Down and Out:
Xantal is the son of a Black Sun Hitman and a Nar Shaddaa 'Dancer', both Falleen. Viska, Xantal's mother, was Tissik's mistress, not his wife and Xantal carries his mother's surname. Still, Tissik cared enough for Viska and her son to keep them in a small apartment and provide them with money for food and clothing when her earnings from dancing fell short.
As is the case with many criminals, Tissik's luck eventually ran out. He had, under orders, killed an individual who was very well liked by Triloc the Hutt. The Black Sun knew such an operation would be problematic and had pre-emptively sent an operative to give Tissik up to the Hutts as a peace offering.
When Tissik was killed, Viska saw her world crumble and feared for her, and her son's, safety. She immediately vacated her small apartment and moved into a crowded ghetto of the sort where nobody asks questions. She took a job as a waitress and kept Xantal constantly under close watch -- whether by herself outside of working hours or by close friends while she worked. Xantal resented this close overwatch as well as the disappearance of his father ( he was too young to understand what happened when the killing occurred and his mother never told him what ultimately happened -- only that Tissik would no longer be there ).
During his teenage years, Xantal fell into drug addiction. He was particularly fond of Neutron Pixie because of the escape it gave him from his destitute and restricted life. At the age of 17, Xantal's dealer offered a healthy sum of money if Xantal would strap spice to his body and smuggle it to Bothawui as a passenger on a large transport ship. He did, and had enough dumb luck to succeed at it.
After several drug runs, Xantal returned to find his dealer eliminated for stepping on too many toes and expanding business without permission. Unwilling to go back to a destitute life on Nar Shaddaa, Xantal took what money he had and invested in a small ship. Now he travels the galaxy as a ( mostly ) legal merchant and trader. His mother still lives and works as a waitress on Nar Shaddaa and he stops by to see her occasionally, but only to drop off a few credits and leave again as home is the last place Xantal wants to be.

Wanderlust / Novelty:
In his youth, Xantal always felt constrained by the restrictive environment around him. He often acted out, was punished when caught, and then looked for new ways to escape or act out again. This desire to escape, to be free, to experience all the novelty and wonder while escaping the tedium, hardship, and monotony of life, still drives him.
Xantal is consistently running from self-realization, from the consideration of past poor decisions, and from personal responsibility. What drives him to wanderlust and novelty is an avoidance of self at all costs. Experience everything external so that nothing internal must be faced.

(5) ADDICTION: Neutron Pixie ( Lords of Nal Hutta, page 111 )
Xantal started using the drug as a teen, finding that it took him places far from the depressing environment that was his everyday life and let him satiate his wanderlust and need for adventure despite being stuck within a small neighborhood on Nar Shaddaa. Now that he is a trader, uses the spice extensively while traveling through hyperspace to avoid feeling like he is trapped within the small confines of the ship. Continued use of Neutron Pixie has affected Xantal physically, keeping his musculature weak and his health less-than-optimal.

(5) DEBT: Ship
When he hired on to be the pilot of The "Merchant", also bought into the ship in order to gain a share of the profits earned with it.