'It’s not a crime to not have'
From the gravel roads of Katutura to children playing barefoot soccer, his content captures the quiet beauty of everyday Namibian life. Whether he's sharing a drink with a neighbour or indulging in street food over an open flame, John Haleinge’s storytelling is honest, intentional, and deeply personal.
“I just want to tell a boy child or a girl child growing up that it’s not a crime to not have,” he says. “Just be content with whatever you have.”
While his messaging is socially conscious, Haleinge's content is also visually engaging and practical. His niche? Lifestyle and home décor with a strong DIY twist. “I believe that my space brings me peace,” he explains. “Each day I just want to improve how my home looks and feels.”
From painting walls to hanging wallpaper and installing ceilings, John documents every small change with pride. His DIY skills were born out of necessity. Raised by a single mother, as the eldest sibling he naturally stepped into a caretaker and handyman role. “If the house needed repairs, I was the one who had to do it,” he recalls. That’s where his “DIY” mindset started.
Unlike many creators who rely on curated Pinterest boards or expensive décor trends, Haleinge's inspiration comes from within. “Sometimes I’m just lying down and I’ll think, I need to put a canvas here, or a closet there,” he says. “Pinterest is nice, but the reality is I can’t afford what I see there. I work with what I have, and that’s enough.”
Accomplishments
One of his proudest accomplishments? Installing ceilings in his home. “I grew up in a shack with no ceilings, just zinc above your head. Now, when I lie down, I see the ceilings I put up myself. It gives me peace.”
Haleinge shared that although brand deals and nominations, like his recent nomination for “Emerging Content Creator of the Year” at the 2025 Namibia Content Creator Awards, are welcome, they are not his driving force. “It costs you a lot to try to be someone you’re not, just to impress people who don’t have more than you,” he says. His message is a gentle reminder in a noisy digital world: You don’t need to fake a lifestyle to have a voice, and your story matters, even if it’s not glamorous.
When it comes to home improvement, Haleinge advocates for patience and progress over perfection. “Today I’m putting up boards. Tomorrow I will get a bed. The next week, a fridge,” he shares. “You don’t need to get everything at once. Step by step.” And perhaps that’s what makes his content so compelling. It mirrors real life. The ups and downs, the slow growth, the honest beauty of making the most with what you have. Haleinge is building a movement beyond content creation. He is advocating for authenticity, one ceiling panel and one heartfelt story at a time.
Authenticity
Haleinge is on a simple but powerful mission to prove that you don’t need wealth or luxury to create meaningful lifestyle content. Through his platforms, he challenges the idea that content creation is for the elite, and in doing so, inspires youth from disadvantaged backgrounds to embrace their own stories. “Content creation has always been something I loved,” he told My.na Property in an interview. “But I always felt the need to show the other side of life, the side that people don’t often portray.”
Growing up in Katutura, a township where economic struggles are part of daily life, Haleinge witnessed how easily his peers fell into traps of peer pressure and false expectations. He believes many of those paths could have been avoided if there were more relatable, positive representations in media.
Watch My.na Property at 21:00 tonight for the full interview.
“I just want to tell a boy child or a girl child growing up that it’s not a crime to not have,” he says. “Just be content with whatever you have.”
While his messaging is socially conscious, Haleinge's content is also visually engaging and practical. His niche? Lifestyle and home décor with a strong DIY twist. “I believe that my space brings me peace,” he explains. “Each day I just want to improve how my home looks and feels.”
From painting walls to hanging wallpaper and installing ceilings, John documents every small change with pride. His DIY skills were born out of necessity. Raised by a single mother, as the eldest sibling he naturally stepped into a caretaker and handyman role. “If the house needed repairs, I was the one who had to do it,” he recalls. That’s where his “DIY” mindset started.
Unlike many creators who rely on curated Pinterest boards or expensive décor trends, Haleinge's inspiration comes from within. “Sometimes I’m just lying down and I’ll think, I need to put a canvas here, or a closet there,” he says. “Pinterest is nice, but the reality is I can’t afford what I see there. I work with what I have, and that’s enough.”
Accomplishments
One of his proudest accomplishments? Installing ceilings in his home. “I grew up in a shack with no ceilings, just zinc above your head. Now, when I lie down, I see the ceilings I put up myself. It gives me peace.”
Haleinge shared that although brand deals and nominations, like his recent nomination for “Emerging Content Creator of the Year” at the 2025 Namibia Content Creator Awards, are welcome, they are not his driving force. “It costs you a lot to try to be someone you’re not, just to impress people who don’t have more than you,” he says. His message is a gentle reminder in a noisy digital world: You don’t need to fake a lifestyle to have a voice, and your story matters, even if it’s not glamorous.
When it comes to home improvement, Haleinge advocates for patience and progress over perfection. “Today I’m putting up boards. Tomorrow I will get a bed. The next week, a fridge,” he shares. “You don’t need to get everything at once. Step by step.” And perhaps that’s what makes his content so compelling. It mirrors real life. The ups and downs, the slow growth, the honest beauty of making the most with what you have. Haleinge is building a movement beyond content creation. He is advocating for authenticity, one ceiling panel and one heartfelt story at a time.
Authenticity
Haleinge is on a simple but powerful mission to prove that you don’t need wealth or luxury to create meaningful lifestyle content. Through his platforms, he challenges the idea that content creation is for the elite, and in doing so, inspires youth from disadvantaged backgrounds to embrace their own stories. “Content creation has always been something I loved,” he told My.na Property in an interview. “But I always felt the need to show the other side of life, the side that people don’t often portray.”
Growing up in Katutura, a township where economic struggles are part of daily life, Haleinge witnessed how easily his peers fell into traps of peer pressure and false expectations. He believes many of those paths could have been avoided if there were more relatable, positive representations in media.
Watch My.na Property at 21:00 tonight for the full interview.
