Orlando Pirates workhorse Deon Hotto has narrated how his dark past, which also saw him spend four months in jail in 2012, motivates him to keep going and be a role model for people in his native country of Namibia and SA.
“What keeps me going is looking where I come from back home. I always want my story to change people's lives here and back home,'' Hotto told journalists on the sidelines of Pirates' jersey launch ahead of the 2024/25 season at Orlando Stadium yesterday.
“Just like I've said, back home nobody knew me as a footballer in my township... they knew me as a naughty boy but today I am a household name. I just want to give back to the community for the time I've lost.''
Hotto, who's the youngest of his parents' six children, revealed on Pirates' documentary titled The Changeroom a few weeks ago that he had a troubled upbringing in Namibia after losing his mother in 1993, subsequently dropping out of school to start “hustling by selling sweets'', albeit his father was working as a bus driver.
The utility winger has now highlighted that the community where he grew up didn't believe how he managed to transform his life, insisting he's grateful that he changed his ways.
Just like I've said, back home nobody knew me as a footballer in my township... they knew me as a naughty boy but today I am a household name. I just want to give back to the community for the time I've lost.'
— Orlando Pirates workhorse Deon Hotto
Hotto, who's capped 65 times by Namibia senior national team with 10 goals to his name, has scored 69 goals in the PSL since he first arrived in the country to play for Golden Arrows in January 2014.
“In the past, it was tough when I go back home because the people in my community didn't believe that I was the Deon Hotto who is on TV now... because most of the people knew me as a naughty boy back home,'' Hotto said.
“I am not going to say that I got a second chance in life or what... it's just that I was in a dark place and I had to look back and ask myself, 'do I really want to be this person?' Fortunately, God had something for me, and here I am today... I am a household name back home and here in SA. I am just grateful that I left that life [of crime] behind and took my chance.”
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