The Fresh Prince of Comedy

GROWING up and knowing exactly what you want in life is something not many experience, but Mark Kariahuua, or the Fresh Prince of Okakarara as he calls himself, always knew that he wanted to entertain.

The youngest of 12 children, Mark was born and raised in Windhoek. As a young boy, he was an inquisitive child, always questioning things, all while nurturing his creativity.

“Growing up I was a very curious child who wanted to know it all and who was super creative. I just wanted to create things, whether it was a painting, making up a song or a dance, I always needed to make something,” Mark beamed.

Indulging in his creative side gave the young comedian his greatest joy. As his siblings were much older than him, he was always on his own while they were at school and this gave him a lot of time to get lost in his imagination.

“Growing up the youngest, I was very quiet and bit of an introvert. I was always on my own, alone at home. I think that’s where my creativity developed. Since I had no one to play with, I made my own games. Growing up in Soweto and then Khomasdal, the neighborhood was rough and my parents banned us from playing in the streets,” he said.

At school, Mark said that he often felt out of place compared to his classmates, as they were better off than him, but his innovative mind was a coping mechanism for him.

“I remember when I started school, it was at a predominantly white school and my class mates were all just so well off and they would go to great places for holidays and weekends and I didn’t. But my mom would always say that I can play ‘make believe’. I didn’t need to be there physically. I would pretend and act so much to the point where I could feel the imaginary rain drops on my skin. I wasn’t even bummed about it, I enjoyed my own company. It was cool for me to not be part of the cool kids. I really just didn’t care,” he said.

When the funny man went to high school, he found that you either had to be a star athlete or a top achiever, but he wanted something else. “My high school was sort of an over-achiever’s haven. All I wanted to do was make art or anything with technology and gadgets,” he said. “That’s why we started the drama group at school. My friends and I were just chilling, doing our thing. Weekends we would have rap battles because we wanted to be rappers or we’d be at the library, literally just sitting there reading books. For us being in our own space was fun,” the entertainer said proudly.

There’s no business like show business and Mark found he had a lot to learn in the industry. “I always wanted to be an entertainer since day one, but then you hear all these bad stories about how the industry is hard and how in Namibia you can’t make money.”

When he got into the comedy game at age 19, Mark realised there was a lot he needed to learn and that it’s not easy – such as going out in public and how to handle the little money he made from gigs.

“I also realised that not everyone is nice. I would meet all my idols at events and stuff and sometimes I’m just thinking like ‘wow, you really are an *sshole and I’ve looked up to you since I was a laaitie’.”

As just about everyone goes through a period of low self-esteem, Mark too experienced this, however his hard work paid off in the end.

“As badly as I wanted it, I just didn’t think people would even pay to see me talk, but when I was in school I was doing open mic stuff and the guys from Free Your Mind saw me and signed me. I thought they were drunk because we were in a bar, but they were legit,” Mark joked.

“Performing has always been the plan, everything is strategically planned out and well orchestrated. I am inspired by my day-to-day life and the experiences I go through.”

Mark added that while comedy is all laughs, a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes. “I think over the years, especially with things like social media, we have all seen how someone can go viral overnight, and of course we all have that one friend who is funny, or is the office clown, but stand up is a completely different world. You need to command a room, you need to command silence.”

Taking inspiration from world-renowned comedian Kevin Hart, Mark mentioned that he was awestruck by the American comedian’s ability to make an entire stadium pay attention to his words. “I mean, that in itself is beyond a talent. That’s magic, right?”

“It’s not as easy as it seems, but if you get it right, it’s the best feeling in the world. You make people genuinely happy. It’s a good feeling. Sometimes you find yourself blank with no material but it’s part of life, I don’t force it if it’s not there. Writing material should be an organic thing.”

The comedian recently had his first one-man show titled ‘The Fresh Prince of Okakarara’ at the Warehouse Theatre and was surprised by the outcome of the show, and has some more exciting plans for the future.

“You know what, I honestly think it was better than expected. It was my first solo show so I did not know what to expect. I’m glad it went smooth and everyone enjoyed themselves. I really had fun. Next if possible and things go well, I would like to take the show on tour, just to other towns that do not get to see stand up comedy,” he disclosed.

You might be perplexed as to why he is the Fresh Prince of Okakarara and not Windhoek. Well, Mark debunked that mystery. “I was born and raised in Windhoek, but Okakarara is home.”

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