He comes from Phalaborwa, population 13,000, in South Africa's most northern province Limpopo, nestling up against Kruger National Park and 470km north east of Pretoria, where South Africa sits cheek by jowl with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
It's tough land which breeds like-minded people. No bowler does the gunslinger glare better than the 31-year-old who, with his sidekicks Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel forms the best pace trio in the game.
If you think Steyn was steeped in the game from his earliest memories think again. The 1992 World Cup - South Africa's first appearance in the tournament - passed him by completely.
"I wasn't playing cricket when I was nine," he said. "I'd never seen a cricket bat or ball before I was about 10. I didn't know what cricket was. Not like these kids now who, when they're born, have a mini bat put in their hands.
"The first time I watched the 1992 World Cup was on videos with my cousins in Zimbabwe in 1993 or 1994. They were all cricketers who we'd go and visit over Christmases.
"They used to have 15 or 20 of those mini reviews of what happened in those games and the big memory from them was Jonty's [Rhodes'] run out [against Pakistan, sprinting in from point and diving into the stumps to run out Inzamam-ul-Haq].
"Once I saw that I never had a clean shirt. Every time I went out my Mum would be saying 'why is your shirt dirty? I'd be diving the stumps out of the ground."
His test debut came in late 2004 and a few months later he stepped into the one-day world. Quick and hostile, his has never been a game of dot balls. He takes wickets, plus into the bargain he's hard to plunder anyway.
Steyn was not picked for the 2007 tournament, which seems bizarre from this distance, so the cup will be just his second, and perhaps last.
In 2011, South Africa's game was up when they lost to New Zealand in a fiery quarter-final in Dhaka by 49 runs. They had been 108 for two, chasing 222, after 24 overs with Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers set. So did they blow it, or did New Zealand rip it away with an inspired couple of hours?
"My feelings have changed over time," he said. "I remember distinctly feeling very angry and upset when we lost. But you still smile and shake hands with the opposition. I wasn't holding anything against New Zealand but I was super angry.
"Then I remember getting in a huddle and doing our final team talk. This was it. Tomorrow morning we're on planes going home. There must have been two or three guys with tears in their eyes. I could feel guys pulling on my shirt, squeezing me, and I knew at that point everyone had given all they had.
"So I walked away saying 'it's okay, that's just how it is. I realised the sun was coming up tomorrow. I know that's a cliche but it really was like that, like we were not meant to win that one."
Steyn took a month and a half off and it became a distant memory, right?
"I was standing in Time Square and thinking, 'we've just lost the World Cup and that sucked'".
As for the "choker" tag often plopped on South Africa, Steyn has no quibble with it, even if he doesn't particularly like it. That's the thing about him. Ask a question and you'll get a straightforward, no PC answer.
"We've definitely choked in games before," Steyn said. "But many other teams have choked. If you go down the history of teams knocked out of the cup, a lot of them have. But it's a label that's stuck with us.
"My personal view is that, as I've only been to one World Cup it's not cool to say to people who've never been before that you're a choker. What can you do? There's nothing you can do about it."
Steyn, however, is adamant breaking that hoodoo - South Africa have never won an International Cricket Council-sanctioned world title, in one-day or T20 cricket - would mean more to the country's fans than the players.
"They don't have the opportunity to try. They're sitting on their couches. All their eggs are in my basket, so we've got to do it all for them, there's nothing they can do. They really want to jump through the TV and catch or bowl or hit that ball."
So what about 2019? Steyn will be coming up 36.
"I've definitely thought about it. I'll give it everything I've got at this World Cup. In four years time there's going to be younger, stronger bodies. Maybe I'll come as assistant bowling coach," he quipped.
