A typical day for finan-cial advisor Roman Hahn begins in the wee hours of the morning.

When his alarm clock rings at 5 a.m., the only company he usually has are the many birds that also call the balmy Victoria region home on a year-round basis.

The 53-year-old is a vice president with RBC Dominion Secu-rities Inc. , but when Hahn climbs out of bed, his working day at DS is still several hours away.

As a successful financial advisor, Hahn admits his career is a major part of his life; but it’s not the only part. For more than a year now, when he’s not creating wealth for his clients, Hahn is investing in his own physical and mental well-being through a rigorous physical exercise routine that he has blended with other personally rewarding pursuits.

Hahn and his girlfriend live in suburban Victoria on the scenic Saanich Peninsula, a short drive from the Saanich Commonwealth Place community centre at which the swimming events were held during the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Depending on the day of the week, by 5:30 a.m., Hahn can be found in either the centre’s pool, doing an hour of laps, or its gym, doing cardio exercise on an elliptical trainer or a rowing machine.

“It’s a fabulous facility, and it’s only about five minutes from home,” he says. “I vary my routine, depending on the day. This morn-ing, for instance, I did a half-hour on the elliptical, then rowed about 5,000 metres in 21 minutes. After that, it’s back home to shower and shave, then I’m in my downtown Victoria office by 7:30 a.m.”

The workday at DS runs until about 4 p.m. After that, three or four days a week, Hahn goes back to the Commonwealth Place gym for an hour and half of weight training.

Dinner at home is also quality time with his partner and a time for unwinding with a little TV or reading before bed by 10 p.m. And weekends are just as jam-packed.

Hahn thrives on this full work/life schedule. But how does he manage to do it?

“We’re empty nesters, so not having children at home certainly helps,” he admits.

Variety in his training schedule also helps Hahn maintain his pace. “When the weather and light permit, I’ll sometimes replace the weight training with cycling,” he says. “I’ll cycle about 60 kilometres over the Saanich Peninsula, and that takes just over two hours.”

Skiing is also on Hahn’s busy agenda; he tries to ski at Whistler Mountain once a month during the ski season. After the skis are stored each spring, Hahn hits the golf course. A member of Victoria’s prestigious Royal Colwood Golf Club, he sets aside Saturday mornings and Thurs-day afternoons for this pleasure.

When he’s not pursuing one form of athletics or another, Hahn likes to spend time cooking with his partner. “Cooking is something we can do together, and we also take turns cooking the daily meals,” he says. “We enjoy all forms of cooking, and we have a fabulous collection of cook books. We also enjoy going to the opera or the theatre together.”

Hahn was born and raised in the Northern Ontario town of Marathon and earned his bachelor of arts degree at the University of Toronto before moving to Victoria in 1979. He began his career in general sales; that led him into financial planning in 1981 and, eventually, into the RBC family in 1990.

Along the way, Hahn completed the Canadian securities course with honours and the Canadian options course. He also has a life insurance licence and has completed the Canadian Securities Institute’s partners, directors and senior officers qualifying examination, along with the professional financial planning course.

This course work has earned Hahn financial management advisor and fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute designations to go along with his BA.

“In this business, the learning never stops,” Hahn says. “I believe very strongly in continuing my own education. Dominion Securities is very good at providing us with on-going education.”

He is also keen in helping others with their education — particularly young people. That is why he is part of the University of Victoria Business School’s mentoring program.

“You spend time helping the student who is assigned to you,” he says. “It’s an opportunity for me to give something back to society. The program features interesting guest speakers, so I get something out of it that way, too.”

@page_break@Hahn is also a member of the Rotary Club in Victoria and is a master Mason.

Hahn has maintained his current workout schedule for slightly more than a year. During that time, the five-foot, 11-inch physical fitness devotee has lost about 40 pounds. He now weighs in at a trim 170 pounds. He jokes that one advantage of having such a physically demanding schedule is that he can “eat like a horse” as often as it suits him.

On a more serious note, Hahn says, one way he’s able to maintain such a tough schedule is by making sure he stays highly focused at work.
“I don’t come to work to socialize; I’m there to do business for my clients,” he says. “And I have great staff members who support me.”

With a client list that now totals about 400 households, Hahn is kept on his toes during office hours managing approximately $160 million on their behalf. He focuses on clients who are business owners, professionals or high net-worth retirees.

The toughest part in his daily routine, Hahn says, is making sure he is in bed before 10 p.m. each evening. “But if I have to stay out later and I miss a training session, I don’t let it bother me,” he says, “because I know that during the week I’m still getting lots of cardio exercise. You can’t become too fanatical about this.”

His other important piece of advice: “Don’t watch too much television, and that will give you time for other things.”

Hahn watches very little sports, either on TV or in person: “I heard this at a seminar years ago: ‘Get out of the stands, get onto the field and be the star in your own game.’ That works best for me.” IE