Ian Handcock walks his talk.
The dairy consultant and father of three grew up on a sheep farm, played rugby and worked as a builder before he went dairy farming.
"I lost my fitness, morphed into consultancy and ended up 115kg. One summer, I walked over the [Coromandel] Ranges: it took 12 hours and pretty well buggered my knees. The doctor was not impressed that I hadn't done any build-up for it so pretty well dismissed me. However, the seed was sown."
Observing a decline in the health and wellbeing of clients, Handcock began to develop an interest in human behaviour and productivity. He noted a change over the years.
"Farmers [previously] kept themselves fit and energetic by doing manual work developing their farms. They were regularly involved with local sports clubs and community events. Today, farmers have to look off the farm for physical exercise. The advent of social networking, live sport on television and a change in social habits affects the motivation to keep active outside the workplace.
