Bryan Habana: Mental Fortitude and His Personal Thrive Playbook

This past week, Cape Town hosted Africa’s premier healthcare event, the World Health Expo (WHX) Cape Town at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). Right in the centre is Thrive by WHX, a premier health and wellness experience. Now, while it had a slew of wellness activations and incredible conferences, it’s important to note that Thrive by WHX was more than just a health and wellness expo. Rather, it’s a powerful convergence of health, fitness, science, and human connection, featuring top health thought leaders, innovative health exhibitors, and elite athletes. Among them was South African rugby legend Bryan Habana, who served as the expo’s official brand ambassador. He shared his perspective on the event and also discussed the importance of mental wellness, as well as the tools that have shaped his journey on and off the field.

Bryan Habana: Thrive by WHX Is a Hub of Wellness Innovation

For Habana, the past week of Thrive by WHX provided an energetic, passionate environment where health, fitness, and wellness were brought together in the city of Cape Town. 

“Cape Town is this phenomenal socio-economic city where health and wellness are really a place to thrive in,” explains Habana, adding that he was eager to be part of Thrive by WHX after speaking to Informa‘s Tom Coleman and Daniel Green and hearing their vision.

“They’re bringing a level of conference capability where things like HYROX, exhibitors, wellness, sports, technology, and AI come to the fore,” he says, “Then to have that environment where people are coming together, collaborating, communicating, and doing it in a way that’s uplifting the wellness industry in South Africa and beyond.”

Being In The Zone

As a world-class rugby legend, Bryan Habana’s fifteen-year career has been marked by many highs, including being part of the 2007 World Cup win. However, his incredible career isn’t only a testament to his physical prowess, but also his multifaceted character,

“Learning skills that you can teach yourself is essential to performing at your best, not just physically, but mentally as well,” says Habana, who adds that it’s about being able to handle the highs and lows, and striving for a state of balanced psychosocial stability that isn’t always the easiest to reach.

Take the statement of ‘being in the zone,’ which Habana explains as not just being a product of natural talent or genetics but rather a learned skill set.

“It involves developing various mental, emotional, and physical tools that suit your unique environment and personal makeup and skills that enable you to perform at your peak consistently.” 

So how did Habana develop the vital skills to consistently stay ‘in the zone’?

“The first step was understanding that I’m different from others,” he reveals, adding that he can’t always rely on what works for someone else to work for him. At the same time, however, he’s also part of a team, and thus contributing effectively is key.

“So, I had to ask myself: How am I preparing-mentally and physically-to show up and do my best, not just for myself but for the collective goal?”

From High Performance to High Resilience

Perhaps the answer to this would be to focus on mental resilience, which is something that continues to be of importance and relevance to Habana, especially when faced with setbacks.

“One of the lowest points in my career was getting booed off Bloemfontein Stadium by 43,000 people after having a bad run of games for the Springboks,” he reveals, yet these lows are exactly what helped him build resilience.

“There’s no handbook on how to handle negativity like that… but having people in your environment who allow you to understand what you’re about, and what tools you can use, is crucial.” 

Learn through your low points

Likening the building of resilience to peeling an onion and thus underscoring how the act is a gradual process, Habana adds that one can learn more about themselves through their low points.

As someone who understands the importance of mental resilience and building a strong mindset, Habana was more than happy to moderate a session at Thrive by WHX that explored these areas. It featured incredible thought leaders like Thomas Dawson-Squibb, a performance coach and a key figure in Habana’s journey.

“He actually hates the term ‘mental coach,’ but he was a part of my journey as a rugby player.”

Untapped Human Resource

Fifteen years is a long time to play one sport, so it being a central part of your identity is highly likely. For many athletes, retirement can be a difficult transitional phase, yet despite it being an emotional time, Habana handled his quite well.

“I broke down in tears…but then I heard my three-year-old laughing with his mom downstairs. That helped me realize there’s a bigger meaning to life.”

Now it’s evident that Habana is the optimum of human resources and potential, but as for what he believes is the most untapped human resource? Collaboration and continuous learning. 

“Thrive by WHX is giving us a platform to collaborate. Not everyone knows everything about everything, so looking at what some exhibitors are doing, Thrive by WHX is enabling the opportunity to continuously upskill yourself.” 

Going further by referencing the Kaizen principle of continuous improvement and learning, Habana believes the path to true potential lies in ongoing growth: “I think that the Kaizen principle can really teach us to tap our human potential. By upskilling ourselves through learning and a better understanding of our bodies, we can enjoy improvement.”

Thrive Playbook

With Thrive by WHX proving that it’s not just an event, but rather a movement, Habana shared five principles of his Thrive Playbook that have shaped his journey and could help others unlock their own drive:

1. Discipline: You can’t achieve success if you’re not disciplined.
2. Sacrifice: People see the contracts and the fame, but they don’t understand how much sacrifice is needed to get there.
3. Hard Work and Effort: No great success was achieved without it.
4. Resilience: The world will knock you down… but how do you get back up?
5. Perseverance: When times are tough, that’s when you’re tested the most.

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