Network

Quick facts

Lorenzo Delano

Delano gesturing while speaking on a panel stage in Dubai

Delano directing a MasterClass film shoot, holding a clapperboard

Delano presenting on a blue-lit stage, headset mic and clicker in hand

Camera-monitor view of Delano directing a kitchen scene, reviewing a laptop with an actor

Delano crouching with a laptop beside Steven Kotler at a shoot

Delano coaching a family seated around a living-room table

Delano leading a training workshop around a table

Delano in 2020 (Joburg)

Identity(See Story)

Born: Lorenzo Delano7 December 1987 (age 38)Krugersdorp, South Africa
Phenotype: Caucasian, maleBlue eyes and brown hairAverage height (176 cm)
Ancestry: Western European (Dutch)
Ethnicity: Afrikaner
Language: Afrikaans; English; Mandarin
Citizenship: South African

Professional(See Knowledge)

Occupation: Applied taxonomist
Industry: Education, health, and tech
Works: Design methodologiesPublished designs
Skills: Knowledge organizationPedagogyProduction
Education: Self-directed (since age 13)Certified coach and designerMandarin distinction
Employment: Independent (results-based)
Residency: United States (since 2026)No sponsorship required

Psychological(See Nature)

Intelligence: RIOT: Full-scale IQ 112
Worldview: Rational optimist
Personality: HEXACO: Disciplined, honest, and curious
Values: PVQ: Autonomy, achievement, and universal-care
Interests: RIASEC: Investigative, artistic, and social

Personal(See Pages)

About: What makes a person?
Lifestyle: Days by design, cities by scorecard
Health: Elite VO₂max, optimal labs
Wealth: Debt free with high credit score
Network: Unmarried and no children

My network is the team my life runs on. Every human relationship points one of three ways — toward the people I depend on (nurture), beside the people I share with (progress), and toward the people who depend on me (contribution) — and every bond is ultimately one of two kinds: given or chosen. A network is the record of what life gave me and what I chose back.

This page is the site’s dependent variable: health, knowledge, and wealth mean little until they are spent with and on people. The map doubles as index and benchmark — who holds each role, what makes each relationship good, and which seats stand open (pending), protected (private), or held by my own hands (self-sufficient). The aim is not the biggest network but the right one: a small map kept powerful by its comprehensives, who absorb whole services under one roof, and its connectors, who carry whole worlds behind them.

Nurture (Support)

The relationships I take from: the people who give the organism what it needs, when it needs it — healing below health, sustenance at it, inputs to build on. The widest branch, drawing on all five pages, because an organism takes whatever it needs. Roles appear in the order life requires them, each held to its benchmark: the person’s qualities (available, able, affective, advocating) where encounters are close, the service’s (consistent, comprehensive, current) where they thin.



The care I call on rather than schedule Family (blood): The best families stay available, capable, and affective long after the raising : Rizél Delano : Louis van den Berg (Deceased) Community (place): The best communities are close, warm, and watchful : Private


My hours bought back, my home kept, my body groomed Agents (time): The best agents are always available, consistent, and fast : Private (administrator; planner); Claude (researcher; analyst; editor) Keepers (home): The best keepers are capable, consistent, and likable (trusted alone at home) : Sonja Mightywoman : Pending Groomers (body): The best groomers are consistent, likable, and close by : Pending : Pending

My clinicians, from the first call to the annual scan Clinicians (care): The best clinicians are available, capable, and know exactly who to call next : Pending : Pending : Sune (hygiene); Dr. JJ Serfontein (dentistry) : Dr. Darren Levin : Dr. John Demartini; Claude (sounding board) : Pending (waits on pets) Diagnosticians (data): The best diagnosticians measure the same way using the latest tech : Dr. Johann Kruger : Tim Klein; Reece McDonald : Cape Radiology

Instruction on demand, from one tutor to many shelves Educators (mind): The best educators are capable, current, and clear : Claude (researcher; explainer; evaluator) : Bruce Lee (body); John Demartini (mind); Tony Robbins (humanity); David Deutsch (progress); Elon Musk (future) : Creators (YouTube); Authors (Kindle; Audible); Podcasters (Apple)

One firm reads the whole balance sheet, personal and corporate in one conversation Counselors (money): The best counselors read the whole position and sell nothing : Eugene Park (Baker Tilly); Claude (analyst) : Pending; Claude (researcher; analyst; planner)

Progress (Collaboration)

The relationships I share with: peers beside me rather than above or below, building past baseline rather than back to it. The chosen branch — hearts, rooms, and ventures elected on purpose — where collaboration takes every form from candor to contest. The one branch valued for itself: these relationships are not a means to the others; they are what the others are for.



The people I share life with, the one tier of the map that is the point rather than a means Family (blood): The best families turn shared history into chosen friendship : JP Maritz (Deceased) : Imelda van den Berg Friends (heart): The best friends are present, honest, and glad when you win : Jelena, Brad, Federico, Vadim, and David (the closest five) : Vishen, Federico, Pam (the wider fifteen) Intimates (love): The best intimates share the values, the direction, and the load : Private : Pending


The professionals pushing me past baseline in behavior, technique, and program Coaches (behavior): The best coaches bring strategy, accountability, and tiny experiments : Claude (life) Instructors (technique): The best instructors demonstrate, correct, and progress the technique : Self-sufficient : Pending Planners (program): The best planners assess, design, and adjust what I follow : Self-sufficient; Claude (researcher; planner)

The minds I trade with, wisdom shared rather than bought Cohorts (circumstance): The best cohorts share the era, the craft, or the arena : Private : None : Private Associates (purpose): The best associates share the room, the build, and the candor : Abundance360; Integral Life; GymnasticBodies : Private

The people building alongside me, stakes aligned Owners (equity): The best owners share the risk, the upside, and the values : Pending : Pending Counterparties (contracts): The best counterparties bring capital, distribution, and incentives : Pending : Pending : Pending : Pending

Contribution (Service)

The relationships I give to: the people who depend on me, holding claims on what I build. The narrowest branch, because giving requires surplus — story, knowledge, and wealth are where I hold more than I need — and the one built to widen: every pending seat here is a forecast.



The people my work is finally for, holding first claim on what I build Family (blood): The best families inherit the time before the money : None : Rizél Delano


The learners downstream of what I know Learners (mind): The best learners outgrow the teacher : Pending : Pending : Website : YouTube; Mindvalley : None

The people who turn my output into income, theirs and mine Patrons (demand): The best patrons buy the hours, the outcomes, the products, or the attention : None : Private : None : None Stakeholders (supply): The best stakeholders share the labor, the capital, and the upside : None : None : None : None : None

References (Data)

My public profiles, offered as data to patrons, learners, and peers

Patrons: Complete Profile (2026); the full record of who I am, what I can do, and how I work, offered before any engagement • website (Vercel)
Learners: Teaching Platform (opens in a new tab) (2025); the published lessons, demonstrations, and methods, free to any learner • channel (YouTube)
Peers: Professional Profile (opens in a new tab) (2025); the career record of roles, works, and collaborations, kept current for the professional world • page (LinkedIn)

My standing providers from nurture and progress, recommended by use

Assistant: Claude (2025-present); researcher, analyst, editor, tutor, and sounding board, the roles it holds across this page • LLM (Anthropic (opens in a new tab))
Dentist: Dr. JJ Serfontein (2023-present); examination, hygiene, and dental work under one roof • dentistry (JJS Dentistry (opens in a new tab))
Psychologist: Dr. John Demartini (2023-present); values work and emotional and mental mastery, systematized rather than essayed • human behavior (Demartini Institute (opens in a new tab))
Physiologist: Reece McDonald (2023-present); CPET, lactate, and performance testing on repeatable protocols • exercise physiology (Science2Sport (opens in a new tab), SSISA)
Virtual mentors: Top-60 YouTube Resources (2025); the curated faculty and guidelines for continuous self-education • presentation (YouTube (opens in a new tab))
Coach: Jelena Lakic (2018-present); behavior, accountability, and health strategy, in person and virtual • health coaching (jelenalakic.com (opens in a new tab))
Instructor: Brad Openshaw (2011-present); strength and movement instruction, the standard the self-sufficiency was built on • personal training (MoveFreely (opens in a new tab))

References (Guidelines)

The meta-analyses informing my benchmarks

Survival: Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., and Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7(7). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Grandparents: Sear, R., and Mace, R. (2008). Who keeps children alive? A review of the effects of kin on child survival. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29(1). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Screening: Krogsbøll, L. T., Jørgensen, K. J., and Gøtzsche, P. C. (2019). General health checks in adults for reducing morbidity and mortality from disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1. DOI (opens in a new tab)
Pets: Kramer, C. K., Mehmood, S., and Suen, R. S. (2019). Dog ownership and survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 12(10). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Coaching: Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., and Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: a meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2). DOI (opens in a new tab)

The randomized experiments informing my benchmarks

Neighborhoods: Chetty, R., Hendren, N., and Katz, L. F. (2016). The effects of exposure to better neighborhoods on children: new evidence from the Moving to Opportunity experiment. American Economic Review, 106(4). AEA (opens in a new tab)
Time: Whillans, A. V., et al. (2017). Buying time promotes happiness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(32). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Giving: Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., and Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 319(5870). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Luck: Salganik, M. J., Dodds, P. S., and Watts, D. J. (2006). Experimental study of inequality and unpredictability in an artificial cultural market. Science, 311(5762). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Exemplars: Lockwood, P., and Kunda, Z. (1997). Superstars and me: predicting the impact of role models on the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1). DOI (opens in a new tab)

The administrative and historical records informing my benchmarks

Place: Chetty, R., et al. (2014). Where is the land of opportunity? The geography of intergenerational mobility in the United States. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129(4). NBER (opens in a new tab)
Connection: Chetty, R., et al. (2022). Social capital I: measurement and associations with economic mobility. Nature, 608(7921). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Clinicians: Basu, S., et al. (2019). Association of primary care physician supply with population mortality in the United States, 2005–2015. JAMA Internal Medicine, 179(4). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Schooling: Coleman, J. S., et al. (1966). Equality of Educational Opportunity. United States Government Printing Office. ERIC (opens in a new tab)
Founders: Azoulay, P., et al. (2020). Age and high-growth entrepreneurship. American Economic Review: Insights, 2(1). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Teams: Wu, L., Wang, D., and Evans, J. A. (2019). Large teams develop and small teams disrupt science and technology. Nature, 566(7744). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Word of mouth: Trusov, M., Bucklin, R. E., and Pauwels, K. (2009). Effects of word-of-mouth versus traditional marketing: findings from an internet social networking site. Journal of Marketing, 73(5). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Investors: Sørensen, M. (2007). How smart is smart money? A two-sided matching model of venture capital. Journal of Finance, 62(6). DOI (opens in a new tab)

The cohorts and field studies informing my benchmarks

Status: Marmot, M. G., et al. (1991). Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study. Lancet, 337(8754). PubMed (opens in a new tab)
Ties: Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Size: Hill, R. A., and Dunbar, R. I. M. (2003). Social network size in humans. Human Nature, 14(1). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Capacity: Dunbar, R. I. M. (1992). Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates. Journal of Human Evolution, 22(6). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Parents: McLanahan, S., and Sandefur, G. (1994). Growing Up with a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps. Harvard University Press. ERIC (opens in a new tab)
Friends: Christakis, N. A., and Fowler, J. H. (2007). The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(4). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Partners: Waldinger, R. J., and Schulz, M. S. (2010). What’s love got to do with it? Social functioning, perceived health, and daily happiness in married octogenarians. Psychology and Aging, 25(2). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Communities: Li, S., et al. (2016). Association of religious service attendance with mortality among women. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(6). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Rivals: Kilduff, G. J. (2014). Driven to win: rivalry, motivation, and performance. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(8). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Brokerage: Burt, R. S. (2004). Structural holes and good ideas. American Journal of Sociology, 110(2). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Caregiving: Schulz, R., and Beach, S. R. (1999). Caregiving as a risk factor for mortality: the Caregiver Health Effects Study. JAMA, 282(23). DOI (opens in a new tab)
Credentials: Altonji, J. G., and Zhong, L. (2021). The labor market returns to advanced degrees. Journal of Labor Economics, 39(2). DOI (opens in a new tab)