he was educated at waldorf school (based on the rudolf steiner system). he matriculated from south african college schools (sacs) in 1991 and completed a bachelor of commerce degree at the university of cape town in 1994. he qualified as a paragliding instructor and managed an active paragliding school in cape town. he worked in the film industry, and as a paragliding instructor in the uk. upon returning to south africa he began to write sports articles for various magazines, mostly to the international free-flying magazine cross country. he also worked at the london academy of music and dramatic art (2008–2010).