Making the most of retirement with a great cause in mind

Published: 11 November 2025

Wellington-based Adrian has made it a personal goal to use his retirement for good. Since experiencing his own heart attack five years ago, he now gifts his time in the Big Heart Appeal street collection, with the hope of helping others.

What began with some mild anxiety and a strained pain in his forearm led Adrian to a startling diagnosis.

“At first, I thought I’d pulled a muscle when lifting something heavy,” he explains. “I’d also been feeling a bit on edge, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.”

During the weekend, Adrian noticed that he was moving at a much slower pace than usual and was worried that he wouldn’t be able to go to work the following week. He attempted to have an early night, but he couldn’t shake this sense of looming dread.

He says, “As I was trying to fall asleep, the thought of not waking up began to cross my mind.”

That’s when he decided to head to the hospital – and he was thankful he did. Upon being seen, Adrian was casually told by the doctor that he’d had a heart attack and would need two stents inserted.

“I was in shock. It was completely out of the blue as I’ve always been fit and healthy,” he recalls. “It wasn’t until I had my heart attack that I remembered that my father had undergone a triple bypass in his 60s. It just never crossed my mind that that would impact me. Looking back, it makes much more sense.”

After recovering from his heart attack, Adrian continued to work for a while before retiring at 65, in 2023. With his newly acquired free time, he decided he wanted to make a positive change – both for himself and others.

“I started researching heart disease after my own experience, and I was shocked to see just how many New Zealanders it affected,” says Adrian. “That inspired me to get involved in the Big Heart Appeal street collection, because I could really see the benefits that heart research can have for people like me. I’ve been able to manage my heart condition through medication alone – and that’s only been made possible because of heart research.”

Adrian has been a proud volunteer in the Big Heart Appeal street collection for three years now. He enjoys getting out in his community, meeting new people and hearing their personal experiences with heart disease – as well as raising life-saving funds.

“It’s so important that everyone is aware of the underlying impact that heart disease has in New Zealand,” he says. “You hear all these tales of unexpected heart attacks happening to marathon runners, just completely out of the blue. It’s not always something obvious and it catches many people by surprise.”

His passionate support in the fight against heart disease doesn’t stop with his volunteering. Adrian has also completed two incredible swimming efforts as part of MyMarathon.

“One of the first things I wanted to do when I retired was pick up some more regular exercise,” says Adrian. “My mother used to swim in the sea every day, so I decided to give that a go. After swimming the south coast of Wellington from Owhiro Bay to Oriental Bay during the summer, I realised I could put my efforts into a good cause. In 2024, I swam 55kms over the month of May for my first MyMarathon, and in 2025, I had a personal best with 114kms. It was a wonderful feeling, receiving all the encouragement and support from the people around me, and knowing I was making a difference. I have already put MyMarathon in my diary for 2026!”