Thamsanqa Jantjie has put the events of December 10 last year - the day he farcically "interpreted" at Nelson Mandela's memorial service - behind him, and is aiming to be a "champion".
"Yes, I made a mistake. Every day we all make mistakes, but the trick is to learn from them," he said at his home in Braamfischerville, Soweto, watching his three-year-old twins play with a soccer ball.
"If I had to do it all over again, I would. I made a mistake that day, but I am not ashamed of myself. My family loves me and I have so many friends.
"I failed on the day, but it was not because of a lack of trying. Despite what happened I have not lost hope."
His bizarre gesticulations at Mandela's FNB Stadium memorial service in front of a TV audience of millions led to Jantjie - who is schizophrenic - being dubbed a fake, and cost him his job.
"It was the end of my interpreting career, but it is not the end of me. I have gone on to bigger and better things and am helping to bring about awareness [of mental illness] and change," he said.
After the memorial service, Jantjie starred in an Israeli commercial. These days he is a motivational speaker, and he is convinced that the memorial service calamity ultimately had a good outcome.
"I am the captain of my own destiny and determined to make a success of myself. I go out to churches and events where I speak about that day, what it meant for me and how having a mental illness affects a person's life.
"Someone somewhere has a mentally disabled child and these children need a champion. Just like we had Mandela as a champion who beat apartheid, so, too, do we need champions to beat mental illnesses.
"Mental illness is one of the most undiagnosed illnesses in South Africa. People just don't talk about it.
"Many of those living with these terrible illnesses suffer in silence."
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