Cheslin Kolbe says that he is ‘super proud’ to hail from Scottville, Kraaifontein, having overcome the lure of gangsterism and drugs to become a double Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok.
Like many of his teammates, he has gone through his fair share of hardships en route to becoming a world champion, with hearing gunshots while playing on the streets being the norm for the pocket-rocket outside back.
Kolbe credits his parents for much of his success, with their presence and support preventing him from going into a life of crime, which he says was the easy route.
Cheslin Kolbe on growing up in Kraaifontein
Having overcome those temptations, the Springboks superstar hopes that he can make a difference in communities facing similar difficulties through the Cheslin Kolbe Foundation.
“It’s the area that I’m super proud to be coming from, Scottsville, Kraaifontein. There’s so much talent, and it’s such a small world,” he told Steven Kitshoff in an interview on the For the Love of Rugby South Africa podcast.
He continued: “The first thing that comes to mind if people hear Scottsville or Kraaifontein is gangsterism, drugs, poverty, and for me, yes, just the challenges, the things I’ve seen as a young kid and that I had to overcome, whether that was just playing do touchies [touch rugby] in the street and the next minute you’ll just hear gunshots going off in broad daylight.
“If I look back at it now, that was the norm for us growing up in that environment because that’s all we knew. That’s all we saw, and that’s what we got exposed to at quite a young age, but I wouldn’t change it for the world, to be honest.
“It’s made me mentally and personally much stronger as a human being and then, also I think what inspires or what challenges me more for what rugby has given me, it was an escape from falling into the easy route of being a gangster, selling drugs, or whatever the case might be is just wanting to go back into not just my community but across South Africa because there are so many other communities that are faced with similar challenges.
Dream big message
“Just to go back there and be like a mentor, wanting to inspire the young kids to show them it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are, or the challenges you’re going through. Especially in coloured communities, the majority of the kids or a family household is raised without the father and I just want to encourage dads, especially, to be present in their kids’ lives and just mentor them to do better to wanting to achieve things.”
Rugby changed Kolbe’s life and allowed him to side-step a life of crime and he has urged others who are growing up in similar circumstances to the ones he did to take the chances that come their way.
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Furthermore, he has urged parents to simply be there for their kids whenever possible.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from or your circumstances; there are always people out there that keeping an eye out on you, and it takes one opportunity to change things around, and you just have to make sure that you keep pushing yourself and you continue to believe and dream big,” he said.
“Anything and everything is possible, and I want to encourage the young kids and the parents to want to make a difference in the kids’ lives and want them to make a success, whether that’s in sport, whether that’s in business, whether that’s in anything the kids want to excel in.”