Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
In the FRAME
Tropika Island of Treasure host Katlego Maboe has his goals in sight, writes
put your head in the water with your snorkelling gear on and it’s just full of turtle and fish and coral and super, super clear. It’s like you’re in one of these movies.”
Maboe also relished witnessing the element of competition that saw the mix of celebrities and contestants fiercely competing for the R1 million prize money.
“You get to see the emotions they go through and the friendships that were formed between them there. When anybody got eliminated, there would literally be sadness, not just from the contestants themselves, but from everybody behind the scenes. You build friendships and you build camaraderie from the shared experience there. It was amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Maboe started the year off on a high note with the announcement that he and his girlfriend,
Monique Muller, are expecting their first child. He says it’s a baby boy that they are expecting sometime this winter.
“Apparently those are more comfortable and bearable than summer births,” he quips. “We are very excited, we’ve already gone baby shopping and getting the room ready.” Has the pending arrival of baby changed how he goes about work? “If anything, it’s already got me excited, in the sense that like in a couple of months I’ll have a little guy at home who’s actually gonna be watching me on TV. So, an extra fan. I think it just has me motivated and inspired to work even harder and just be better at what I do. So that at the end of the day, he can have that example to look at and go, ‘Yoh, my dad was really, really good at what he did and he loved what he did and that’s what I want to pursue as well’. Not necessarily (pursue) a career in entertainment, but whatever it is that he would be doing.”
Formerly a part of a capella group Flip A Coin, Maboe also harbours ambitions of forging a music career. He takes his first big stab at this by performing the season’s theme song, Smoooth Fame.
“We had a lot of fun recording and making that song, and I hope that a lot of people who do get the chance to listen to it will enjoy it. And I guess the extra smooth feelgood factor on top of that is the proceeds from the sale of the song online will go towards charity.”
Right now, he’s writing, conceptualising and finding his sound.
“Everyone always wants to know, ‘What genre, what vibe is your music gonna be?’ And I’m like come on man, just listen to the music and decide whether you like it or not. I hate to box myself. I come from a very broad influence of music so my musical palette is quite varied. I think the music is going to be the big pursuit this year, so hopefully you’ll be hearing something on radio sooner rather than later.”
Catch the premiere of the
● eighth season of Tropika Island of Treasure on February 5, SABC 3.