When Kalana came to Tasmania in October 2019, he was 110kg and feeling a bit lost after four not-entirely-happy years studying and working in Melbourne. But in his short time in Hobart he has experienced some dramatic improvements in his physical and mental well-being, mainly through small things that many of us locals would take for granted, such as free music events and many places to relax.
Kalana grew up in Colombo with his mother and two sisters and the family struggled in his young years, moving house many times. But everyone around them struggled too, so he did not feel it so much. When he moved to study in Melbourne it was the first time he'd lived a way from his family, a big step for a young man. In Melbourne he got a job at a motel and eventually he realised that he preferred hospitality to accountancy...a choice that was costly in the short term but contributed to his choice of Tasmania as a destination.
