By Sihle Nzima
A KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) multi-award-winning radio personality who left his radio career to pursue social media passion says the shift has brought him joy and fulfilment.
Simthande Myeza, a 27-year-old social media content creator and a former Durban University of Technology (DUT) Journalism student has chosen to focus on his new-found comedy occupation after his social media video clips went viral.
Myeza has collaborated with the likes of ABSA bank, Scandal and Isiphetho on e.tv for their marketing campaigns.
Born and raised in Nkandla, in northern KZN, he enrolled for National Diploma in Journalism at Durban University of Technology (DUT), where he worked as a Zulu presenter at Radio DUT and freelancer at Radio Khwezi, in 2015.
The Content Producer and Bright Star of the Year at the 2022 SA Radio Awards says from a young age, he was determined to pursue a career in the media, especially in radio.
“I was so captivated by many of SAfm’s programmes and presenters, and through those moments I knew for certain I wanted to pursue Journalism or Media Studies when I got to university,” he remembers.
However, Myeza had to deregister because of financial constraints, resulting in his departure from Radio DUT. However, his part-time radio job at Radio Khwezi later turned into a full-time role, leading to his earning four SA Radio Award nominations and two awards.
He started creating satirical videos in early 2022, but struggled to balance his radio career with his online presence.
As fate would have it, with his videos generating more income, he decided to focus on content creation full time. “When my videos went viral on social media, I was just making them for fun at the time, so it was a huge surprise to see many people finding them funny and interesting, with all the shares and comments. Their response motivated me to take it seriously and pursue it full time, although I was still hosting the biggest show on Radio Khwezi, the Drive Show.”
It was long before Myeza collaborated with film and entertainment industry friends, gaining fame through comedy videos that feature him dressed in women’s clothing. Later, he expanded his reach by venturing into stand-up comedy, resulting in the now-popular character, MakaThangithini.
“The character of MakaThangithini started as a joke, where I dressed up in full women’s clothing, applied ibomvu (red ochre) and mimicked the older ladies from the village where I grew up. MakaThangithini is a satirical character through which I talk about everyday events, often (poking fun at) the good deeds of my neighbours. People loved it so much that I began getting booked for shows, including stand-up comedy gigs,” says Myeza.
He plans to continue to build his brand. With his inimitable act and sense of humour, Myeza is set to soar even higher heights in comedy circles.
