South Africans Abroad
A show for expat South Africans and anyone interested in the experiences of those who have made the move overseas. Each episode, we'll hear from South Africans who have left the country to pursue new opportunities, be with loved ones, or simply follow their dreams. We'll explore the challenges and triumphs of life as an expat, and the unique perspective that comes with being a South African abroad. Whether you're an expat yourself or just curious about the expat experience, join us as we delve into the motivations, struggles, and joys of being a South African living overseas.
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South Africans Abroad
Danie "The Pitbull" van Heerden: A Slap Fighting Journey from Walkerville to Las Vegas
Step into the electrifying world of slap fighting with our special guest, Danie "The Pitbull" van Heerden, a name that resonates power and prowess in Las Vegas's slap fighting championship circuit. Discover how Danie became the number two ranked super heavyweight globally, fueled by his roots in Walkerville, South Africa, and a rich history in boxing and mixed martial arts. From the early days of his fighting family to the unexpected career pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic, Danie candidly shares the psychological nuances of slap fighting, including the strategic importance of winning that crucial coin toss.
We also spotlight Danie's ambitious journey in the slap championships, his stepping stone toward life-altering success in the USA. His story is one of aspiration and determination as he navigates the challenges of relocating his family while dreaming of inspiring fellow South Africans. With Slap fighting's rising popularity and potential to become a major sporting event in South Africa, we explore how this sport can mirror the success of UFC and WWE. Catch the fervor and passion as Danie illuminates the resilient spirit of South Africans striving for global recognition in this gripping episode.
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Welcome back to South Africans Abroad, a show for expat South Africans and anyone interested in experiences of those who have made the move overseas. Each episode we'll hear from South Africans who have left the country to pursue new opportunities, be with loved ones or simply follow their dreams. We'll explore the challenges and triumphs of life as an expat and the unique perspective that comes with being a South African abroad, of life as an expat and the unique perspective that comes with being a South African abroad. I'm your host, warren Burley, an expat South African who, like many, followed the dream of working overseas. Whether you're an expat yourself or just curious about the expat experience, join us as we delve into the motivations, struggles and joys of being a South African living overseas. Today we've got a guest who's stepping into one of the wildest, most unpredictable arenas out there the SLAP championship in Las Vegas. He's a South African powerhouse, a man who's making a living out of the good old PK. Please welcome, donnie the Pitbull van Heerden. Donnie, it's great to have you on the podcast, man.
Speaker 2:Modern. Thanks for having me, and to me, the only number two ranked super heavyweight in the world.
Speaker 1:And soon to be number one right, Definitely. I mean, that's the goal.
Speaker 2:South Africans are the only ones that know how to give a proper PK.
Speaker 1:That's for sure. I've been watching some of your videos and I tell you what I would hate to be the icon at the end of that PK.
Speaker 2:Well, let's think about slap fighting. I mean, unlike boxing and martial arts, obviously you do not want to get hit, but you've got 12 rounds to prove your skills. In other words, the thing about slap fight. I mean, whoever wins the coin toss starts the first lap. So say, for example, this would be me, and you Say you're in my weight division, though Just to give you an idea, so say I would win the coin toss. I can then basically see the fear in your eyes while I'm winding up. But now this is another thing. So if you take it like a man, yeah, and do not move, do not flinch, do do like eat it like breakfast, yeah, and then that instant of a second you need to wind up to give me one. So that changed the whole algorithm, because now you can see the fear in my eyes. So that's the thing about Slapside. It's obviously a five-minute sports in total, so you can see it all, and obviously everyone wants to see that knockout.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let's just go back a little bit. Donnie, where did you grow up?
Speaker 2:In Walkerville, the deer side, I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with this. So around about Vereniging Mayerton the ball.
Speaker 1:So down south, eh, yes, okay, but you come from a family of fighters, eh, competition fighters, isn't it?
Speaker 2:That is correct. I mean we have 13 siblings, seven boys, six girls. Yeah. My father would have fought Pierre Kutzer for the SA title back in 1981. Okay, I've got a brother, chris De Heet. He's a former IBO welterweight world champion. Yeah, but the youngest brother, don John, he fought for a title in France, so he unfortunately lost on points, though. Then my other brother, he was the Gateng champion in boxing. My oldest brother used to be the middleweight kickboxing champion. Then you get my sister. She's an artist, she's actually… Okay.
Speaker 1:So totally other side then.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mean, the paving for success has been paved out for us. Yeah, and then obviously me a bit of background. I was ranked number five on the SA rank list in boxing. I was the heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts. I was also number one contender in mixed martial arts in the middleweight division. Believe it or not, that's 83 kilograms, the light heavyweight division 93 kilograms, and now I'm at 172 kilograms in power slap number two in the world.
Speaker 1:You've kind of paved the way and I think it's given you quite an edge over the competition. I think.
Speaker 2:Definitely I mean in all the sports combined. I think Definitely I mean in all the sports combined. I've got seven professional licenses. I'm undefeated in Muay Thai on two fights. I've got one loss in K-1 or kickboxing. In other words, yeah, I've got my professional license. All of them, even bare-knuckle boxing, although to COVID that never happened, but I got the license. That's a bit about me.
Speaker 1:But then how did you go from all of that to slapping Oaks for a living?
Speaker 2:Obviously, the COVID happened. Yeah, got married, got unfit as hell and slap fight was the only other thing than chess what I can actually do. So I decided slap fight. Okay, but now you saw this on TV or whatever, and decided, okay, yeah, to slap Oaks for a living looks like fun. Well, I never thought it would be this big. To be honest, yeah, it's actually grown quite fast but at the same time, for me trying it out, this grows rapidly and insanely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Okay, but let's just talk about trying it out. So what did you? Just go to the closest pub there and decide, you know, get a couple of slaps, give a couple of slaps and see how it goes professional athletes.
Speaker 2:so by law it's actually not allowed for any professional athlete to compete against a non-licensed athlete. In any case, I decided you know what? I'm still going to try it out, just to feel it Knocked the guy out. At first he got a fright because obviously he's knocked out. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Luckily he survived that and we became best friends after that. Since then, I'm hooked. I'm like you know, this is a new thing at my weight division and fitness level. This is definitely the new sport. Sure, we hosted another one in South Africa. Also won that one on points. That video actually went viral before TikTok took it down for dangerous acts, Okay. And then what happened? Piles Lab contacted me via that video, Okay, and at first I thought you know, for me, a normal South African, to get contacted by Dana White. I mean, what's the chances? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then I said you know, if this is really a low scam, organize a Zoom call and we chat. And the Zoom call was organized. Couldn't believe it. I'm like I'm in, when do I fly? Yeah, yeah, so this happened last year October. Okay. So, then I got chosen to be in the season season two of PowerSlam Road to the Title. So that's basically the same as Ultimate Fighter. Yeah. You have to do two fights a week apart. The winner gets a PowerSlam contract, the losers go out.
Speaker 1:And where did you come in there?
Speaker 2:I won both of them.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So yeah, then I got a contract and then I moved. A year later I'm sitting in Vegas.
Speaker 1:So how many fights have you had? Professional fights, slap fights, yeah.
Speaker 2:Professionally under the power slap banner five. Three wins, two losses. I lost on the title bout on one point and I lost for the finals in the road to the title due to disqualification.
Speaker 1:Just for the people that don't know and have never actually seen this can you just break down how the slap championship actually works, like the rules and the strategy and things like that? How do you actually win?
Speaker 2:Obviously anyone wants to see the knockout and the slow motion effect of getting knocked out. If you don't understand the rules or never seen it before, you think it's insane. Well, obviously it is insane, but there's a bit of rules towards it as well. So you get the defender, the one that takes the slap. So basically his stomach needs, or lower waist needs, to touch the table. The table is basically standing in the middle of the two sort of strikers, if I can say it like that. Yeah, with his hand behind his back, I'm holding like a pool noodle, okay. So with that pool noodle you are allowed to tense your traps From there you need to keep the position, so you're not allowed to flinch or move or any of that. But you're also standing on a block, basically like a cube, okay, which both of your feet need to either touch or partly be in. So then when you get the slap and you move out of that, it's sort of like a point score system type of thing, okay.
Speaker 2:So now for the striker. You don't get slapped like a normal boxer would throw a boxing hook. So a striker, both feet have to be flat on the floor. You're not allowed to lift your heels or pivot your feet when you strike. You're not allowed to bend your arm or hit with the palm of your hand or hit in a cup holding position with your hands. Right From there, when you're allowed to strike, it's basically only on the cheek. So anything higher than the level of your eye level, that's a foul. Anything lower than your jawline is a foul. So in a normal fight which lasts 3 slaps or 3 rounds, if you have 2 fouls it's a disqualification. And on title fights, which is 5 rounds, if you have 3 fouls it's also disqualification and obviously a knockout is a win straight up well, it depends.
Speaker 2:If you knock out someone but you twist it or lift your feet, you get disqualified, and then the guy that got knocked out wins. It sounds like a bittersweet victory, sort of yeah, because I mean, no one wants to win a match like that. Yeah. But obviously due to the rules there's possibilities to do it. But then also another thing which most of the people out there won't know to do power slap. In between each match they do medical testing. So you're not allowed to use any banned substance, steroids or any of that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:They do urine tests, blood tests, they do MRI tests. Blood tests, they do MRI tests, they do EKG tests. They test you fully to make sure you're 100% healthy, before and after each competition. Sure, and believe it or not, I had my last competition in Abu Dhabi. Now, I think, the 25th of October, and I'm the healthiest out of nearly anyone on that card and I'm the heaviest I'm 380 pounds, meaning 172 kilograms.
Speaker 1:But I've seen the size of your hands. They're not average size hands either.
Speaker 2:Well, they're not so big as well. But now the thing is, it's definitely not the size of the hand, because the bigger your hand is, if you're out with one centimeter on a slap on the face, you get fouled. So I would say the smaller your hands is, the more advantage you have. Okay, but then again it also comes down to technique.
Speaker 1:Now, how do you train for this? Are you just practicing slaps all day against the wall, or what?
Speaker 2:Well, to be honest, you train like a bodybuilder. You just don't eat like one. So you lift the weights. You've got specific muscles in your shoulder which you need to train. Your flexibility needs to be on par, your legs need to be strong, because you're pushing from the legs, so anything sort of bodybuilding-wise or strongman-wise. Okay. But obviously I don't eat like one, so I take more carbs than protein.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you want to be bigger and stronger, right yeah so I don't go to the gym and actually get slapped. Yeah, because how do you prepare yourself to be slapped?
Speaker 2:Well, obviously mentally, because you know it's coming and you have to stand and take it. So mentally you have to be like 200% fit on that. A mental game I would say that's throughout life. I mean whatever happens is mental. I mean since the day or since the morning you wake up, you decide you want to get out of bed or not. Yeah. You decide you want to get dressed or not. You decide you want to go to work or not. You decide you want to put in fuel to get to the work or not. You decide if maybe a couple's done, are you going to pay it or not. So all that choices throughout the day in your life I think determines your mindset, mind goal and obviously the motivation of can you do it or can't you do it, do you doubt yourself or not? Yeah, I would say mentally it's obviously everyday decisions. If you can survive everyday decisions you can definitely do slow fight.
Speaker 1:That's actually some great advice. What goes through your head before a match? I mean, is it just pure adrenaline, or what are you thinking of?
Speaker 2:Well, for me, I'm obviously focused. I must admit the last one at Abu Dhabi. There I had some South African support, so you can actually hear them shout give them a PK. That was fun because the Minister of Sports was there himself, gaetan McKenzie, and I'm sure I heard him shout it as well. And the fun part of it is I thought you know it'd probably be 50 people or 100 people in this crowd know what it means, but it's definitely landing. So that was definitely fun. But other than that, I'm normally focused. But then again, obviously to wait for that slap, that is a tension that you can basically feel in your back because you know it's coming. You're not sure if you're going to get knocked out or not, because it can happen to anyone. You can either take one or you can't take one. Anyone can give one, but not anyone can take one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have you been knocked out?
Speaker 2:I've been knocked down from the champion For my first time in my career. In all the sports the champion has knocked me down the second slap. But there's a difference. He was on a 17-fight win record with 15 knockouts. I was the only guy up to date that got knocked down by him and got back up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I was the first slapper that went five rounds with him and you knocked his tooth out, apparently.
Speaker 2:And I knocked his tooth out. We saw that video. I'm the only one on that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know I'm still trying to wrap my head around how you wake up in the morning and go. I'm going to go slap somebody for free, you know. I mean most people get arrested, especially in the US, so it must be. Oh, here's the thing now.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So in the US, this is actually sanctioned. You get paid for this. Yeah. So my mindset now on this I think this is the only sports which influencers come and watch. I mean, we had Donald Trump at the event, we had Sean Strickland at the event, we had the MrBeast YouTuber at the event. We had the Mr Beast YouTuber at the event. We had so many influencers Deontay Wilder, actual athletes, influencers at Slap Fight and who can say that influencers or celebs actually come and watch normal boxing or normal MMA? Yeah, Not that much. So I think, even though we are not coming from a how can I say social influencer like the Americans would, if I can say it like that, like the real celebrities, this is still celebrities coming to watch us slap each other and we're getting paid for that. It's even better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know. I mean, there's nothing like a good PK giving one, but to get paid for it on the other end. And how big are the crowds?
Speaker 2:Well, let me tell you, here at Fontainebleau, we got a live event of between 4,000 to 7,000 people. Okay, the first one it was at Durango. They had 1,000 people in-house, but the influencers level. So you only got invited via special parents. So only if you're a super huge influencer. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So, basically, on media marketing, there were 740 million potential following base from the influencers that were there. Okay, and if you can check on TikTok, if you compare PowerSnap, for example, to UFC, ufc's, got 15 million followers. Take on TikTok. If you compare PowerSlam, for example, to UFC, ufc's got 15 million followers, but only some of the videos reach 1 to 2 million. Powerslam got 5 million followers, so three times less, but their viewing gets 356 million views.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, I think it's all got to do with. It's a quick sport. It's violent, to say the least, and people want to see the knockout. I think it's all about it. That's decent.
Speaker 2:Whether you're a fan or you're not a fan, you're still going to watch it, because even if you scroll through TikTok that three seconds, you're going to wait. That's when the knockout happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. And also the way that they play it with the slow-mo and the guy's jaw looks like it's going to come off his head. Exactly. I think that definitely plays a big role. Now, Tommy, you're representing South Africa in a pretty unique way. How do the people back home feel about what you're doing?
Speaker 2:Well, obviously, family and friends they support me full-out on this. Yeah, I've got non-family adventures of fans which also support me in this. So basically for my idea back home we got a couple of promotions running. So if we can get this sanction in South Africa, I think this is the easiest sport to come from the couch and basically compete and be a superstar. Unlike boxing or martial arts or Muay Thai or K-1, you have to do six days of training, two years of effort and motivation to even get on the amateur level. But on slap fight, I mean, you can literally come from the couch. If you can take a slap, you can be a superstar.
Speaker 1:Well, you just got to go to the clubs on a Friday afternoon and you can pick oaks from there.
Speaker 2:Well, here's the thing, because then you would get locked up back in South Africa. So if you know you can take a slap, just come and try it out. Sign up and come and do it. So my big idea is if I can get kids or youngsters either off of the street into sort of competition style, if I can say it like that make something out of them other than being on maybe, the cell phones, unless you're a gamer or something. But the easiest other way to be a superstar definitely is lap hunting, okay, so where do you see it going in the future?
Speaker 2:Well, the Minister of Sport, Gator McKenzie, has obviously been at Abu Dhabi the live event. So I definitely feel in the future close future, like 2025, gator McKenzie will be probably getting it right to get UFC, wwe and PowerSlam even in South Africa. I've got a good feeling on this. So I'm not even going to say in the next five years, I'm going to say in the next year, slap fighting even in South Africa is going to go vital.
Speaker 1:I think also people like Drikus is paving the way for like the UFC and stuff. I mean I know he's pushing to get a fight in SA and hopefully we see that happen.
Speaker 2:Definitely.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I think big things are going to happen with that type of sport in SA, and I really hope it does, because it can only do good things. And, tommy, do you see the slap championship as a stepping stone for something else, or is that like the end game?
Speaker 2:Well, I think, finding us a stepping stone, basically to get established in USA and America, to get the family, obviously for the opportunities and to make it even more possible to open the doors for fellow South Africans, even to make it big. Yeah, because I know what South Africa is like, I know what we sort of need, and the Americans decide they do not even know about South Africa, because we are not even close to their level. They would say, well, I don't know, you're showing them a thing, or two.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you look at it, we've got so many potential which is not even recognized due to you're not even getting worth the money in South Africa. So if I can be one of the pioneers to open the doors to fellow South Africans and change their lives like literally, I'm definitely keen for that.
Speaker 1:Okay, and I mean they can make a living out of this. I mean the money's good eh.
Speaker 2:You can make a life changing out of this, not just a living, okay.
Speaker 1:Well, that's good to know.
Speaker 2:South African conversion. You won't believe it. It's like it's insane. It's insane money.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, that makes it all worth it at the end of the day. Definitely you married right. I am, yes, and your wife, I mean she supports you throughout. I mean I've seen, you know, with the videos and stuff like that, I mean when she goes and watches the fighting how does she feel about watching you getting a good pk and giving one?
Speaker 2:I think she's okay with it because she know I can take it. I know the last time when I fought the title match and I actually went down, he said she, uh, felt the pain in her heart because that's the first time she saw me going down. But she's like she can't believe this Because I'm even a role model to her and now I'm going down. Yeah well, that's life. The difference is we are getting up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, and I think that's the South African way we get up, no matter what that's the South African way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can name a couple of guys this side that once you go down and get rocked, they quit. They don't have the South African art. I can tell you that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and that's also why a lot of us are, you know, we're succeeding this side. I mean, obviously not all of us do fighting and that. But in life in general, I think the South African way is never give up. We stand up, we fight, we. You know, we always come back. It's not about getting put down, but it's about getting up, and I think that's good advice for everyone out there. It's just keep going, keep going.
Speaker 2:The thing about South Africa we're not getting recognised as we're supposed to. I mean, we're the champions in chess, we're the champions in rugby, we're the champions in UFC, we're the champions in power slap, we are the champions on so much more, but we're not getting that recognition like we should because we don't have so many influences. But it's like you said, the South Africans, they know how to just keep on going. It doesn't matter. I mean, in Vegas they don't have load shedding. We've got load shedding, we've got all the issues. We've got food issues, we've got a lot of issues. And in America this is just a life so easy. I would say that the people here they don't understand what it is to have a hard life. So, coming from South Africa, there's not anyone that's going to have that motivation, drill and even heart to be successful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, Nani. I just want to talk about your journey here in the US. What are the plans? Are you moving over here?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a plan. I'm moving over here and sorting some paperwork out, then getting the family here, and yeah, that's the plan.
Speaker 2:So to get established here obviously open up more opportunities, not just on the past but for the kids and their future yeah and, like I said, if I can open the road to fellow South Africans, that's the main goal, because then I am in the pot. Basically, it's easier for me to convince the guys here on. You know what South Africa can be on the map. Let's do it this way, because I know the do's and don'ts of South Africa, if I can say it like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and have you experienced any challenges with getting your visa and things?
Speaker 2:So far, no challenges. There's just a lot of paperwork. And they're Americans. They don't work like South Africans, so they work on a go slow type of thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, everything is slow. Yeah, so slow.
Speaker 2:So that's for us as South Africans that we have to get used to. So far, no hiccups, everything is on par. I obviously need to go through the first process and get that back and then get a travel certificate so I can travel in and out of America, which I don't think is sort of allowed now. So I obviously have to go back to South Africa, get all of that done and then come back again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Once it's all said and done, what do you want the people to remember about you?
Speaker 2:That I am the pioneer of opening the doors to fellow guys getting off the street, making them big and be able to make it possible for them to change their lives or even get to Vegas if that's their dream.
Speaker 1:Donnie, this has been incredible man, from your journey from growing up in South Africa to making a name for yourself here in the US. Your story is inspiring and downright badass, bud. I think a lot of people can learn from your grit and determination, whether it's in the ring or your visa journey or just chasing your dreams. Good luck for your next match and we're definitely going to come through to Vegas and watch you fight, and I can't wait to see where you actually take this sport man.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you very much. I really do appreciate it For all the guys out there listening. Pop me a follow on Instagram. I'm at Donnie Pitbull. If you've got Facebook, I'm just Donnie Pitbull, from Ireland. If you have TikTok, I am Papa Don, in other words, or you can just go to Donnie Pitbull. Yeah, show your support, say me a hi, add me on a story, tell me where you're from, where you're from now, what's your dreams, and, yeah, let's share it together yeah and tell, just quickly tell them about your song.
Speaker 1:I saw you got a song out that I can go download on Apple.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there's a song out. It's called Pitbull Van Heerden. It's on Apple and Deezer and YouTube and all the social media ads. I'm not familiar with all of them, but yeah, Pitbull for Neal, go and listen, tell me what your thoughts are, post me on a story, yeah, but hopefully there's another one coming out soon. So this one was more for the guys that entered the wrapping. The next one will be more for the motivation part on. You know, it doesn't matter how difficult it is. We get up, we go on and we get dressed, basically.
Speaker 1:Yeah, guys, go out and support Anyone out in Vegas you know, or wherever the Slap Championship's going to happen. Make sure you find out when Donny's next match is, and let's all go out there and support, wave the flag and show support, man, thanks go. All go out there in support to wave the flag and show support, man, thanks go. Well, if you're eager to explore more stories of South Africans abroad, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a moment for exclusive updates, discussions and a chance to connect with fellow listeners. Be sure to join our vibrant community on Facebook. Just search for South Africans Abroad Podcast and become part of the conversation. There. You'll find additional content, behind-the-scenes insights and an easy way to access all your favorite episodes. So until next time, check your Tuesday.
