Today we’d like to introduce you to Kian Meadon.
Hi Kian, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey started as a young boy in South Africa. At the age of 3, I was sleeping in my crib with a mouthguard. As any other South African you have a massive passion for the game that grows rapidly at a very early stage in your life. Given the fact that there is a 99% possibility that your dad or grandfather also had a love for the game. Hi, my name is Kian Meadon and I am one of those kids.
It all started in Pretoria, Gauteng. There I was born and raised until the age of 16. At the end of my 9th year at school, I relocated to Paarl in the Western Cape where I attended Paarl Boys’ High School, Arguably the best rugby school to go to in the country. Throughout my so-called young career, I played for my provincial sides as well as our national under-18 side.
As a youngster, this was exactly what I’d dreamed of for a long time. Being able to represent my country and sing the national anthem before facing England, Argentina, and Wales. After I finished school, I signed my first professional contract with The Sharks in Durban. I spent a good two years there and learned so much from some of the top coaches in the world. Not long after my signing at the sharks I was selected for our Junior Springbok team. This is our under-20 International side. One step from the men’s side which is the best of the best after under-20s.
In my second year of playing for The Sharks, I was approached by our former International men’s team coach. Whilst I was busy fishing, I received a phone call from Coach Heyneke Meyer. Just to put this into perspective, when I was a young boy, he was the coach of all my idols. This was crazy to me and the news was that he will soon be the director of rugby of the Houston SaberCats which forms part of the major league in the United States.
We had a long phone call discussing the opportunity for me to relocate to Houston, Texas, and play under his wing. I did not think about this opportunity twice. I soon signed my second professional contract with my current team. The Houston SaberCats. Together with this awesome opportunity He also approached my best friend from school and we have since reunited, playing for the same professional franchise. At the moment I am loving the journey, the team, and America.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not always been a smooth Road. I picked up a gnarly shoulder injury in the first year at Paarl Boys’ High. I had to get an operation done at the end of 2017 but after a lot of rehab and Recovery, I got back on the pitch. This was not the only rock in my path. Throughout my first few years as a professional player, I had a lot of small injuries keeping me from playing the game I love. On a more serious note, I had more mental issues than ever. Not being able to play the game or train, there were a lot of off-field problems too. Ranging from agency issues to whether I will be able to continue my career with the number of concussions that I have picked up so far. There is nothing worse than being in a bad mental space for a long time. I discovered my love for fishing again and at the end of the day the best opportunity of my life came by whilst I was doing it. I still fish a lot and it is my break away from all my draining daily activities.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a professional athlete, every step and decision you make will impact not only the longevity of your career but how you perform on the field. I have the privilege of playing in I setup with plenty of older players. This means I am going about my life and learning from people who are further in life as we know it. By the way, I forgot to mention that I am one of the youngest players in the Major League. This is great for me because I get to show other young players that age is not a limitation. This also drives me to better every day and work harder than my peers to be the best out there. It’s not easy to be a professional athlete. Training is tough, games are even tougher and the recovery, oh yeah, the recovery is way worse. But this is what it takes to be a professional. I have had the dream to play rugby professionally for a long time. I am here now and I’m living my dream, but I have new goals of not only playing on an international team but being the best player I can be. It’s me vs me, every day. I am my best and worst opponent. I will continue to challenge myself daily and reap the fruit that comes from it.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I’m a social media fanatic and I love to create content. I am open to collaborations and sponsorships from companies and businesses that are in the categories that influence my life the most. I love coffee, products that Aid recovery, sports nutrition, fishing, clothing, watches, and tech. There are a lot of people that find interest in my life and that makes it easy for me to grow my social media. At the moment social media allows me to connect with over 20,000 people via Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat. I also have a love for creating product promotions as I am big in my photography, video, and photo editing as well as Graphic Design.
Contact Info:
- Email: kian.meadon@yahoo.com
- Website: https://linktr.ee/kixn_10
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kixn_10/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kian.meadon
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/Kixn_10
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/IiqDNzb2WUg
Image Credits
8th Man Photography
Megan de Beer Photography
