VIDEO: Homeless man with flair

Matthew Saunders has a talent to show the world. But he must first overcome some difficulties in his life.

A recovering drug addict, the 24-year-old man is homeless, and he still has to struggle in a small industry to become popular in South Africa. Saunders is a flairtender. A what, you may ask?

A flairtender engages in flairing, which is “making the pouring of alcohol an experience rather than a routine task,” he explains.

A flairtender “flips, spins and stalls” bottles of alcohol before pouring their contents for patrons, generally at cocktail bars. “I have been a flairtender on and off for six years,” Saunders says. “The entertainment value for people made me want to do it. I have always wanted to make people go ‘wow’. I learned that this job does it.” Saunders is currently unemployed and lives on the streets in Ferndale and President Ridge. He practises flairing six hours per day at the park at Ferndale Recreation Centre.

“It was not what I wanted to do,” he admits. “Originally I wanted to be a vet. But drugs stuffed up everything, and this works.” When Saunders’ uncle first taught him two moves, it sparked an interest in flairing. “I had no training. I developed it on my own with lots of bumps, bruises and cuts from broken bottles. In my first two years I broke approximately 350 bottles. That is why you practise with water.”

Practising in the park is not without its rewards, he explains. “When I really get going, people in the traffic hoot. It makes it worthwhile. I know if a person in the traffic hoots then someone in a crowd can scream.” Saunders says that his goals for the future are to be the person he was raised to be, to prosper while helping others prosper, and to stick to the values and morals he was taught.