Pretoria - True to the saying that sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward, popular Pheli FM presenter Mfana Magriza has officially hung up his radio microphone to get his papers right by returning to school.
Mahlatsi Maroga, best known to his fans and listeners as Mfana Magriza, said even though he had experienced huge success since he joined the station in 2020, it was now time to start making moves towards his bigger goal.
The bubbly and cheerful 22-year-old anchor said all he had dreamed about since starting his time with the radio station was how he would be able to move to bigger commercial radio stations.
He said he realised he would have a difficult time because he had made a mistake by choosing not to complete his matric in 2018.
“I was raised by my granny, hence the nickname ‘Ngwana Magriza’. She died two months before I was about to start my matric, and I really struggled to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t around anymore. I simply walked out of school one morning and never went back.
“Finding out how she passed on really affected me, and I wasn’t the same on the inside. There was a lot of anger and resentment that built up because I wasn’t talking to anyone, so I ended up making really poor decisions.”
Maroga said that since he had found his love and calling in the radio business, he felt that the only way he would be able to see true progress in the field was by going back and fixing his mistake and studying further.
“I don’t want to get overly comfortable and find myself still doing the same thing 10 years down the line. From my own research, I found that commercial stations often recruit from campus radio stations, and I realised not only could I finish my schooling, but I could also make sure I have something else to fall back on.”
Maroga said the process of making it as a crowd favourite on the community radio station started after his business selling atchaar took a knock at the commencement of the national lockdown due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to the fact that he could not move around to sell his product, Maroga said he called his friend from Atteridgeville to help him to find means to make money.
Instead, he said his friend told him of the auditions the station was going to hold for stand-in presenters.
He said although he had no experience or knowledge of the business, he managed to score a callback to stand in for the station’s regular line-up during the December holidays.
Even though it was just for a month by the time January rolled around, Maroga said his show had gained a massive following, with more people interacting and calling into the show so much so that he was kept on.
“I was excited about joining the team officially, especially because I was just a broke kid looking for a way to make money with no plan, and suddenly I had found my passion and a chance to do something with my life.”
In fact, Maroga said he had started taking radio presenting more seriously and plans on being the best in the industry after his hip hop show was nominated for the best radio show at a community radio station at the SA Radio awards.
“I didn’t expect much as I was still starting out in the industry, but realising that industry giants were taking note of the show and our efforts as a team made me realise this was my calling.
“I grew to love and appreciate this opportunity and dream of going further.”
“I am still young, and maybe one day I will come back and teach other aspiring presenters – but for now, I want to advise young people to push to make their own luck in life.”
Pretoria News