He passes for any hip 25 year old Pietermaritzburg man, but for Sam Phungula his chance encounter with canoeing after leaving school has changed his life, and he has a passion to share his enthusiasm for paddling with as many of his peers as possible.

After growing up in the France informal settlement on the outskirts of the city, Phungula was attending classes at the Schools Leavers Opportunity Training where he met one of his teachers who was a paddler, and offered anyone interested a chance to try the sport out. Phungula jumped at the chance, and has never looked back.

Four years later his life is canoeing. Phungula is the full-time manager of the Natal Canoe Club Development Academy, a thriving operation that is supported by the kwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation. He has two Dusi finishes to his credit, and is eagerly looking forward to extending that tally in the week ahead.

But while he has become a proficient and enthusiastic paddler, Phungula credits canoeing for dramatically reshaping his outlook on life.

"I am a totally different kind of person," he beams. "I behave differently and I think differently since I got involved with canoeing.

"Water relates to life in some many ways," he expands. "Sometimes you start out on a journey, and it doesn't work out according to plan. So you have to adapt, and try harder to get to your destination. You just have to keep pushing harder.

"Canoeing has taught me so much. I don't give up easily. I can't actually remember when I last gave up when I had a problem. That's a life skill that I have learnt through canoeing," he says.

But what excites the 25 year old is the way his own community looks up to him now.

"My neighbours point me out to their kids and say: "'Now there is guy who has done something'," he boasts.

As full time supervisor of the NCC Development programme that has taught hundreds of local youngsters to paddle, and at the same time ingrained basic values and life skills, Phungula is passionate about spreading this message.

"I really want to expose this sport to as many people as possible," he says. "I know what is has brought to me in my life and it would be so good to be able to bring those goals and values to other young people.

"I want to grow the numbers, and get more girls paddling," he says. "We need another five Candy's," he says, referring to the gutsy Dusi debutant Candy Mavundla who triumphed against the odds to finish her first Dusi last year.

"My dream would be to work for the Department of Sport and Recreation to help promote canoeing as far and wide as I can," he says

The Dusi Canoe Marathon 2014 starts in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday 13 February and ends in Durban on Saturday 15 February 2014. More information can be found at www.dusi.co.za