In my oh-so-short time as a journalist, I have never gotten to interview any celebrities from outside Africa, especially not any with their own television shows.
Thankfully I had this opportunity last week while attending Discovery Networks Africa Upfront event in Johannesburg. Meet Whitney Thore, Troy Von Scheibner and Andi Rive.
(TLC Entertainment, DStv channel 172)
Two seasons into ‘My Big Fat Fabulous Life’, Whitney Thore couldn’t be happier with they way her life has transformed, with her best moments present in the romance, health and dance department, which you’ll see towards the end of the second season. She was terrified and nervous about recording the show at first but she and her family were thrilled once they saw the finished product. “It’s an amazingly accurate depiction of my life and everyone in it and I couldn’t be more proud.”
After being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Whitney gained roughly 91kgs. It took some getting used to but she has accepted her body and exudes such confidence when she speaks.
Being a dancer (look up ‘Fat Girl Dancing’ on YouTube), Whitney excitedly said African dance is her favourite. “It resonates with me in a way no other style of dance can.”
“Something that ‘My Big Fat Fabulous Life’ shows is a marginalised woman who is constantly being told by society that you can’t”. Doesn’t matter what you struggle with, if society makes you feel inadequate, you’ll like this show. “I just like to not listen to any of it.”
When it comes to fat shaming, the best way to approach is to ignore, Whitney says. “People will always be insane and I don’t care,” she says jokingly.
She didn’t see herself becoming such an inspiration to people. “Remember the first way to fight against being shamed is to be visible. The minute that we make ourselves visible, we demand that people respect us.”
Hailing from South London, Troy Von Scheibner’s interest in magic sparked at the age of 12. Looking up to famous magicians like David Blaine,Troy said David made magic look cool. “That struck a chord with me, I was like ‘I would like to be able to do what David is doing’.” Not long after that, Troy said he was getting the same reactions as David did.
Fast forward a few years and he performed at a restaurant where a television executive witnessed his work and thought that he had enough potentially to carry a show. Troy says he never saw himself in a position to give people a magical experience. “When can you say you’ve ever met a magician?” Not having met one, I had the privilege of participating in one of his card tricks. I sat there speechless, ranted about it on Snapchat and now walk around every day with this card – that originally had my signature on its face and his signature which miraculously appeared at the back of the card – for good luck.
On his show, the trick that got the most reaction was when he teleported across the open Tower Bridge. He also made it rain money, I mean, who would not love that? This made me question the balance and self control magicians need to have with this art as to not abuse it.
Unfortunately, as humans we will always question the unknown until we are satisfied with the answer. If you are one of those people, magic will stress you out a little, but enjoy the mystery. In response to people who might have dismissed his tricks as fake, Troy believes that you cannot dismiss anything you didn’t experience yourself.
“Everyone has their own opinion, but some people don’t like to feel like they’ve been fooled. What I’m about is spreading the love and the experience.”
South African lion nurturer Andi Rive had a very calming presence I admired. A presence that I’m sure she has when she looks after her lion cubs. She is not just a lover of lions but she is a ‘mother’ to them too. Originally a doula and childbirth educator, Andi wasn’t at first very interested in lions until she met her first one and she was sold.
She recalls being thrown into the deep end when she became a ‘mother’ of five lion cubs. She had to learn how to feed them, stimulate bowel movement and even wind them like babies. Her natural instinct came through. “From the moment I was involved with a lion, I loved them and I’ll never leave them.”
Being alone with lions and having them approach her was overwhelming, she says. She describes it as a privilege and an honour. She learnt to understand that they are hormonal and temperamental, so you need to maintain a level of respect for them. She aided an injured lioness who gave birth to two cubs. “There was no fear involved, it was a matter of being a mother.”
“A lion is designed to hunt and kill, we do need to be respectful and cognizant of the fact that they can kill.”
Now that she has opened her first sanctuary, Andi admits that it indeed a daunting task and sometimes she has to deal with logistics and administration that take her away from looking after her lions. However, as long as her she has a lion in her sanctuary, she is happy.
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