MarcForrest.com

Category: On The Marc

  • Join awesome Durbs startup SAFindit

    The guys at SAFindit, another “straight outta Durbs” startup, have recently launched their new look site. SAFindit is a fantastic service which allows users to the site to search for restaurants, accommodation, plumbers, electricians and and and…well, pretty much anything that offers a service :) To get a better idea of what I mean, check out this listing for Gateway Shopping centre or The Toad in the Village pub in Noordhoek

    The site has some really cool social integrations like geo-location services like Foursquare & Gowalla, as well as showing latest tweets about the venue/service. The listing also shows you where to find it on a Google Map, as well as the streetview of the location. Another really cool feature of the site is their collections, which group together some of the best venues/services in that specific category. So for example, if you want to see a list of recommended places in Ballito, you can check out @TheBallito‘s list here ->http://www.safindit.co.za/collections/the-ballito/. Another recently added addition to the site is their “Specials” section which collates all the daily specials from sites like and other service providers listed on the site.

    This is a really great service, and after chatting to the guys at SAFindit, they really are growing huge, fast. This means that they are also looking for two or three of the best Web developers that we have on the East Coast. A strong background in web development using technologies such as PHP, ASP.Net, JavaScript, MySQL, SQL Server etc is required to join in one of the fastest growing startups in Durbs. There are a whole bunch of projects on the horizon for the team, which sound really exciting. For more info about the job spec & requirements, check out the job spec on Thirst4Work -> http://www.thirst4work.com/candidates/job.php?jobid=53

    I can’t wait to see what they come up with next ! Well done guys, another perfect example why sunny Durbs is the place to be :)

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  • Awesome night out at the U2 concert in Jozi

    So, on Friday afternoon at about 4 o’clock I got a phone call from the guys doing the Highveld Stereo U2 campaign, which I blogged about a couple of days ago. The phone call was pretty brief, with just one simple question, “Can you get to Joburg on Sunday to see a certain band called U2 playing to over 100,000 people ? ” The obvious answer was OF COURSE YES !!!

    Pano of the stadium before the show (Click to enlarge to full size)

    And with that, my weekend plans changed in a matter of seconds. A few quick phone calls to the brother, and I had a plane ticket booked to Jozi for Sunday morning, for what would turn out to be, well, “A beautiful day”
    I had made arrangements with some friends in Durbs to go camping on a dads and kids weekend on Saturday night, so I woke up early on Sunday morning, and got the show on the road. I eventually got to Jozi at around 12pm, and slowly made our way to Park Station to catch a train to the FNB stadium to see U2 in action. The vibe was incredible, and when we eventually got to the stadium there were thousands & thousands of people.

    I would say the biggest disappointment was spending 45 mins in a queue for a beer token and then go to a bar to get a few beers. There should have been more places selling beer tokens.
    Eventually after having a cold beers, we made our way into the stadium to find our seats. I was in absolute awe as to how big the stadium is, and in even bigger awe as to how HUGE MASSIVE the stage was.
    The stage is designed in a 360 degree shape, so the band can move around and the whole stadium can see them. Although, we only saw Bono twice on our side, cause were at the “back” of the stage, but the huge screens and seeing the standing crowds kinda made up for that.

    The production of the concert was unbelievable. I honestly don’t think I have ever seen anything as slick as that, and the huge screens & video production were amazing. I also got the opportunity to (finally) meet Tinus from Fancam, who did a 360 pano shot of the crowd, which I reckon is gonna be amazing.

    All in all a HUGE big thanks to the guys at Highveld Stereo for the tickets, it was well well worth it getting up to see this once in a lifetime opportunity, so glad I did it :)

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  • Getting fit with Kettlebells

    Getting fit with Kettlebells

    If you follow me on Twitter & Facebook, you may have seen my raving (and sometimes not being able to walk) about doing Kettlebells with the guys from FluxMotion here in Durbs.

    As part of my #Project2011, the ideal goal is to shed the KG”s and start leading a much healthier lifestyle. The riding is really going well, and I have to admit I have really improved since starting out just over a month ago. The hill climbs I used to struggle with are becoming so much easier. I have also started doing a few lengths in the pool at lunchtime, which is a great work out and way to relax during the day.

    But, the biggest change I have made is that I took up Kettlebells. What are Kettlebells ? See the pic on the right -> Think, a cannonball with a handle, and you on the right track :)
    The weights come in different sizes and after staring out on a 4kg, I’m up to an 8kg now. They go up to about 79kg’s. The main technique of Kettlebells is a swinging  motion with different styles to choose from. Using this basic premise, you have different muscle group work outs.

    You might be thinking, 4kg’s, a swing, pah…what workout ? But let me tell you, this is probably, by far, one of THE best workouts I have ever had. After doing them for about 3 weeks, I am already seeing huge results in weight loss & muscle density as well as strength.

    Flux is based in Durbs & Ballito, but they are expanding all over the country. From what I hear Cape Town is on the cards soon, and there are partners in Jozi who offer classes. They are also opening a Corporate wellness division, where they will be going into companies, and do ad-hoc training and advise to your staff. Also opening later this month is a Flux Wellness gym in Umhlanga.
    We are really lucky here in Durbs, because some of the classes take place on the beach early in the morning, and a quick swim in the sea after, and you still in time for work ! Bonus :)

    Check out the Flux Motion website – FluxMotion.net, for more details, or visit the Facebook Fan page for updates and photos of some of the classes. You can also follow Flux on Twitter for daily updates of classes, and schedules etc.

    All I can say is, if you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend it. I can see this helping LOADS with my #Project2011 ;)

  • Red Bull Mobile launches in South Africa

    It seems that CellC are at it again. They really seem to have captured a unique portion of the South African mobile market, and it seems the “social media generation” are loving it. Just a couple of days ago they announced MyTools, which allows you to manage your cellphone contract & network from the web, and this evening they took it to the next level.

    Tonight, Red Bull Mobile was launched in Jozi, at what seemed like an awesome event. The headline act for the evening was Faithless, alongside Goldfish & DJ Ready D. I would have loved to be there !! They also announced their new packages which they will be offering on the CellC network. Originally Red Bull Mobile was speculated to be a MNO in the same fashion as Virgin Mobile, but in fact it looks as if it is simply a diversification of the Cell C brand into a new market.

    The packages they have announced look awesome, and they will be offering Android powered devices on launch. I’m still not 100% convinced about the Android devices though, as I still feel that the full use of them can’t be warranted in South Africa, where you aren’t able to buy apps, only get free apps (another post for another day)

    The 2 packages that they will be offering are very well priced in terms of competitors, and I can  see a huge uptake with this one !

    The 2 custom branded phones they are offering are both made by Huawei and are the Huawei U8150 IDEOS (RMB C) & Huawei U8800 IDEOS X5 (RBM HD). The phones will also come preloaded with a couple of Android apps, including a Fitness app, Red Bull Radio & Red Bull X-Fighters

    The other cool thing is that the new packages will work on the new high-speed CellC network, which will make for some great on-device browsing !
    All in all, another great innovation from Cell C, and I can’t wait to see what they have next on their plate ! Well done :)

  • My 1st Mudman Triathlon – Hermannsburg

    My 1st Mudman Triathlon – Hermannsburg

    If you had told me 6 months ago that I would be taking part in my first triathlon in 6 months time, I probably would have laughed at you, taken a bite of my pizza and washed it down with an ice cold Hansa :)

    Needless to say, life has some magic & interesting ways of working things out, and yesterday afternoon saw me taking part in my first ever triathlon. For me, this is a HUGE step personally. Since starting out with my #Project2011 about a month ago, I have made a complete turnaround on my lifestyle (More detail in later posts)
    I have gone on a fantastic eating programme, taken up Kettlebells (post about this soon), Mountain biking on the Cannondale at least once a week, swimming and generally trying to restore order in my life. So far, I can honestly say this is the best I have felt in years, but there is still a LOT of work ahead, and I just need to maintain focus.

    So back to the triathlon. The series is called the Mudman, which is a local series of 4 fun events in and around KZN, and the first one took place yesterday in a really beautiful part of the country called Hermannsburg, about 20km outside of Greytown. The town is better known for it’s German school, which is where the event took place. I opted into the half race, which consists of a 375m swim in a dam, 10km mountain bike through the pine forests, and a 2.5km run around the dam.

    Pano of the finish

    The race took place in the afternoon, and the swim was up first. I had been doing a few lengths at the Kings Park pool in the week, so had a bit of swimming training in, but swimming in a dam is a whole different story. No place to stand, and dam water tastes kak ! But it went pretty good, and I was out the water in around 20 mins. The run up to the transition area, where you get your bike, was around 250m, and I was buggered by the time I got up to the bike. But I took a bit of time out, and got kitted up, and got on the bike. I have been doing a few rides on the bike, and I think it definitely helped. I did walk a bit as well, but I was pretty happy with the ride. The first part was quite a climb, but at the top, I got a cup of Coke at the one watering station, and that gave me the energy boost I needed. After 1:05 hours I finally got off the bike, and prepared for the run.(Runkeeper activity of the ride)

    For those that know me, my frame is not built for running(yet), and I always knew this was going to be the tough one. I hadn’t done much running training, so I told myself I would take it easy. And that I did. I will admit that I walked most of the route, but did a few short jogs. After 35 mins (Runkeeper activity), I finally crossed over the finish line. There was this awesome feeling of joy & achievement for me. It felt amazing ;)

    Done & Dusted. Awesome !!

    An amazing sunset, after an amazing day…

    My total time was 1:58, and I was really happy with the time. Considering that I would have never thought I would be doing this, I am beyond ecstatic, and am looking forward to the next one which takes place on the 6th March at Albert Falls dam. The guys that I did it with have all made a “pact” that we will try and do all the events, and at the last one, we will do the full distance, which is double all the distances. I know that with a lot of training, this should be do-able, and am really looking forward to it :)

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