FLOYD Malevu has a passion that sets him apart from most middle-aged men.

At 47 the father of five spins cars, performing death-defying stunts that men half his age would not dare. He spins "for the adrenaline rush" and because "I love cars".

"I want to teach my eldest son, who is 21 years old, to spin," said Malevu, who started spinning 10 years ago.

"I was busy doing other things but I got bored. At 37 people choose to play golf but I chose spinning cars," the businessman said.

Malevu is known as "the Godfather" and is revered for fixing the cars that are used in the sport to perfection. He said his club, Wheel Spinners, which is made up of veteran spinners, has made efforts to have spinning recognised as a legitimate sport since 2000.

"We took spinning to Shareworld in 2000 because we wanted to take it away from the streets to a safer environment."

He said over the four years they used the venue, spectators came from as far as Polokwane and Bloemfontein.

"Young and old attended our events - even mothers carrying babies on their backs. We would let in traffic officers and policemen for free."

Spectators were charged a R10 entry fee, which covered rent, petrol and maintenance costs for the cars.

"There were 30 of us. We were lucky if we got R500 from the event," Malevu said.

He said this was different from spinning on public roads, where they were constantly hounded by the police.

"We would be chased off by the police, which gave us a greater adrenaline rush and resulting in a 'catch me if you can' situation.

"We were never caught."