Altin was born in a small Eastern Cape town called Humansdorp in 1975, the eldest of five sons. He started his primary schooling in 1981 at Graslaagte Primary School and continued at Humansdorp Senior Secondary School in 1989 before completing his schooling in 1992. He joined the Southern African National Defence Force a year later and worked his way up the leadership ranks and reached the position of Officer (Second Lieutenant) by mid-1994.
Over the years, he achieved ranks as Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and ultimately Lieutenant Colonol in 2016. In 1996, Altin was selected to attend the Southern African Military Academy degree course where he ultimately received a B(Mil) Human Science at the Faculty of Military Science at the University of Stellenbosch. Altin is also qualified in Senior Management, which he obtained from the University of Pretoria prior to this in 2015. In his military tenure, he was involved in leadership positions in United Nations and African Union Operations in Burundi (2000), Burundi (2005), Sudan (2006), Democratic Republic of Congo (2013/2014).
He joined the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) in January 2018 and was posted as a Senior Course Leader and Mentor. Here, he trained Field Rangers in neighbouring Mozambique on a few occasions. Altin is a lecturer for Natural Resource Protection for Higher Education and Training students at the SAWC and due to his leadership skills, he was involved with the development of the Ranger Leadership Development Programme, which was the first leadership course for Ranger leaders in conservation. Currently, he holds a position as Programme Manager at the Protected Area Integrity Unit at the SAWC and in his spare time enjoys reading and sports.