Heroes and villains…

The name Gayton McKenzie should (assuming you are of a rockstar disposition like myself) conjure in your mind a Philadelphia Eagles linebacker or a hardened coloured Stormers support standing on the ramparts of Newlands.

The first vision would actually be rather plausible however the latter is actually not far from the truth. The bit that is far from the truth is the reference to the sport, team and stadium, whereas the rest is actually close to the truth. However despite its closeness to the truth it is not nearly close enough to encapsulating the entire truth.

I could try put the truth in a nutshell but would fail dismally…

If you want the truth go read ‘The Choice: The Gayton McKenzie Story’. I can open your eyes to part of what is in this abbreviated biography of a great man’s life but I wouldn’t get near summarising his greatness. In fact his greatness is too big to be summarised.

If you had asked me when I was a 10 years old prep school boy who my hero was you would have got a figure that was an amalgamation of Pete Mitchell (the maverick part not the Tom part) and James Small.

If you had asked the same question when I was 15 years old you would have got Christian Cullen morphed with Maurice Green.

If you had asked me two days ago it would have been Dave Denbury, Tyler Durden and Robbie Williams rolled into one.

Ask me now and you’d still get those 3 (okay maybe without dave) but Gayton McKenzie would definitely be part of that hero equation.

The simple truth is that his life was the exact opposite to mine. He was dirt poor. Lived in a terrible segregated settlement in serious poverty. He was exposed to abhorrent crimes when he was very young. He took the life choice of pursuing a life of crime…

He lived that life. He was successful at it. And he paid for it with 15 years in Grootvlei prison.

His book tells the story of a little boy that had nothing, went into crime, became a successful ganster, went into hell, and came back a better man. People appreciate movies or books that portray character development. This book does it better than any other because it is the truth.

McKenzie’s story is told frankly without shying from the truth. The good, the bad, the ugly is all told without remorse. The man has nothing to hide. You step back from the book wondering why nothing else has provoked such thought in you before.

You want a reason to take some introspection and survey your life so far? Read this book. You’ll throw away every hero you have ever had before and find yourself staring at the face of a man you wish you could mimic in terms of what he has overcome.

Rockstars that can tell stories like his from the first person are few and far between…