Hi my name is Georg Herdt and in 1980, I was born with a rare genetic disability
called Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA). As I grew up, the condition showed itself now and
then but remained mainly unnoticed and therefore, undiagnosed. Born into a rowing
family, I was a keen athlete, and I did an intense amount of exercise. One might say
excessive, and I won several national rowing competitions. The few signs of
Friedreich's Ataxia that I had over the years were shrugged off as clumsiness rather
than a sign of my illness.
After leaving school, I did my civic duty, the national service in Germany (as a
paratrooper), went to university, got married and started a family. All in all, a pretty
ordinary, happy life. It was not until my early 30's that the disease took hold and
wreaked havoc, forcing me to stop pursuing my career in academia.
I firmly believe that the only thing that has kept me moving on my legs, quite literally,
has been the level of exercise I did as a young man. This is where Brookes Sport
have come in; they support me in maintaining the overall fitness that ensures me to
live a healthy life. They are helping me to get back to the excessive, yet supervised,
levels of exercise I did in my youth, to defeat the physical degeneration that
Friedreich's Ataxia imposes.