The name gets you noticed. What sits behind it is what makes you.
Trophies don’t tell the whole story. JabulaBets has launched Beyond the Name, its first major national campaign and the debut of The Jabula Squad, a growing community platform that brings together athletes, personalities and an expanding network of members. Flyhalf Handré Pollard, breakout rugby talent Jurenzo Julius and Power Slap competitor Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden each star in their own film, looking past the scoreboard to the families, sacrifices and quiet moments behind their success.
At the heart of the campaign is one word. Jabula is the isiZulu word for “to be happy” or “to rejoice”, and every film asks the same simple question. What makes you Jabula? The answers have very little to do with winning.
“The fans and the people at the moment, they see the results,” says van Heerden. “They don’t see the travel, they don’t see the struggles, they don’t see those moments where I wanted to quit.”
Handré Pollard, the Stoic Leader
In When the Lights Go Down, Pollard reveals what sits behind the composure supporters know so well. The first feeling after a big win, he says, is relief at not letting his team down. His greatest joy lives far from the stadium. “The thing that makes me the happiest in life currently is coming home, stopping and watching my son stand in the doorway waiting for me,” he says. “I think it’s priceless.”
Jurenzo Julius, the Rising Spark
Building the Name follows Julius from the schoolboy who left Namibia on a scholarship to Paul Roos Gymnasium to the young man invited to a national alignment camp. The first call went to his father, and the next to his mother. “To see how happy they were, and to see all the sacrifices they made paying off, was almost a full-circle moment,” he says.
Danie van Heerden, the Challenger
More Than the Pitbull shows that even in an individual sport, nobody walks out alone. Van Heerden’s coaches wait in his corner, his family cheers from the crowd and his two sons wait at home. “For me, that’s the joy,” he says, “and to know, you know what, what you once prayed for, you now live.”
Built by the People, for the People
The Squad reflects the spirit JabulaBets was founded on. Co-founders Caly and Darren McCall set out to build a proudly South African brand with people at its centre. In a category long dominated by a few big names, the homegrown brand arrives as a challenger, backing its own people and letting their stories do the talking.
“We don’t simply want famous faces representing Jabula,” says Caly McCall, Co-Founder and Director of JabulaBets. “We want genuine relationships with people who share our values, believe in what we’re building and have the freedom to bring their authentic selves into our brand.”
Through Beyond the Name, JabulaBets invites South Africans to see the person behind a familiar sporting name, and to find a little of their own life in his story. Watch the films now at here and ask yourself the same question. What makes you Jabula?
In a betting industry often met with side-glances and external scrutiny, JabulaBets proudly wears the badge of backing its athletes. The brand is drawn to ambassadors whose journeys reveal a rare kind of magic, where relentless daily discipline sculpts both physical toughness and the inner psyche, turning every setback into profound personal transformation.
*Jabula – It’s a Feeling. 18+. JabulaBets is a Licenses Operator. NRGP 0800 006 008. Gamble Responsibly.
