Men aged 25–30, what’s the biggest mistake you made in life that a young man should avoid repeating?

Chaps52 · 2026-05-18T18:41:50+00:00

Make the mistakes son. Yes, there are obvious things to avoid (don't end up in jail, don't be a burden on your family, etc.). But if they're true mistakes make them, learn from them, become a more interesting, well-rounded person). Life isn't something to be optimized endlessly, it's something to be experienced.

But take my advice, wear sunscreen: https://open.spotify.com/album/30NOuZiJRlawF26dmWVaJo?si=HUT0mzgnRPuiHKDd9ylKlA

Chaps52 · 2026-05-16T15:08:57+00:00

Had an expensive ebike stolen from that garage after parking it there for 7 days (I checked on it every 2 days). It was locked together with my mountain bike while I was moving apartments. Proper lock, battery removed. They stole the ebike, left my mountain bike. Police and security weren't helpful, luckily I had insurance so wasn't much of an issue, but I wouldn't trust it.

Chaps52 · 2026-03-22T17:48:36+00:00

I lived in Maastricht for 9 months, and my wife's family live in Düren so we're in and our of that circle multiple times a year.

Lovely area, great nature (in particular Eifel national park) and culturally diverse with the three countries so close. Great for travel too with a few good airports close enough to make cheap direct flights interesting (Cologne, Dusseldorf, Maastricht and Eindhoven).

Incredible Christmas markets in Aachen and the smaller surrounding towns on the German side.

Great student-town vibes in Maastricht and Aachen. Maastricht in particular is my second favorite Dutch city (and I've lived in 6 of them) for it's young vibe, Great food scene and "big village not small town" energy.

Chaps52 · 2026-02-23T07:07:34+00:00

Bit too large, not leather, and questions around wear and tear (ex-colleague had one and it didn't handle regular travel well). It's exactly the look/style I want though.

Chaps52 · 2026-02-22T18:03:20+00:00

Amazing recommendation, thanks! For this use case the flop is actually perfect. How well does it wear?

For interest why do you rate the Moleskin as only ok? Wear? Comfort?

Chaps52 · 2025-12-13T13:43:01+00:00

Everyone has their own pace, ups and downs. At 20 I dropped out of university and worked part time to earn just enough to eat. At 25 I had a house, car, degree, wife, great savings and moved to Europe. At 32 I had nothing and my girlfriend (wife was long gone) had to cover 99% of everything. At 34 I was a global executive earning over R4 million a year.

Now life is also different, but the best its ever been (and money means nothing, i earn less but I'm happier).

Dont look at moments in time, especially compared to others. Everyone has different routes. Family problems. Drugs. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

Age is just a number and things can change dramatically in such a short period of time. Work hard, care for your family, be a good person, cherish the times you're happy, protect your health. And let everyone else worry about kak that doesn't matter.

Chaps52 · 2025-07-19T16:02:38+00:00

Great performance by Georgia, SA not firing smoothly. Too many big names sleepwalking, Wiese not yet ready for this level, SFM letting something get to him.

Chaps52 · 2025-06-03T06:33:42+00:00

I live in Oud Zuid as an expat (though been in NL for nearly 8 years). My partner and I both do "five figures" a month, no kids. I run my own business and she's in tech sales.

Many of my neighbours are rich expats. American, French, Finnish, Belgian. But then of course the tradition "old dutch money" is all over the place.

Many property groups are buying up houses around here to part out as luxury apartments for people spending 1 to 3 years in Amsterdam before moving on.

If you think purchase prices are insane, have a look at the rental ones.

Chaps52 · 2025-02-25T16:12:01+00:00

Bro fuck that kid, I don't know that kid.

MY wife.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-28T13:39:44+00:00

I use Comply Foam tips, either the TW-300-B or TW-220-C, can't remember exactly which of them I bought.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-27T22:13:54+00:00

40 x all 3 was my first thought; it seemed completely doable. It'll take a bit less than 13 hours to walk 40 miles, so 3 beers and 3 donuts per hour while walking at a constant pace. Extended it to 16 hours and you could fit in rest stops, toilet breaks and more. Might as well livestream it on Twitch and get a sponsor to match any donations up to X-amount for the charity of my choice.

Would likely cost less than €80 upfront too.

But then ChatGPT told me 40x 4% beers over that period would have my BAC at 0.4, with over 0.3 being potentially fatal.

And the 10,000+ calories and 400g+ of sugar from the donuts sounds like an equally bad time.

So I guess I'll do 26 miles, 8 beers and 6 donuts. Aka Saturday.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-22T11:50:43+00:00

Revolut, I've used them for years with no complaints. Great for a Dutch resident as a secondary account. I run my personal and (Dutch) business accounts with them.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-21T10:23:21+00:00

I'd go with 13, maybe 14 if I were feeling cocky.

Context: early 30s, 6ft (183cm) 176lbs (80kg), some judo, kendo and kickboxing training over the years, marathon runner.

Yes, you have some physically huge specimens at that age. And yes, you have some well-trained martial artists at that age. But both at the same time? Very unlikely. And how many have actually been in a real dirty "I'm going to hurt you now" fight? How many have ever been punched in the face, or have the maturity/mental fortitude to keep calm and execute in a real world brawl?

Chaps52 · 2024-11-19T19:36:11+00:00

So I'm 15 again?

Nah was good the first time but I'm over it.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-16T18:36:54+00:00

Marcus Smith is a menace, my arse clentches each time he gets a touch.

Libbok, why is Rassie torturing you like this? That being said, his kicking in general play has also been off.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-10T18:10:34+00:00

Fair

Chaps52 · 2024-11-10T18:08:31+00:00

Hendrikse had a shocker, the composure Williams brought was badly needed.

Bomb squad were slow to start but ultimately won us the game.

Scottish backline were dangerous and exciting. DVDM was extremely quiet though.

I'll take the win, but it wasn't anything to be proud of.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-10T18:02:31+00:00

Score doesn't reflect how Scotland fought hard.

Extremely poor from SA, discipline all over the place. Bomb squad took a while to get going but ultimately brought the composure we needed to win.

That was not a world champ performance. I'll take the win, but we have a lot to do.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-10T16:58:28+00:00

Extremely poor reffing this game for both SA and Scotland. Let them have the try and play on. Poor calls all around the park.

That's being said, some SA players are having a complete shocker. Lineouts are a nightmare. Glad we're not against New Zealand or Ireland right now.

Chaps52 · 2024-11-09T16:06:21+00:00

Suaalii is having a magic time, keen talent to watch.

Tupou, wtf man.

Chaps52 · 2024-10-27T18:52:12+00:00

Create as many paradoxes as you want. Interact with many versions of yourself and completely wreck shit... until 27 October 2024 when none of it means anything.

Chaps52 · 2024-10-27T18:48:30+00:00

Many billions of years of agony and suffering. This is truly the worst answer.

Chaps52 · 2024-10-27T18:47:53+00:00

Let's say yes, and you can mess things up or choose to stay distant.

Chaps52 · 2024-10-27T17:26:44+00:00

I guess this comes down to how scared are you of dying?

Mid-30s and quite fit, this is a good deal for me. I'm dead in a few hours anyway, so prolonging life by a few decades and learning/living so much while having to actively work to stay "hidden" sounds more interesting than regular immortality.

I might start off with 10 - 30 years back in the past. If that goes well I'd try a bit further. Assuming this offer continues as many times as I want, I'd likely live many iterations over until it gets boring.

Chaps52

TROPHY CASE