My Story

Hi, I’m Darren Holing — but just call me DJ.
This is definitely not where I expected to end up.
I’m from Durban, South Africa, raised on a small horse farm in Summerveld. I had never done a triathlon before. Not a sprint, not an Olympic distance, nothing. Zero.
Then I moved to Amsterdam to study, and met my friend Phillip. Great guy. Terrible influence.
One night at a house party, somewhere between the millionth beer and a questionable amount of tequila, Phillip looks at me and says — “DJ, do you want to do the Ironman with me?”
And for some reason, in that moment, it was the best idea I’d ever heard.
I woke up the next morning with the memory of saying “100% yes” — and apparently signing a piece of paper in front of everyone, with the kind of confidence only tequila can provide.
Once you say something like that out loud, in front of witnesses, with a signature — you have to follow through.
So I trained. From zero.
I swam in Amsterdam canals. I learned how to sit on a bike for longer than 45 minutes without questioning every life decision I’d ever made. I called my Dad after his workday, told him what I was doing, and asked for a loan.
He approved.
So here I am.
I’ve come to realise this Ironman is about much more than crossing a finish line. It’s about making dumb decisions that turn out to be the best choices of your life — and learning that sometimes the most important moments start with the infamous words:
“I’ll do it if you do it.”
See you at the finish line.