Hemaynotknowhowmanylistenershave
movedwithhimfromMetroFMto947,
butFreshsaysa growingnumberofpeople
aredownloadingthestation’snewappor
streamingonline.exist, and they can’t punish me.
So I left and went somewhere
else.”
Contacted for comment, the
SABC referred us to a statement
in which the broadcaster said
the BCCSA had found it guilty o
and sanctioned it for using of-
fensive language on air.F
OR two months the
family man had no
source of income. But
Fresh, who’s had suc-
cess in music, TV and business,
had saved for a rainy day.
“I’ve always preached about saving
money. I was able to go through for two
months without feeling the pinch. With
every R100 a person makes, they should
be able to save R25 for a rainy day and
this plan helped me to survive.”
He used the time off work to reflect. “It
was two months of clarity. I’ve been do-
ing breakfast shows for five years now- two years at Metro FM and three years
at5FM.
“Whenmysonwasbornfouryearsago
I wasontheradioandI’vemissedouton
manymilestonesinhislife.”
ItwasonlyafterFresh’ssuspension
thatherealisedjusthowmuchworkhad
occupiedhislife.“Onthefirstdaymyson
askedmewhyI wastakinghimtoschool,
andit dawnedonmethatI’dnevertaken
himtoschool.
“SoI madeuseofthetimecatchingup
withmyfamily,mychildren,doinggigs
hereandthereandmoreinterviews
thanI haddoneina longtime.
“Iappreciatedbeingawayfromwork.
I wasn’tmiserableatall,butmylisteners
mighthavebeenfrustrated,”hequips.
Hehasoneofthemostrecognisable
voicesonradio,but“BigDawg”wasstill
blownawaybyhowfansralliedbehind
himonsocialmedia.Scoresoffollowers
calledforhisreinstatementandthreat-
enedtoboycottMetroFMuntilFresh
wasbackontheairwaves.
“Generally,I don’tbasemylifeonsocial
mediastandards,”hesays.“Iworkin
radioandnumberstalk.Butthesupport
frompeoplewasoverwhelming.
“IknewpeopleappreciatedwhatI do
butI neverfullygraspedthelovepeople
hadformeandI ameternallygrateful.
I wishtherewasmoreI coulddofor
peopleshowingmeallthislove.
“IfI could,I’dthrowonebigpartyfor
everyone– drinksonme!”
H
E’Ssothrilledwith
all the support,
he’s working on a
digital project to
show just how
much he appreci-
ates his followers.
“The digital platform is all
still a work in progress,” he
says. “My fans showed me
how much they value me, so
the platform will be for them.
It will include video, audio...
it’s what people have been ask-
ing me to do.”
He’s been riding the airwaves on the
breakfast show for years. Now Fresh is
looking forward to changing gears as
a drive-time show host.
“After all these years, I still love radio
because I can change people’s lives every
day. Every day I ask myself: am I giving
people hope and changing their lives for
thebetter?
“Radiohappensinrealtime.You’re
always a song away from giving some-
bodyhope.”TheBotswana-bornmixmasterowes
hisloveofpeopletohisparents,mom
FrancinahanddadFrancisSikwane,who
taughthimtobehumble.
“Iwasraisedbypeoplewhoachieved
a lotbutneverallowedtheirachieve-
mentstoguideordictatehowtheytreat
people,”hesays.
“AlotofwhatI doisaboutmycalling
andnotaboutthesuperstarlifeof‘Oh
shit!I’mfamous,peopledigme,there-
fore,I’mcool’.That’snotwhyI dowhat
I do.
“I’ma radiopersonalitybecausesince
I was13,I genuinelybelievedI was
broughtontoearthtochangepeople’s
livespositively.ForaslongasI’mdoing
thatI don’tcareaboutthenoiseandthe
hype.This hashelped me to stay
grounded.”
He’shappythestormhaspassedand
theexperiencehasallowedhimtoprac-
tisewhathepreaches.
“It’sa matterofprinciple,”Freshsays.
“Don’tbeembarrassedtosaywhatyou
believein.Sometimeswe’reafraidof
losingourjobsandaretooworriedabout
whatpeoplewillsay.Standupforwhat
youbelieveinandcarrythecross.”S:
your mouth comes with the territory.
Here he is with a few of his fellow jocks,
(from left) DJ Sbu, Gareth Cliff, Robert
Marawa, Tbo Touch and Trevor Gumbi.
BELOW: Before his stint at Metro FM,
Fresh hosted 5FM’s breakfast show.GALLO IMAGES/THE TIMES/MOEKETSI MOTICOE, GALLO IMAGES/SOWETAN/VELI NHLAPO, INSTAGRAM/GRCLIFF
‘I appreciated being
away from work’
you.co.za 29 AUGUST 2019 | (^93)
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