This is precisely what former Springbok Ashwin Willemse did when he said goodbye to a life of crime to pursue a professional rugby playing career.
Ashwin grew up in a humble home in Caledon in the Western Cape, where he was raised by his grandparents. He was a promising athlete and rugby player at school and idolised the legendary Chester Williams, the first player of colour to be included in the Springboks squad since Errol Tobias and his uncle Avril Williams in the early 1980s.
But by the time Ashwin reached his mid-teens, he drifted off the path to success when he gave into temptations offered by a life of crime. It started with petty theft, and escalated to more serious crimes and drug abuse after he joined a gang known as The Young American$.
At the age of 16, Ashwin was close to the point of no return when he had to make one of the most important decisions in his life, as he explained on the first episode of Season 2 of The Dan Nicholl Show:
Ashwin clearly made the right decision when he decided to Change his ways, and when his path crossed with another famous Springbok idol, Breyten Paulse, it was time to embrace even more positive Change when Breyten helped Ashwin to go to the Craven Week:
And the rest, as they say, is history. Ashwin had an illustrious rugby career, peaking with the Springboks’ 2008 Rugby World Cup victory. These days, Ashwin is a respected commentator on everything rugby-related, except when it comes to a certain rugby team from KwaZulu-Natal:
But this is not the end of the Ashwin Willemse story. His autobiography hit the shelves recently, and we were honoured to receive of copy of Rugby Changed My World, Ashwin’s autobiography, to display on the #LoveChange Showcase:
* Every week, a guest on The Dan Nicholl Show donates an item for display on the #LoveChange Showcase, which is a collection of memories and Change Moments. These items tie into BrightRock’s and the Change Exchange’s #LoveChange philosophy. BrightRock are the official sponsors of the show.
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