The man with the mindful strings

A chalkboard with a thought-provoking quote and a happy, blue surfboard welcome you to an office full of adventure, games, guitars and clay figurines.

This is where Ashton students come to play, immerse themselves in the now and just slow down with the help of Drew Hort.

The deep thinker who doubles up as the school’s guitar tutor and psychological counsellor said as a boy he was always intrigued by his father’s guitar that lived under a bed.

“I would often take out the guitar – it was magic to me that I didn’t know how to access,” said Drew, sitting in front of a wall plastered with photos from his extensive travels through South East Asia.

The guitar however stayed under the bed and after completing school, Drew did his military service in Grahamstown in 1990 where he opted for a wooden spoon rather than a gun.

“They tried to give me a gun, but I refused which resulted in a lot of yelling from the corporal to the sergeant major. The only option was to put me in the kitchen – which I loved.”

Also read: A vintage beauty in Salt Rock

He started playing guitar, met a drummer in the army and formed a rock band called Stalin when he was about 19. They recorded an album and were fairly successful, but Drew felt like something was missing.

It was his classical guitar tutor at Rhodes University who helped him find the missing link and unlocked the true life of the instrument.

“He drove an old Land Rover and smoked. I remember going into the smoke-filled rehearsal room, while he was burning holes in the piano with his cigarettes. He showed me what capabilities the guitar had. Musically, it has no ceiling. You need a hundred lifetimes to learn and master everything.”

After his studies he felt drawn back to the kitchen and did a gourmet cooking course in 1998. He worked for his uncle Mich (the father of Mozambik owner Brett Michielin) at his Hillcrest-based Italian restaurant. From there, he became the head chef at Salt Rock Hotel living between the stove and his surfboard until one day the traveling bug bit.

“I went to Taiwan and taught conversational English to adults. I lived in the centre of Taipei city – it was hectic, hot and sweaty with a lot of traffic and pollution. The people, lights and the colours however were amazing. It was such an eye opening experience.”

He met his wife Toni, who also happened to be from PE, while in Taiwan. After backpacking through Malaysia and Thailand, they returned to Salt Rock in 2001 and opened a restaurant where Siggi’s is today.

“Shrimp Lane was an intimate, Thai inspired seafood place. My wife ran the floor and I cooked and entertained in my chef outfit and guitar.”

The long hours became too much and after three years, they sold the restaurant and Drew went back to his original passion – psychology. After completing his honours degree and HPCSA board exam in 2013, he is now working to finish his masters this year under the guidance of Prof. Marié Wissing in an exciting new field called positive psychology.

“My masters focuses on the appreciation of artistic, natural and moral beauty. Technology has put us in a hamster wheel that keeps going faster. I want to help people learn to slow down by appreciating the beauty around them and through mindfulness – opening your senses to your surroundings and encouraging people to play more.”

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