Carel Botha recovered from a brutal injury, completed a triathlon that only 15 men have finished, and earned his Henley MBA. Discover the mindset that made it all possible.
In the last few years, I’ve achieved two of my dreams. One was getting my MBA through Henley Business School Africa. The other was completing the Freedom Trail Xtreme Triathlon Challenge, where you run the Comrades, start the Freedom Challenge – a 2,150km bike ride – the next day, and complete the Berg River Canoe Marathon right after that. I’d tried it in 2023 but didn’t finish. Then I had my accident – and I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to do it again. But I managed. And let me tell you: between that and the MBA (together with a newborn), I’m not sure which was harder.
Both dreams involved just a bit of luck – which I define as time and opportunity – and a great deal of hard work. It was a lucky chance that got me into the financial industry to begin with, and luck that got me to Henley, too. I’d been in the industry for ten years when one day I told a client of mine about my academic dreams – to get a Master of Business Administration – and he told me all about the MBA he was doing at Henley.
I’d been looking into MBAs abroad, because I wanted an international degree, but I realised Henley offered the exact programme I was looking for. An international qualification that I could get right here in South Africa that understands both the global and the local context.
Henley’s mission to build the people, who build the businesses, that build Africa, also resonated with me deeply. These weren’t just words – they were put into practice every day, too, in every course: the model on Africa, the course on international business, on strategy. Henley changed my entire perspective on business – and showed me what work can actually mean.
More than anything, work is about purpose. Purpose in what you do, and what your work does for others. I began to bring that purpose into my work at Pay@. We started to formalise our bursary programmes for students – to give back, to help others work towards their own dreams.
At Henley, I was inspired every day. By the Dean, Jon Foster-Pedley, and his sheer passion for development. But also by my classmates, some of whom came from extremely difficult backgrounds. To see where they came from and what they achieved was motivating. I wanted to inspire others, too. And I was given a chance to do that. But it didn’t happen the way I expected it would.
It happened after a wildfire. I was helping my brother to protect his house from a fire that was surging down the Blaauwklippen Valley in Stellenbosch. It was the closest thing to hell on earth I’ve seen: six-metre flames. Winds like you can’t believe, ripping trees out of the ground and tearing solar panels from the roof.
I remember saying it was getting too dangerous, that we should leave – then I remember waking up and my brother shouting, “Are you OK? Are you OK?” I had no idea what happened. It seemed like he was helping me out from under something. Then I realised: a fifteen-metre branch had fallen onto us. My brother helped me out of there. I was in a lot of pain – at first, I thought it was just a muscle spasm. But later, when I went to the hospital, I found out the branch had blown two of my vertebrae and broken my pelvis.
To recover, I had to spend the next month and a half lying in bed. It gave me so much time to think – about how lucky I am. How lucky I am to have survived, to be able to hold my kids, to move, to be able to work.
I thought: What can I do, to show my gratitude for all that I’ve been freely given, and to hopefully inspire others? I’d tried the Freedom Trail Xtreme Triathlon Challenge in 2023 but didn’t finish. I thought: When I’ve recovered, I’m going to do it again. And I did. And if that firestorm was hell on earth, well, this was pure treachery. The middle of winter. Alone, biking through the Drakensberg, Cape Folds, the Karoo, with only a compass and a map, at four in the morning, ten at night.
It was exhausting. But I think what helped was my faith in Christ, and also that I was not just doing it for myself but also to raise funds for a young person who was born with paralysis and needed a new wheelchair. I completed the epic journey in early July, when I finished the Berg River Canoe Marathon. It was quite a moment – prayers answered. I’m so glad I did it.
It’s not easy to say what was harder out of the six-month recovery, the MBA, and that almost month-long triathlon – apparently, I am one of only 16 men to have completed the event, so that is something! They each taught me different things. You can’t put a price on that kind of personal development. If you want to do something that pushes you to your extremes – like embarking on an MBA– you can and should. But lift your head up. Enjoy it. And remember that you’re lucky.
Photo credit: Bugs du Toit
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