Barry was born into an holistic life style. He was brought up surrounded by cows, chickens, dogs and honey bees on a bio-dynamic small holding in the Mid-Rand. Whenever he or one of his brothers fell ill, his mother took them to their GP, the homoeopath and the naturopath. He grew up comfortable in the knowledge and use of both conventional and natural therapies.

Barry cannot remember a time when he did not want to be a veterinary surgeon. He qualified from Onderstoport in 1990 and went into private practice. In 1993 in went overseas in search of training in the complementary therapies with the aim of developing an holistic veterinary practice.

Barry sailed the Cape to Rio in January 1993 and from there, took the next six years to formalise his knowledge in complementary therapies. He spent time working with Dr Cheryl Schwartz at her Complementary Veterinary Hospital in San Francisco (Dr Schwartz is author of 'Four Paws, Five Directions'; a leading text in Traditional Chinese Medicine for small animals).

He trained and qualified as a Traditional Chinese Medical practitioner from the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading, England. He is thus fully qualified to treat humans as well as animals with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Barry and his wife Vicky returned to South Africa from the UK in 1999. Acuvet Clinic started practicing as a referral clinic from the Cape Animal Medical Centre in August 1999 and has grown from strength to strength.

Barry's wife Vicky is also a TCM practitioner and she runs her own successful practice treating humans with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. They are 'Mom and Dad' to Magnet (standard poodle) and Moxa (Airedale Terrier) and are expecting their first human child in February 2003.

Barry likes to balance his city life and dedication to work with 4x4 trips, weekends spent kite-surfing, or time away with Vicky on the eco-village in which his parents now live. He is also an accomplished DIY enthusiast.