From Fog to Focus: My Journey into Values
Midlife Mindset Stretch Rayner Midlife Mindset Stretch Rayner

From Fog to Focus: My Journey into Values

For the first 38 years of my life, I didn’t really know what my values were. Not because I didn’t have any, just because I’d never stopped long enough to question them.

I was doing what most blokes do.

Playing footy with mates.
Drinking and partying on weekends.
Went to uni, got the degree, landed the job, started climbing the corporate ladder.

And to be honest, it wasn’t bad.
I wasn’t unhappy.
I wasn’t stuck.
I was just... living. On autopilot. Doing what I thought I should do.

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What If My Liver’s the Reason I’m Waking at 3am?
Sustainable Sleep Stretch Rayner Sustainable Sleep Stretch Rayner

What If My Liver’s the Reason I’m Waking at 3am?

For a few months now, I’ve been waking in the early hours of the morning, not consistently, but a 1-3 times a week.

Sometimes it’s 2:30am. Other times it’s 4am. But the pattern is familiar.

I wake up wired, alert, almost like my body thinks it’s time to wake up and attack the day. But my mind is foggy, and I'm wired. I can’t seem to fall back asleep.

I’ve done the usual checklist:

  • Stress? Yes, a bit. Running a business and raising a toddler will do that.

  • Screen time? I’m pretty dialed there.

  • Stimulants? Not late in the day.

  • Sleep hygiene? Covered.

What the liver connection?

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Fatherhood Didn’t Arrive When I Felt “Ready”
Sustainable Health, Fatherhood Stretch Rayner Sustainable Health, Fatherhood Stretch Rayner

Fatherhood Didn’t Arrive When I Felt “Ready”

I was never sure if I wanted kids. Not when I was climbing the corporate ladder. Not when I was pouring everything into building my gym in London. Not even when my friends started settling down.

Back then, I couldn’t imagine having the time or energy that kids deserved. I barely had space for a proper relationship. My focus was narrow: work, training, building something that made me proud.

Kids? They weren’t part of the plan.

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When Fitness Isn’t Enough: My Wake-Up Call and the Health Lesson Every Man Needs
Sustainable Health, Sustainable Stress Stretch Rayner Sustainable Health, Sustainable Stress Stretch Rayner

When Fitness Isn’t Enough: My Wake-Up Call and the Health Lesson Every Man Needs

In 2018, I walked away from the gym I had poured my heart and soul into. I left London. Sold my shares. Moved to Byron Bay (East Coast Australia), chasing sun, surf, and space to breathe.

From the outside, it looked like a bold life pivot. A clean break. A midlife upgrade.

But the truth?

I was exhausted. Burnt out. Strung out. And completely disconnected from my own health.

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The Gym That Proved I Wasn’t Crazy
Sustainable Community Stretch Rayner Sustainable Community Stretch Rayner

The Gym That Proved I Wasn’t Crazy

In 2014, I co-founded Momentum Training, a gym tucked away in East London’s gritty backstreets. To most people, it looked like just another CrossFit box.

To me, it was everything.

It was the moment I finally proved, to myself and everyone else, that I wasn’t crazy.

Six years earlier, I’d walked away from a secure, well-paying corporate job in Australia. Four years before opening the gym, I’d stepped off the corporate ladder entirely to become a personal trainer.

I left behind the suit, the steady paycheck, and the “respectable career” I’d worked so hard to build.

My dad thought I was nuts. My mates didn’t get it.

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