I’m a chemical engineer turned distiller, and Co-Founder and Director of Primal Spirits Distillery, a grain-to-glass craft spirits brand based at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg. We produce small-batch gin, vodka, and RTD cocktails, taking full control of the process from fermenting our own base spirit through to distillation and bottling. I took over an idle, dormant business in April 2025 and, within a year, built it into a functioning company with a live sales pipeline, national retail and hospitality partners including Nando’s, and South Africa’s first Kosher-certified gin. My role covers everything from the technical side of production to sales, partnerships, and setting the direction for where the brand goes next, but at its core, what drives me is building something that brings people together and gives back to the community and city it comes from.

I’m a young, qualified professional who left engineering to enter a competitive, regulated industry and, within a year, turned an idle business into a growing South African spirits brand with national retail partners.

I believe South Africa is at a turning point. Our country is old enough now for real industry to properly cement itself and be ready for a new generation of talent to step up and take the reins. That’s exciting because I think new perspectives and new talent, combined with a new wave of technology, will catapult South Africa to heights we haven’t seen before. That’s going to be both demanding and exciting as a leader. I also think being part of a country with such a strong moral compass sets us in good stead for the future, but it means we have to hold our leadership to account and demand nothing less than the best from them.

I think leaving corporate to start a business is something that would inspire a lot of people. It’s still risky, and I’m comfortable with that risk because I’m young enough and don’t have any dependents. I also moved back to South Africa after completing my education in London. As much as I loved London and would have enjoyed building a career there, I’m far happier being home. It’s easy to feel like the grass is greener elsewhere, but having lived on both sides of that fence, I can say with certainty that South Africa is the greenest pasture. I know a lot of people feel torn about leaving, staying, or coming back, worried they’re missing out on opportunity elsewhere. My experience has shown me the opposite: this is a country where you can make your own opportunities, and there’s never been a better time to do it.

Recreational activities

Surf, Scuba, freediving, Basketball, Yoga, Boxing.