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Vincet Ntunja, the Gugulethu born former basketball player, model and mentor has notched another inspiring achievement as he has been named the first African Ambassador for sporting gear maker Under Armour.
Vincent,37, a former member of the South African Basketball team, continues to keep fit by mentoring young sport stars from the township and does modelling for a living.
He said that this was a great opportunity for him and he was grateful to be the first to make the cut. Under Armour is an American sports clothing manufacturer which focuses on Basketball, Golf and Athletics.
“It’s a great step for me and an opportunity to be counted among the best sport stars in the world.
For example, I am the first person outside the USA to wear the new Stephen Curry Four sneakers. This is a chance for me to market the brand and represent it in the country,” he said.
Vincent also recently travelled to the USA with a group of youngsters on a basketball program. He believes that the ambassadorship is the fruit of his hard work throughout the years.
Ntunja is a mentor at the African Grassroot Hoops, an international NGO that uses basketball to reach out to underprivileged kids.
He’s also proud of the basketball court in the heart of the Gugulethu sport centre which is named after him.
“Despite my own achievements, my mission is to continue to make a difference in people’s lives in the best possible way. My basketball achievements have gone way beyond my expectations. Getting to meet basketball icon Michael Jordan and winning the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) out of 500 kids at his camp in Los Angeles rates as one of my top achievements,” he said.
“Its wonderful to see that all those years working hard in the gym and being one of the very first children to take part in the sport in the townships is paying off,” he said.
He said that he hopes it would strengthen his work with the young people that he mentors. “I hope that it will encourage them to strive to do better. It shows them that no matter where you come from you can be successful.
I am also happy that through this I will be able to expose them more to international trends and inspired them,” he said.
Ntunja is also busy organising an international basketball tournament where local ballers would play against American, German and other teams from South Africa at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
“Were want to create a spectacle where we can see young children from he township exposed to international standards.”
