Forced into retirement by a sports injury, former professional soccer player Mzoli Foster from Khayamnandi in Despatch is urging residents to adopt a healthier lifestyle after his weight gain left him wheezing and wishing to regain his former fitness..

Foster, 39, has played centre back for Bay United Football Club, Maritzburg United, UPE school of excellence and Tornado FC, but a groin injury forced him to retire in 2011.

I realised I had picked up weight. One day [in 2018] while I was walking, I suffered from shortness of breath, I started sweating and when I went to the doctor I was told I had high blood pressure, he said.

I was concerned about my health, then I noticed people in Khayamnandi didnt have a gym.

I started a gym called Husts gym with my girlfriend Nombuzo Booysen, because we observed that our community was struck by poverty and the elderly were alcoholics.

According to Foster, the gym has 52 people since its establishment two years ago who came for aerobic and Tae Bo classes on Friday evening from 5pm to 6pm, with classes on Saturday from 7am to 8am.

We have our classes at Nomathamsanqa Primary School premises.

We are currently registering the gym as a non-profit organisation with the department of social development, Foster said.

Booysen said there were people in their fifties and sixties who joined their classes and they hoped to inspire people to work together to find solutions to their health problems instead of complaining.

I started training because I had gained weight, my clothes started getting tight.

I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, and I did not want to reach a stage where I could get sicknesses related to being overweight, Booysen said.

Mthuthuzeli Calata, 55, said he decided to join the local gym to inspire older people in the community to stop alcohol abuse and live a healthier lifestyle. .

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Former soccer player promotes healthy living - HeraldLIVE