20 South African men from diverse backgrounds living with diabetes are challenging the stereotype that men shy away from discussing their health and are proving that a full and healthy life with diabetes is possible.
South Africa (27 June 2025) – When it comes to health matters, men aren’t always the first in line to get their checks done or even speak up in meaningful conversations.
Life with diabetes, in particular, can be tricky for South African men. But not for the 20 different men living full, healthy lives with diabetes, sourced by the Sweet Life online diabetes community.
These are young men and old, living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, with and without complications, newly diagnosed or living with diabetes for decades, from every background – showing that diabetes really doesn’t discriminate.
Most inspiring, though, is their advice for other men with diabetes. Advice about all aspects of life with the condition: food, exercise, mental health, complications and emotions.
Whether it’s Charl Lombard, the 23-year-old who just ran the Comrades with Type 1 diabetes and believes that:
“Diabetes always offers learning, whether it is what you eat or what type of exercise you are doing.”
Or Earl Prinsloo, the 38-year-old who’s been living with diabetes since 2012 and challenges all men to be more transparent about their struggles. Particularly those related to diabetes management, reproductive and sexual health, and the impact it has on them.
For Thabo Batshe, a 28-year-old influencer, his diabetes is part of his identity.
“As men, we are often told to stay silent, but diabetes doesn’t really care much about masculinity, and neither should we when it comes to our health.”
Similarly, Siyabonga Kwanele Zuma, who has been living with Type 1 diabetes for 17 years, is now an advocate with a passion for facing the stigma around men and diabetes. His words are a resounding call to all men with diabetes to share their status and how they’re coping with it. In his encouraging words:
“Let’s break the cycle of men not opening up and dying inside because of how society perceives us as men. We are humans who have emotions, and we should embrace that.”
Their experiences are ones that inspire and offer encouragement in navigating life with diabetes. More men have shared their advice and stories here.
Sources: Supplied
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