EXPLORE – LEARN – ACT

In 1974, South Africa was condemned and expelled from the United Nations. Mike was only 8 years old. His father, a sports star, in the colonial game of Rugby, the national sport of South Africa. His father was an icon and hero to the explorer. His mother Blanche Horn was a teacher and together they raised four children and Mike was the oldest boy. Mike learned more from his father an outdoorsman than from any of his teachers. Mike did not want to sit in a classroom and listen to someone, he wanted to go out and experience it. As a boy he excelled in competition from track events to triathlons, playing rugby at a high level. Mike thus pursued a degree in Human Movement Science at Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape. However his dream was to compete at the very highest level of sports by going to the Olympic Games, but South Africans weren’t allowed to at that time. Instead, Mike was sent to war.