Kyle Saltmarsh

👨‍💻 Work

I am currently working as a robotics engineer at Woodside Energy. Our team is working on deployment of robotic systems across our oil and gas facilities for remote inspections. I also work part time at Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE) as a project delivery lead. Its awesome, reach out if you are interested.

👨‍🎓 Education

As an undergraduate I studied Physics, Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering. My PhD is currently under review, in submarine vibration for the sonar systems team at Defence Science and Technology for the Australian Defence Force. Never start work before you finish your PhD, take it from me. Once I have finished my thesis my goal is to publish research in the field of robot learning.

🎤 Public Speaking

I am a semi-retired public speaking competitor, but I still love it (and always willing to come out of retirement). I was lucky to be the president of a Rostrum public speaking club in Perth, which pushed me to win an international competition.

🧗‍ Hobbies

• Rock climbing - My one true obsession. What I love about rock climbing is that it combined physical (strength, power, flexibility, mobility), mental (problem solving, overcoming fear, performance under stress) and technical (climbing skill, roping methods). It also a hobby that I can travel and explore the world with, getting out in nature. What I also love is that rock climbing is not a zero sum sport, my success does not come at someone else’s loss, and everyone can celebrate each others endeavours. Outdoor exploration to date:
  • Australia - Kalbarri, Margaret River, Albany, Mount Arapiles, Blue Mountains, Kangaroo Point, Mount Tinbeerwah and Mount Coolum.
  • International - Tonsai.
• Basketball - Some might say that being white, software development and basketball do not go hand in hand, and they would be right. I am not the best but I love it and I religiously watch the NBA.
• Magic - This is why I am not good at basketball. They just do not overlap. Card tricks are my thing, I own approximately 40 decks of playing cards. I quite enjoy Clarke's 3rd law - "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", which means a magician is simply a purveyor or advanced technology.
• Stand Up - I have done some amateur comedy (very amateur) which is by far the most terrifying thing I've done. I love it though, no better feeling than making other people laugh.

🌏 Travel

Here are the countries I have been to.

📖 Books

Here are my top 5 books that I would recommend.

• Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins - A book that leaves you thinking that you have no excuses to not push yourself to your absolute limits to achieve your goals.
• How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life by Russ Roberts - Many people know the Wealth of Nations, but 16 years earlier Adam smith wrote the Theory of Moral Sentiments because he believed that before he could understand economics, he had to understand people. Love this book and it is amazing how timeless it is.
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - The best behavioural psychology book I have read. Gives an understanding on how our brains work, why we think and act the way we do, the biases we have and how to be aware of them. He won the Nobel prize for this work so I guess don't take my word for it.
• Wait But Why by Tim Urban - My absolute favourite blogger which inspired a lot of my style in my own. He has put out series on SpaceX, Tesla and Neuralink which are all awesome. He also has the most viewed Ted Talk.
• The Book of Why by Judea Pearl - Great book to understand how to think causally. Must read, cannot be consumed as an audiobook, take it from me as someone who already made that mistake.

❤️ Health

My current health regime.

• Sleep - My sleeping window is 9:30PM-5:15AM. I improve the quality of my sleep through consistency, a wind down routine of reading and camomile tea, as well as various vitamins/supplements.
• Diet - My diet breakdown is approximately 80% plant based, 20% meat based. Each week I meal prep a vegetable and meat heavy dish, boiled eggs and a loaf of almond meal banana bread (high protein, no added sugar). I also regularly eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir. My typical day
  • Pre-gym: Banana
  • Breakfast: Coffee, Boiled Eggs and Protein Smoothie (frozen broccoli, frozen berries, protein powder and peanut butter)
  • Lunch: Vegetable and meat heavy meal
  • Dinner: Vegetable and meat heavy meal
  • Post Dinner: Camomile tea
• Supplements and Biohacking - I reguarly take various supplements and vitamins to for performance and longevity. My recommended resource for learning and getting started is Dr. Brad Stanford.
  • Pre-gym: Creatine (5g) and electrolyte
  • Breakfast: Multivitamin, Omega 3 (2000mg), Vitamin D (3000IU) and Creatine (5g)
  • Lunch: Chelated minerals, Niacin (100mg), Saw Palmetto (1200mg), Finasteride (1.25mg) and Ashwaganda (300mg, alternating weeks)
  • Dinner: Hyaluronic Acid (200mg), L-Theanine (200mg), Reishi Mushroom (500mg, alternating days) and Ashwaganda (300mg, alternating weeks)
  Full supplement stack with links is here.
• Exercise - My exercise regime is built to focus on rock climbing which includes elements of strength, climbing specific training, mobility and HIIT. This is done at the gym, at bouldering and climbing gyms and at gymnastics occasionally.
• Recovery - Every morning I do cold ocean plunges after my exercise. I also sauna 1-2 times per week.
• Skin Care -
  • Morning: Cleanser, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C, SPF50+ Moisturiser
  • Night: Cleanser, Hyaluronic Acid, Peptide Serum, Granactive Retinoid, Moisturiser/Oil
  Full skin stack with links is here.