History of Brian Curtis Mile
Brian Curtis was one of the founding directors of R.F. Cadiz and Company in 1994, now Cadiz Holdings Limited. Brian's role was, together with Steve McKenna, to develop the fixed income research and broking business, now an important component of Cadiz Securities. In essence he played a crucial role in the development of the company in the early years.
Brian was a Zimbabwean by birth, and during his youth, developed into a top class swimmer. He specialised in breaststroke and held numerous records specifically in the short course events (25 metres). After completing his military service in Rhodesia, he went on to join Old Mutual in Salisbury, where he was head of investments, prior to moving to South Africa.
On a holiday to the Maldives with his family in 1995, he contracted hepatitis B, which impacted negatively on his health. In early 1997 Brian was lured back into the swimming pool by Ram Barkai, where he joined the Cape Town Masters swimming squad. Within a year, Brian became one of the top breaststroke swimmers in the club. He participated in the National Championship's in March 1998, where his goal was to break 34 sec for 50m breaststroke. This would have made him eligible for South African colours. Tragically, Brian died in a motorcycle accident in November 1998 on his way to a Triumph Rally in Ceres, one of his other passions.
Swimming changed Brian's life and helped him regain his health and passion for life.
At Brian's wake, Ram and John Green came up with the idea of introducing an annual swimming event as a way of immortalising Brian and keeping his memory alive for those of us that had the opportunity of knowing him. This gave birth to the "Brian Curtis Mile". Since then, every year, we have held "The Brian Curtis Mile" in Grabouw. Cadiz Holdings and the Cape Town Masters Swimming Club run the swim annually. It has become a milestone event on the local swimming calendar, attracting a growing number of swimmers each year - a fitting tribute to one of our founding directors and a very special friend.
