Most people choose a single path… Shiven Bodasing somehow chose three, and he’s succeeding in all of them.
Johannesburg, South Africa (17 November 2025) – If you ever needed proof that passion can pull you in unexpected directions, meet Shiven Bodasing.
One moment he’s working cases for the SPCA, the next he’s in court training as a candidate attorney, and then, before sunrise, he’s flying across the ice like he was born there. And somehow, all of this makes perfect sense when you hear his story.
Shiven has always been driven by the urge to make things better. His journey started in animal welfare, first as an SPCA Inspector, then as a manager, where he became a steady voice for the voiceless. It’s emotional work, often exhausting but he shows up because animals don’t get to choose who fights for them. He chooses them, every single day.
Still, he wanted to create change that lasts, so he pursued a law degree. Today, he’s a candidate attorney, working to protect those who often go unheard. Two demanding careers, both built on empathy and responsibility… and somehow that wasn’t enough. Not for his heart, anyway.
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, during a time when life felt upside down, he walked into a Johannesburg ice rink.
Not for a lesson.
Not for a dream.
Just to try something different for an afternoon.
But that one moment opened an entirely new chapter. The blend of discipline, expression, creativity and precision felt familiar… almost like an extension of everything he already believed in. He kept going back, and then he started training, and then competing. And he didn’t just do well. He became the highest technical scoring adult figure skater in South Africa.
Since 2020, he’s earned six gold medals and built his entire skating career from scratch. Fully self-funded. Every coaching session, every piece of equipment, every early morning at the rink… all carried by sheer determination and a belief in what this sport brings out in him.
Now, he’s stepping into another impossible-feeling opportunity. Shiven is aiming to represent South Africa at the 2026 ISU Adult Figure Skating Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. And if he does, he won’t just be part of the event, he’ll be the first South African ever to compete in his division.
That is huge. For him. For skating. For South Africa.
And for visibility in a sport that has never made space for someone like him… a self-funded adult athlete, an SPCA inspector, a candidate attorney and a proud member of the LGBTIA+ community.
He’s skating for every young athlete who has been told they don’t fit the mould. He’s proving that talent doesn’t need to come from the “right” background. That your identity isn’t an obstacle. That you can grow up far from the traditional sporting systems yet still carve out a place on the world stage.
For Shiven to get to Germany, he needs support… training, coaching, ice time, equipment, travel and competition entry fees are all carried by him alone right now. Helping him means giving a South African athlete the chance to make history, to put our flag on the ice where it’s never been before. He has created a Backabuddy crowdfunding campaign to give South Africans a chance to get behind him.
Shiven is living proof that you don’t need the perfect beginning to create an incredible life, you just need grit, heart and the courage to keep saying yes to the things that light you up. South Africa has never had someone compete in this division before.
But with a little help, that’s about to change.
Shiven is ready, the ice is calling and his story is only just getting started.
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