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This exclusive interview shares the experiences of Truth Wellness founders George Robinson and Francois Janse Van-Rensburg, exploring their lives onboard and the story behind developing their ambitious app for crew welfare.
Step into a realm of complete well-being with Truth Wellness. This isn’t just an app; it’s your guide to a transformed you. Experience personalised mental exercises that soothe your mind, engaging workouts that invigorate your body, and soul-enriching practices that bring harmony to every facet of your being. Your journey to holistic wellness begins here – with Truth Wellness, where technology meets the human spirit.
Setting Sail with Truth Wellness: About The App & How It Addresses Challenges Specific To Crew
Truth Wellness is an innovative wellness platform dedicated to superyacht crew. The app offers superyacht crew multiple ways to enhance their fitness and overall health, including:
- Signposts to trained and certified professionals (who specialise in anything from mental health counselling to yoga courses)
- Access to experts who can give guidance and advice
- A meal database which adapts to any ingredients you’ve got lying around
- Workouts to suit your preferred exercise
- An AI bot, personalised to suit your unique lifestyle
- Updated informative blogs
For one person to have access to a wide range of resources is incredibly beneficial, but cultivating a real sense of community is equally, if not more, important to Truth Wellness. Francois talks about the benefits of a whole crew having a shared platform on which they can hold each other accountable and push one another to better themselves:
“What would be great is if, even when the season starts, the crew is all in good condition and motivating one another by going through the difficult times together. I’ve been on a yacht where we set up our bikes for exercise and it changed the whole vibe. The atmosphere was completely different. Everyone was training together and feeling better about themselves.”
Visionaries in Wellness, George & Francois: Their Vision For Truth Wellness & Their Commitment To Enhance Crew Well-Being
Crew well-being can only get better if it’s a shared experience, as Francois explains:
“We want to foster community. So not just one person is in a good mindset, and then the other guy on the yacht is not feeling good. Getting groups together is how you’re going to see the biggest changes. In a community, you can hold everyone else accountable, and it’s nice to do things with other people.”
George recounts a story from when he was a crew member, which highlights certain attitudes Truth Wellness aims to address:
“I remember going for a run once and we had a crew BBQ which we had every Friday. Early that day, I went for a run and got told off by the captain because I I went for a run. Even though I specifically got there in time for the BBQ. But apparently it wasn’t correct to do because I should have been there, drinking, socialising with the crew so we can all be together.”
While it is great to socialise with fellow crew, it is also important to work on yourself – and not to solely bond with others over alcohol all the time, for instance. It’s the goal of George and Francois to enhance crew well-being across the board, to encourage a healthier frame of mind.
The Genesis of Truth Wellness: How It All Began
Throughout his yachting career, George did just about every crew role there was. Although it was a positive experience overall, it was easy to let healthy habits slip and lose sight of personal well-being goals. George talks about his experiences:
“It was a love-hate relationship for the last three years. For the first three, it was really good. But for me, even though this is a great industry, it comes with small letdowns in regards to health. Especially the sleep side, and the hours I worked. I just got to a stage where you feel like you’re working yourself to death all the time on charters. I was seeing all of these beautiful places, but not actually seeing visiting them. My own health deteriorated a little. I couldn’t do my daily essentials which I really enjoy, like setting out routine, habits, and structure.”
But he turned it around and started exercising and prioritising himself. His big paradigm shift was that he wanted to focus on who he was when he was younger, fit, and healthy.
In the past, Francois did bodybuilding and coaching, and also had a qualification in personal training. The pair met in late January 2023 and enjoyed discussing business, having very similar interests in health and fitness, and a shared work ethic. They quickly became close friends. Soon after, George wrote a business plan in May and showed it to Francois:
“When George showed me the business proposal, it was like a puzzle piece fitting into place. Because we know what crew members are experiencing everyday. They can actually understand and resonate with us as much as we do with them. We know how bad it can be and how good it can be – and what needs to change.”
In 60 days, Truth Wellness was up and running.
A Better Tomorrow for Crew Members: Helping You Become Your Best Self, Personally & Professionally
Truth Wellness has a unique approach in fostering holistic well-being. and want crew members to become the best version of themselves. However, in a driven, fast-paced industry, it sometimes can be challenging to make time for yourself. But as George says:
“If you can apply the effort that you put in for other people into yourself, the amount of work that you can achieve is unfathomable.”
The base of all problems, for Truth Wellness, is not looking after yourself. Any small thing, be it lack of sleep or not eating properly, can have a domino effect on the rest of your health. Likewise, if you’re feeling great, then that can only have a positive impact on how you conduct yourself professionally. George and Francois want to be the go-to for all things crew wellness, helping with mental health as well as everything else health entails.
In future, they want to stay consistent and reliable after launching the app, learning and changing and developing and helping others.
For Francois, success is about educating the crew yachting world:
“We want to create a full circle where people are asking for help – but also knowing where they can find it for themselves. And that’s for Truth Wellness will be here for.”
To check out Truth Wellness’ website, click here.
For their app ‘Truth”s landing page, click here.
Their Instagram page is here.
To keep up to date with the latest Superyacht Content News, click here.
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