DYNAMIC DAYIMANI

Hacjivah Dayimani is undoubtedly a generational talent who takes on his dreams on and off the field

AS HE REFLECTS ON HIS EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY, YEAR OLD PRO ATHLETE and Stormers back-row star Hacjivah Dayimani takes front row notice. His inspiring story begins where he grew up, in his mother’s one-room shack in Joe Slovo, a small township in Cape Town. Due to nancial hardship and bad in uences in his area, his mother sent him to live with his grandmother. Hoping for a better life and future for Dayimani than she had as a cleaner, she enrolled him in a prestigious school and encouraged him to look for his biological father. Although his journey to Stomers success was fraught with obstacles, Dayimani’s humility, work ethic, humble beginnings and inspirational outlook on life make him someone we can’t help but admire.

GQ: How has your upbringing influenced who you are today?

Hacjivah Dayimani: It was a blessing in disguise. In my early years, I was raised by a single mom who lost her job when I was very young, which meant I had to help out where I could, working at a paving company at weekends and during the holidays and later selling oranges for my mom and siblings. When I went to live with my grandma, things went downhil, so I had to nd my dad in Joburg.

ings didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to, but I had to grow up and push because I hadn’t gone that far only quit when I got to Joburg. As tough as my journey was, it brought something out of me that made me the young man I am today.

GQ: When did you realise you loved rugby, and was it a saving grace for you growing up?

HD: When the 2007 Rugby World Cup games aired on SABC2, I was a die-hard soccer fan who’d never understood rugby. I remember watching the games with my family on my mom’s bed, and it was crazy because we were all clueless about what was going on, just watching the scoreboard and cheering every time more points appeared on it. But when Bryan Habana caught an interception and dove... that was the moment I realised rugby was the sport I wanted to play.

GQ: Who inspired you as a young athlete, and why?

HD: Bryan Habana was my hero growing up – he was popular with the Black and coloured community, every kid wanted to be like him and, to be honest, as a young boy, all I ever wanted to do was catch a ball and dive across a try line.

GQ: How did you overcome the challenges you faced to get where you are today?

HD: Honestly, I wasn’t aware I’d overcome challenges until I looked back on my life and realised how far I’d come. When you’re in the moment, it’s hard to notice your progress, and you tend to look at everything that’s going wrong in your life rather than what’s going right or berate yourself for how little progress you’ve made. People who come from where I do and were inspired by what I was doing kept me going.

GQ: What motivates you to continue to excel in your career?

HD: It’s addictive, knowing

I’m taking my family out of poverty, ensuring they don’t have to go through what I did. I have to make it; if I don’t, my family won’t eat. It’s all serious business until I get the job done. at’s how much pressure

I put myself under, and it sometimes gets to me, but if I slack o , that makes me sel sh.

GQ: Describe your most memorable game.

HD: I’d say Lions vs. Crusaders, when I made my starting debut against the All Blacks Captain Kieran Read and, for some reason, everything I did was right, and I remember, at half-time, feeling so emotional thinking about how far I’d come. It was crazy because never in a million years would I have thought that’d be my life. My mom had got Dstv speci cally to watch that game.

GQ: What are some of your career highlights?

HD: I played Golden Lions u16 Grant Khomo, SA u16 highperformance Craven Week, u18, Academy week, SA u18 Sevens Commonwealth games and SA schools, then started my professional rugby career at the end of 2016. I won a United Rugby Championship in 2021.

GQ: YOU also have a reputation for being very into fashion.

HD: I’d love to believe my style has no boundaries. I try to express myself by breaking norms and rules. Being a rugby player who’s into fashion is unheard of, so sometimes I catch ak. I’m gender-fashion-fluid, which people in my environment could misunderstand. I stand against toxic masculinity by being myself and showing people that just because I paint my nails and wear a kilt at weekends, it doesn’t make me less of anything – I can still perform. I want to inspire people, especially men, to express themselves and be who they want to be without fear of judgement. We should value how nice people are, not what they wear or their interests. Society has set rules, but they’re not necessarily right because if you look at history, many don’t encourage treating people well.

GQ: Fashion-wise, who or what inspires you?

HD: I grew up in a strict household where certain things weren’t allowed, such as piercings or wearing clothes associated with gangsterism. And I was always surrounded by toxic masculinity, so it seemed normal until I befriended people who viewed the world di erently and were from other backgrounds. ey taught me that for change to happen, you need to initiate it yourself, so I must educate people about toxic masculinity and being themselves, especially in rugby. How do you expect a player to express himself on the eld if he can’t do that o it?

‘Just because I paint my nails at weekends, that doesn’t make me less of anything – I can still perform’