ATHCO

Amish Kooverjee was lonely during COVID. His cricket career had ended and he was running alone, feeling like something was missing. So he invited a few cricket mates to do a 5K and grab a coffee. Only two showed up but five strangers found the Instagram page he'd made that day, and ten people ran.

Five years later, Running to Coffee is in four cities across South Africa. He accidentally built one of the country's OG run clubs, back when run clubs weren't cool.

In this episode, Amish shares the philosophy behind a community that lasts. Why chasing numbers is the wrong goal and why the best advice he got was that people come to your crew for one reason: you. He opens up about his first Comrades, impulsively registered at 10pm with a McDonald's, and why a self-described "normal guy" who isn't the fastest runner ends up working with big brands.

One of the warmest conversations we've had about what running communities are really about.

🔗 Follow Amish
Instagram: @keeping_up_with_koovers

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YouTube: ATHCO

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Daniel: @dannyjd_
Jannis: @jannisrothermel

Twelve months ago, Jake Bird had never owned a bike and couldn't swim 25 metres without stopping. After a few beers at a New Year's Eve party, he signed up for an Ironman 70.3 on the spot. Eight months later, with no athletic background, he qualified for the 70.3 World Championships.

He documented the entire journey on Instagram from day one and four months into posting, off a single race, he landed an ambassadorship with Ironman itself. His first brand deal came at 6,500 followers.

In this episode, Jake breaks down the whole playbook: how he used seven years of managing influencers to grow his own following, why talking-to-camera content beats viral videos, why a focused niche is more valuable to brands than a huge audience, and the brutal reality of training 16+ hours a week alongside a full-time job.

Part comeback story, part social media masterclass.

🔗 Follow Jake 
Instagram: @jakeebird

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Instagram: @athco.cc
YouTube: ATHCO

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Daniel: @dannyjd_
Jannis: @jannisrothermel

Michael Obery is one of the most recognisable faces in Cape Town running. What most people don't know is that years ago he was battling drug addiction that nearly killed him. The turning point came watching his younger brother head out for a run at 5am while Mike was still coming home from a night out.

His first run was 2km on the promenade. It snowballed into an obsession and by accident, into one of Cape Town's biggest running communities. He's run Boston twice and the UTCT 100-miler, where he walked the final 70km to the finish because he refused to quit.

In this conversation we get into how running pulled him out of addiction, how he accidentally built Must Love Hills and Community Track Club, why running is "more than just yourself," what 100 miles teaches you about your limits, the global running boom, and the Two Oceans controversy that dragged in his photo by mistake.

🔗 Follow Mike
Instagram: @mikeobery

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Instagram: @athco.cc
YouTube: ATHCO

🔗 Follow Us
Daniel: @dannyjd_
Jannis: @jannisrothermel

Keaton Mac Farlane was the kid picked last in PE. He started going to the gym at 15 to escape everyone and his high school nickname became "Creatine." Ten years later he's done marathons, ultras, and Ironmans while staying jacked year-round, and he's trained over 200 people.

In this episode he breaks down how to combine running and lifting without losing muscle, and why most hybrid athletes get it wrong. His most surprising take: when he cut from six gym days to three and added cardio, he looked his best ever and got stronger. He explains exactly why cardio can make you bigger, not smaller.

We also get into his hot takes. Why you should stop counting reps, why your legs are always cooked, the honest truth about PEDs, and why building muscle is way simpler than the internet makes it seem.

🔗 Follow Keaton: 
@keatonmac 

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@athco.cc 

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@dannyjd_ 
@itsjaaannis

Carla Johnson got into running because of a boy. Her first marathon was a 4:20 she hated. A few years later she qualified for Kona the Ironman World Championships while working full-time in a mining job, sleeping seven nights a month in her own bed and training 28 hours a week.

Then she walked away from triathlon at the top, discovered running was her real calling, and two years later became a top 20 Comrades runner who just went pro.

In this conversation she breaks down the whole journey. Why she left triathlon, what it actually takes to become a professional runner in South Africa, why she ran a silver at her first ever Comrades when everyone said just finish, how she approaches brands as both an athlete and a creator, and the concept of "runflation" that's quietly reshaping the sport.

Part masterclass, part origin story, all heart.

🔗 Follow Carla
Instagram: @carlajohnyy

🔗 Follow ATHCO
Instagram: @athco.cc
YouTube: ATHCO

🔗 Follow Us
Daniel: @dannyjd_
Jannis: @itsjaaannis