This guy works at the local gas station where I stay. Always had a huge smile on his face and he always did a little dance Everytime he came up to my car before he put fuel in. He loved his job! When I photographed him, he told me about his family up in Malawi and his kids, and how he missed them. He said he only got to speak to his family once a month via written letters and a short phone call when he first moved down. His family had very little money which is why he came down here to get a job and support them. He now says life is more wonderful than ever! He's managed to buy his family a laptop and cellphones which he sent up to them so that they can communicate as much as they want for hours. Oh, and he very proudly showed me his keys to his 'new' car which he bought two days prior. He was so stoked and happy as he explained all of this to me, almost realizing for himself how far he had come. 
Still to this day, when I go to get fuel for my car, he does a little dance up to my car and greets me with a very enthusiastic smile and attitude. Now I understand why he truly loves his job.

This lady spoke to me about her 8 year old son. She said that he was her only child, and her absolute pride and joy. She explained how she was a single mom due to her 'ex' being involved in a gang and drugs etc. He never wanted to keep their child and she insisted to go through with it and refused to have an abortion. As a result he left, and about a year later he landed up in jail for some gang related incident. He would phone her and hassle her for money and threatened her and her family. She left the place she was staying and moved in with a few relatives. Her family provided for her and her son, and now she works three jobs a week as a maid to try and put some money towards her sons education. 'He's a very bright boy', she said, 'his imagination runs completely wild and he loves anything to do with science and how things work and move. One day he's going to be an engineer.' All she wants is to give him the chance at life which she never had. They haven't heard from his father in about 8 years, and she hoped that it stays that way.

The morning I met this guy, he had bandage around his head and looked like he had been in a bit of a fight. (He's around 28years old) I photographed him and then asked what happened. He explained that he stays with his uncle, who has a drinking problem and very short temper. He explained that he got up in the morning and went to make coffee, his uncle started apparently shouting at him for using too much sugar and then he hit him over the head with a tea cup. He had to have 8 stitches on the side of his head before work at 8am.

I met this guy while on route to check a local surf spot. He was walking along the side of the road with pretty dirty, old and torn clothes on, a packet in his left hand and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier trotting along on his right side. I stopped and asked to take his photo and he replied with a big smile and a very enthusiastic, "Yes sir!". I explained my assignment to him, and he emptied out everything he had in his pockets at the time. This was everything. I noticed he had a '26' tattooed on the back of his left hand, which I questioned him about. He then told me that he was in a gang, the '26's'. There were also 27's and 28's and a few others. I had heard a few rumors about these gangs before but never really new the whole story behind them He then proceeded to tell me that he got the tattoo whilst serving time in jail for rape and murder. Thats what the '26' gang was notorious for. He served a full twelve years, he said, in 8 different jails. Twelve years seems a bit short of a punishment for an act like that, but I took his word for it none the less. He said hes a changed man now though, and he likes to live a nomadic, simple and free life by himself with the company of his dog, whose name was Meisie, just appreciating each day for what it is, and he told me he was quite happy with the little bit he had. Life experiences outweigh physical possessions. Despite his dark past, he seemed to be a rather wise and friendly old man.

This guys story isn't as dark or negative as the others. As with the others, I explained my assignment, I got his consent to photograph him and tell his story to the public. I asked him to tell me something interesting about his life. I noticed he looked a little bit scruffy, loooong blondish hair and a bit of a beard on his face (I'm not saying you look scruffy if you have long blond hair and a beard, so just relax) just the way he dressed and such, he looked like one of those weathered surfers from Endless Summer One. Anyway, I asked him to tell me something interesting about his life. He said, 'Would you believe me if I told you I'm a multimillionaire?' I kind of looked at him funny and then he proceeded, 'most people don't, and I like that. You see, my real father passed away when I was very young. Too young to remember. My mom remarried, and about four years later, they were involved in a car accident, she survived but 'dad number two' (as he called him) passed away. My mother remarried again about two years after. Again, 'dad number three' passed away.' This guy continued to tell me how each of his step fathers passed away, up until. Now, his mother is currently happily married to husband number six. And they've been married for quite a while now, they're both old but very much Inlove and happy. He explained that due to the fact that all of his previous step fathers passed away, most of which were wealthy, they left a large sum of money in his mothers name. Now, she has left it all in his name. He doesn't really think much or use much of it. He said it's just sitting there, he doesn't want to live the whole rich glamorous life, he just wants to live freely and enjoy life for himself. 'It's all about status, having money, cars, fancy clothes and big houses. I don't care for any of that. I just want to live life, travel and enjoy the ride.' Oh, and the crystal he has in his hand has something to do with positive energy, and the little green pills are spirulina tablets.