I used to chase horizons. I'm coming back for them.

In 2016, I had an aortic valve replacement. For nearly a decade, I used my heart as an excuse. In 2025, I had a heart attack — not because of my valve, but because I stopped looking after myself. That was my wake-up call.

My name is Ruben. I'm 50. My wife Andrea has watched me start and stop so many times she's lost count. I have three small children who need their father around for decades to come. I used to live in South Africa and Madagascar. I've travelled across southern Africa, through Europe, and to many more corners of the globe. I was the kind of man who chased horizons — who crossed real lines on the ground and stood on the other side.

Somewhere along the way I handed that man over. I want him back.

On 13 July 2026, I begin a year of transformation — documented publicly, every day, on Instagram at @1year1life.now. Losing visceral fat, building real muscle, developing cardiovascular fitness that's safe for a heart-surgery survivor. Not a transformation for a camera. A transformation for the next thirty years.

On 14 July 2027, I walk 739 kilometres across Portugal. Ponte de Lima to Sagres. Roughly ninety days on foot. The year is the work. The walk is the proof.