Another baby on way for Danny K
Danny K and his wife, Lisa, are looking forward to adding to their little family – but they don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl
WITH a toddler, her new business, his music career and all sorts of other ventures they’re already pretty busy. But Danny K and wife Lisa are going to have to take things up a notch next month because there will be another family member keeping them on their toes.
The Koppels are expecting baby No 2 in early May and unlike with their firstborn, Jayden, they’ve opted not to find out whether it’s a boy or a girl.
“We found out the first time because I felt it was the only known thing we could hold on to,” Lisa (32) says. “Everything else was so foreign to us.”
But now they feel they know what’s coming, she adds while chatting to us at her parents’ home in Hyde Park, Johannesburg. “It’s just a bit more exciting and a different experience.”
Danny (39) won’t be drawn on whether he’s hoping for a girl or boy. “You don’t want to go with a side because if the other one comes out it looks like you backed the wrong team!” he says. “While I think a girl would be nice because it will be different, I think a brother for Jayden would be a really cool thing.”
This second pregnancy hasn’t been smooth sailing, Lisa says. “I was very nauseous and the fatigue was overwhelming. Having a toddler means you have to run around after him and it makes everything that much more difficult.”
But they’re looking forward to welcoming another addition to their family. Jayden turns three on 4 July and the couple, who’ve been married for four years, have clearly found parenthood a rewarding experience.
“We just try to entertain Jayden as much as we can,” Danny says. “We’re the heads of entertainment for ‘Jayden Max Koppel Inc’! Every free moment we have we’re doing something with him.
“He’s had a personality from when he was born, hey,” the proud dad says. “Big personality, confident kid, happy and friendly. We’ve worked hard to make him happy.”
DANNY and Lisa both believe following tradition is an important part of raising a family and their son has long golden locks thanks to the Jewish tradition of
upsherin, which entails cutting a boy’s hair for the first time only on his third birthday.
“He inherited Lisa’s good hair gene but it’s seriously, seriously long,” Danny says. “Everywhere we go we’re asked, ‘How old is she? What a beautiful girl!’ ”
Jayden’s “big genes” come from Lisa’s side of the family, Danny says. “He’s a big kid. Lisa carried very small and I remember when he was born, this thing just kind of unravelled. His arms came out and I was like, ‘No ways – there’s this kid inside of you!’ ”
But his big feet definitely come from his dad. “Danny’s got much bigger feet than he should for his height,” Lisa says. “He wears a size 12 to 13 shoe.”
It was her son’s large feet that gave her the idea for her new business. “We struggled to find shoes we could get on him easily and that would stay on,” says Lisa, who’s an advocate by profession (her dad is Billy Gundelfinger, one of South Africa’s leading divorce and criminal lawyers).
After having Jayden she realised that life as a lawyer wasn’t what she wanted. “The hours and the stress of going to court and being in chambers until late in the evening – it wasn’t conducive to being a mother.”
When she designed the ideal shoe for Jayden and had a sample pair made in China – thanks to Danny’s work contacts there – she realised it was a business opportunity. “Jayden would wear them and people would stop me at every corner. That’s when I realised there’s a gap in the market.”
She launched her online business, Running Bear Moccasins, in December. The soft-soled, elasticated shoes for kids from size zero to 24 months are handmade and each pair comes with a storybook written by Lisa about how Mama Bear got special shoes for Running Bear after his feet got sore from playing outside.
“The logo and the book are special touches. To read a book and make your child excited – it’s always such a special time when Danny and I are reading to Jayden.”
ALTHOUGH music will always be his first love, Danny has a few new business endeavours of his own. There’s Knocker Doodle, the food company he co-founded, which produces various companies’ inhouse food brands as well as a health and confectionery range.
“Our biggest deal was with [candy franchise] Sweets from Heaven – we’ve bought the licence to make sweets under their brand to sell to every retailer in the country,” he says.
Then there’s Rocka, the electronics brand he co-founded three years ago and which specialises in electronic product lines on behalf of local artists such as Riky Rick, AKA, Mi Casa, DJ Euphonik and, of course, Danny himself.
“We’re doing everything from virtualreality headsets to action cameras and Bluetooth speakers,” he says. “We’ve got about 60 to 70 products launching this year.”
Danny has also discovered a love for public speaking after being invited to talk about his life at a corporate event. “I thought, ‘Let me tell the story of what I’ve really been through in the business. The real tough times, the ups, the downs, the stories people don’t know.
“But I wanted it to have some takehome value. Very often you see your idols and you think they’re bulletproof and that everything’s gone right in their lives. And the truth is – certainly for me – that it’s not the case at all.
“So I tell the story of how I was rejected for seven years before I got a deal and how I was kicked out of most of the labels in the country. I lost the biggest international recording contract that probably any South African had been offered in the early 2000s. [I also talk about] working with [late kwaito star] Mandoza.”
In the midst of all this Danny lost his younger brother, Jarren, who was one of six people killed in a helicopter crash in Mpumalanga in 2003.
“It’s just me in front of you, speaking to you and shedding all that glitz and glamour and just being real,” he says. “The funny thing is, people come up to me in tears after my talks and they’re really inspired and motivated. I never really got that reaction in 20 years of doing shows.”
With everything else he has going on, is he finding any time for music? “I made a decision about two months ago that I’d release new music in the middle of the year.”
Looks like it’s set to be a big year for the Koppel family. “You can expect me to surprise you by doing things I’ve never done. You have to think like that to survive in this day and age. And as a family we’ll be growing, understanding one another better, supporting one another and just dealing with what life throws at you on a daily basis.”
A good philosophy to have when your family of three is about to be extended by another little whirlwind.