Why Justin Westhoff gladly gives of his time to help those in need and why he’s not taking his time left at Port Adelaide for granted
The Advertiser shadowed Justin Westhoff in Rundle Mall this week to find out why he does what he does and to talk about his football mortality, Tanunda’s footy flag and his ever changing yet constant role at Port Adelaide.
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At 200cm tall and with a thick bushy beard, Justin Westhoff already stands out in a crowd.
Then he puts on a fluoro green vest and stands at the top of Rundle Mall trying to sell ‘The Big Issue’ to the Christmas crowd during the Tuesday lunchtime rush.
A few minutes in, he is approached by a man wearing sunglasses who offers a gibe on the way past.
“I just want to say, you’re not a bad bloke for a Port player,” the man says, slowing but not stopping on his walk.
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Westhoff responds with a wry smile and says “why don’t you buy one of these then?”
“I’ll get one on the way back,” the man says.
How many times have The Big Issue vendors who are homeless or disadvantaged heard that before? It’s why Westhoff is here really.
“Small organisations like this do an amazing job of supporting people who don’t really have the support around them,” says Westhoff, his eyes darting across the mall on the lookout for his next customer.
“An hour of my time is a pretty easy thing for me to do.”
A spokeswoman for The Big Issue told The Advertiser they email sporting clubs asking if they would like to help with their fundraising efforts and guess who turns up from Port Adelaide every year?
Westhoff - the oldest and most experienced player on Port Adelaide’s list - whose moral compass is very much in tune with the privileged position he holds as a well-paid, professional athlete.
“I’m definitely not the only one trying to help, but having a young family and showing them it’s important to give back to people who are sometimes a little bit less fortunate than you, and show a bit of humility towards others,” said Westhoff, who was nominated for the AFL’s Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award in 2018.
“I’m obviously privileged to be in a spot where I can shed a bit of light on certain situations and it’s great to meet guys like Daniel (a vendor) who are involved and love it.
“It’s very humbling. Not only the people you see but others who give their time and do it for nothing.”
Westhoff doesn’t make a bad salesman either. One punter handed him a $20 note for the $9 magazine and expected change when Westhoff handed him the magazine and a 2020 calendar in return and kept all the cash.
Work like this means a lot to him. It’s why he’s largely responsible for rallying the troops at Port Adelaide for the ‘Walk a Mile in My Boots’ campaign and runs a business called Forage Supply - an environmental and socially aware food organisation that donates to the Hutt Street Centre every six weeks.
Last Thursday, Westhoff did a shift at the Hutt Street Centre in the city where Forage and Supply served lunch to 100 people, taking their total meals donated to 2000.
Most of the men in the queue recognised Westhoff after 268 games in 13 seasons at Port Adelaide.
“Yeah they do, and probably the more outspoken ones which is good,” he said.
“It’s all fun and games, they’re just people trying to find a way through life.
“You don’t really know them until you hear their story and you realise you’re not always too far from that yourself, it is a slippery slope.”
Westhoff isn’t vegan but he served up a plant-based dumplings dish.
“It was something different for the guys and it was actually really good, everyone loved it,” he said.
“A lot of organisations do an incredible job to feed people who come in. For me to pick something up on the way home it’s easy and at the footy club we have a guy coming in and cooking us food three times a week and you can easily take it all for granted.”
What Westhoff isn’t taking for granted is the brief time he has left in AFL football.
At 33, he goes into 2020 with a one-year contract that was triggered by way of games played during last season but wasn’t announced until mid-October when they’d signed off on the terms of a new deal.
During his off-season he welcomed his fourth child with the arrival of son Remi, giving he and wife Bec four kids under the age of nine.
“It’s busy, but it’s good,” Westhoff said.
The other highlight of Westhoff’s off-season was watching his brothers Matt and Leigh play in a premiership with his home club Tanunda.
“My dad is the president up there and mum is the secretary so it’s a bit of a family club and it was amazing to see them win it,” Westhoff said.
“Dad has won a premiership there and now they’ve both won one as well.”
It whet the appetite for Westhoff to taste that feeling himself one day - preferably at Port Adelaide. He missed out at Central District in 2007, but brother Matt played in a flag at the Dogs in 2008.
“To go back to Tanunda one day it will be nice, I haven’t had a chance to play with them and I’m not getting any younger,” he said.
“But it’s motivating for me at Port Adelaide, I’ve done 14 years in the scheme of things and it would be good to have some success and it’s not just about me, it would be good to share it with everyone who’s been involved in the journey.”
Westhoff’s exit meeting with senior coach Ken Hinkley was predictably open and honest after what Westhoff described as a “turbulent year” in which he went from winning the best-and-fairest in 2018 to being dropped mid-2019.
“I wouldn’t say it was eye-opening but it was an element of ‘the end’ which I didn’t really want,” Westhoff said.
“It was before being dropped I noticed it, not being able to help the team to the level that I wanted.
“But I’m optimistic about the future and still looking forward to being involved with the group, whatever that entails I don't think it will change too much.
“The drive is still there to get back to my best footy. I want to be in there and fighting and contributing to the group to a good level and be that consistent pillar to the team.
“I’ve had some pretty honest conversations with Kenny about going forward and it’s wherever I fall, whatever I can do for the team, and that hasn’t changed for five or six years.”