Almost every morning in Dawn Park, there is a familiar sound echoing through the streets. If you’ve ever heard the repetitive thumping of a basketball followed by the barking of dogs, you may already know what I’m talking about. Behind that unusual morning routine is Dawn Park resident Busani Vilakazi. He has incorporated basketball into his daily jog as a form of full-body training, with the goal of building a healthier community.
For more than two years, Busani has jogged through the streets of Dawn Park while dribbling a basketball. For him, however, the passion extends far beyond one sport. He hopes to make physical activity part of his lifestyle and use it to help transform the lives of others.
The routine began during a music-listening session with friends, who later invited him to play basketball. He travelled with them to Vosloorus to play on the basketball courts there. One morning, as he prepared to go for a jog, Busani decided to take a basketball with him. He soon discovered that dribbling the ball while running provided a more intense workout. The workout is “more intense cardio,” he says. “It’s full body, it’s not just legs. It’s not just you losing weight. It’s you losing weight at the same time you are gyming.” Since then, the basketball has become a regular part of his morning runs.
More Than Just a Workout
Although the practice began with basketball, Busani’s passion extends far beyond the sport itself. His ultimate aim is to incorporate sports into his entire lifestyle. “It’s not just the sport itself,” he says, “it’s about using it to train my body into doing other things.” He believes the practice helps to unlock other parts of the body, allowing him to do more than he could before. What began as a simple training routine has gradually become a way of life. “That’s why you see me doing that every morning,” he says. “It’s one exercise that sorts everything.”
While basketball is an exercise that helps Busani train his entire body, he also uses the practice to prepare for another sport he has incorporated into his lifestyle: athletics. Busani participates in road races and says the basketball routine has become part of his training. “It’s not just me playing basketball; it’s me using it to train for what I’m doing now, which is athletics running. I’m using basketball to train for that,” he says. His most recent race was a 15-kilometre event in Leondale.
Turning Experience Into Purpose
What has shaped Busani’s attitude towards a healthy lifestyle is his experience in rehab about 10 years ago.There, the rehabilitation programme encouraged him to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. He says the programme did not simply tell him to stop using substances. Instead, it encouraged him to replace his unhealthy lifestyle with healthier habits. As he exercised more regularly, it became a habit and eventually helped him move away from his previous lifestyle.
The rehabilitation programme identified his problem as a lifestyle issue. “It was me spending too much time doing nothing… It’s an unhealthy lifestyle,” he admits.
Rehab also changed his perspective on how substances affected his health. “The aim was to tell me what the drugs were doing to my body, of which obviously the body does deteriorate,” he says. The rehabilitation programme encouraged him to exercise, live a healthier lifestyle and participate in sports. That experience has continued to influence his approach to fitness and healthy living.
Now, Busani hopes to bring that same attitude into his community. He says many of the people he grew up with have been hurt by unhealthy lifestyles. “Some have even lost their lives.” Of those who remain, he says some are “blinded” by the same lifestyle. They are, as he puts it, “following the old habits.”
Busani is not the only Dawn Park resident using sport to encourage healthier lifestyles. The Ubhejane Legends FC have taken a similar approach through football.
Busani, however, has no desire to judge or criticise people for their lifestyles. “I was also raised to be open-minded. I can’t tell you to wash the dishes if I don’t wash them,” he adds. Instead, he wants to share what he has learnt from his own experiences. “Ninety percent of the things we consume just need a change of lifestyle,” he says.
Busani believes substance abuse is a significant problem in Dawn Park. However, his goal is not simply to tell people to stop using substances “I can’t get them to stop,” he says, “but I need to change their lifestyles.”
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Building Something Bigger
Busani hopes to turn what he has learnt into a career in life coaching. He envisions teaching people what he calls the ‘basics’ of life. These include nutrition, morning routines and the importance of having conversations rather than relying on texting. He also believes that some people struggle with confidence because of habits such as “spending too much time watching TV or spending too much time with the wrong crowd.”
Athletics, meanwhile, has become a way for Busani to build the network he believes he will need to help others. He hopes to connect with athletes and people with experience in sports. This includes runners who participate in events such as the Comrades Marathon. In so doing, he hopes to learn from them and eventually apply that knowledge to opportunities in Dawn Park. The sponsorships he seeks are not primarily for himself. He hopes to use them to help others in the future.
For Busani, sport is ultimately a means to a greater purpose “funny enough, athletics and sports isn’t really the aim; it’s to just build a network of things that I’m gonna need for people who’ll need that” he says. His presence in Dawn Park’s sporting community is part of that effort. “The reason why I’m present in my neighbourhood with athletics and sports is to be able to brainstorm with people who do it here in Dawn Park.”
His basketball routine may have started as a simple way to exercise. However, today, Busani sees sport as something much bigger; a tool for personal development, connection and helping others change their lives.
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