Is Oscar Pistorius finding inspiration in prison?
Dailymail.uk.co is reporting that Carl Pistorius, Oscar's brother, is taking on the role of mentor and facilitator for other prisoners at Kgosi Mampuru prison in South Africa.
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According to the newspaper, Pistorius told Carl and sister Aimee initiative to involve thousands of his fellow inmates in basketball-playing sessions.
"He asked family members to donate balls, rather than buy him gifts for his birthday," Carl said. "He is still waiting for permission from the area commissioner of correctional services to start it."
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According to Carl, Oscar Pistorius' outlook on his five-year sentence for culpable homicide in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day, 2013, has been altered by his fellow inmates.
"'He's encountering many beautiful stories from prisoners," said Carl, whom the Daily Mail reported is growing his beard until Oscar is allowed to leave the prison and serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. "There are people there who have committed crimes but whose lives have changed."
So rather than sulk and hope for his release to house arrest after 10 months - he has nine months to go - the double-amputee sprinter is helping others with fitness tips.
"He often gives fellow prisoners in the hospital wing, mostly recovering from tuberculosis, advise on how to exercise and to strengthen their bodies," Carl said.
That doesn't mean, however, that Pistorius' new attitude has made his current conditions any less challenging.
Rather than getting a private bathroom that probation workers suggested he receive, Pistorius is allowed only a stool in the general shower area, according to reports.
Aside from prison food, Pistorius must rely on monetary donations by visitors to allow him to purchase baked beans and canned pilchards, his brother said. The prisoner still spends 17 hours a day in his 6-by-8 cell with an hour granted for outdoors activity, another hour for workouts and a once-a-week visitation period of 45 minutes.
"We live in the hope that he'll be out [under house arrest] but it's a five-year sentence," Carl said. "There are surely desires in his heart, and over time they'll change. But he now lives moment by moment. There's no fairytale."
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