ‘Hey, let’s do this race’ then I’ll go but I don’t enter races by myself. I run for enjoyment, not to compete against anybody. I do it for myself.
I enjoy eating at Thyme on Nicol at the Pick n Pay on William Nicol. They make good food.
When I’m in Cape Town I run at the coast. Here in Joburg I run through Parkmore. There’s quite a few hills. The down hills help me recover and the up hills get my heart rate up.
My idea of a perfect run is at the sea. On a cool, breezy West Coast morning.
Catch Pretorius presenting Bravo! Thursday’s 7.30pm on kykNET.
Loading ...
No comments yet.