Meet the Founder of Olderland 👋
Who am I?
Hi, I’m Stuart Dyson. After graduating with a degree in Physical Education, I’ve spent my entire career in the UK fitness industry. From teacher and lecturer to sports coach, personal trainer, and business owner—it’s been a fascinating, and occasionally bumpy, journey.
I’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing people and learned a huge amount about the safest, most effective ways to get healthy—and stay healthy—without needing to be a super-athlete or a health obsessive.
I’m a proud Yorkshireman with a wife and two grown-up children. We live ‘down South,’ where, when I’m not “healthspanning”, I spend my time chasing balls with racquets (particularly tennis) and lamenting the fortunes of Sheffield Wednesday FC to anyone who will listen.
Why should you trust me?
As a someone researching healthspan, I aim to avoid all the ‘woo’ around longevity and instead focus on translating credible information into actionable steps that can work for regular people like us. I don’t have a corporate position to defend or a supplement to sell. I simply go where the science leads, and aim to create a sensible corner of the internet free from impossible standards, hype and conspiracy theories. I’m not trying to be the ‘all-knowing expert’ who gets it right every time - I’m happy to respond with ‘I don’t know, but I’ll look into it.’
Are you a doctor or a scientist?
No and no. My background is in Health, Fitness and Sport, but I’ve made it my mission to stay at the leading edge of health and longevity improvement—both for my own benefit and to serve as a guide for others.
My qualifications include:
B.Ed (Hons) Physical Education
Certified Personal Trainer (Sports Training Institute, New York)
Certified Senior Fitness Specialist (American Council on Exercise)
Functional Aging Specialist (Functional Aging Institute)
Certified Brain Health Trainer
Level 1 Nutrition Coach (Precision Nutrition)
Certified Personal Trainer (American Council on Exercise)
What sparked your interest in healthspan?
In 2025, I celebrated my 65th birthday—a milestone I almost didn’t reach. In 2022, with no prior symptoms, I suffered a ‘Widowmaker’ heart attack, followed by a quadruple bypass two weeks later. I struggled to come to terms with the fact that, despite a lifetime of exercise, I still wasn’t able to outrun family genetics.
The journey back to full health was long and difficult, but it ignited a deep interest in health and healthspan in particular. I’m not trying to get ‘huge’ or ‘shredded’ and I don’t want to biohack my way to immortality; I just want to be active, sharp, and independent for as long as possible. This blog is my attempt at a “public notebook” to show what I get up to and to keep me accountable. After reading, my hope is that you may feel inclined to join me.
What makes this blog different?
The world of health and longevity is noisy, expensive, and often overly clinical. My aim is to become your trusted source that can act as a filter to look for the “dial-movers”—the habits that actually work—so you don’t have to. I use science but without being ‘sciencey,’ keeping jargon to a minimum. I’m a fellow traveller on this path, testing theories on myself and focusing on doing over just knowing. It would be amazing to build a community of like-minded ‘Spanners’ to share the journey through Olderland.
Who is Olderland for?
My ideal reader isn’t looking for a “six-pack beach body” or the latest longevity fad. They’re people who value quality of life over lifespan. They want to spend their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s playing with grandkids and actively enjoying life, rather than sitting in a doctor’s waiting room. If you want to move past generic advice and dive into the reality of ageing well, you’re in the right place. And remember, it’s never too late to start!
What can you expect?
When you subscribe, you’ll receive a weekly summary of articles delivered directly to your inbox, so you won’t have to worry about missing anything of interest.
My objectives for the content I publish are to:
Work out the best way to guard against dying prematurely. Staying alive.
Utilise the best science-led ideas to be healthy and independent for as long as possible. Staying well.
Show how to take personal responsibility for improving health and ‘de-medicalise’ the process. Staying in control.
Finally, what’s the one habit you’ll never give up?
For me, it would have to be exercise. It’s been the cornerstone of everything—physical, mental, and social. It’s fun, it’s fascinating, and it literally saved my life. If a company could bottle the benefits of exercise, it would be the most valuable pill on earth.
