QnA: Tyson Ngubeni

You’ve probably seen him on those Chicken Licken ads or somewhere on Instagram making us laugh about amagwinya. Whichever is the case Tyson Ngubeni is one of the few people who has been winning lockdown. Using jokes to give us the 6 packs we so desperately craved, Ngubeni has managed to carve himself a lane in South African pop culture. And if his increasingly frequent appearances on our timelines and tv adverts are anything to go by, that lane may soon turn into a highway.

Describe yourself in two words.
Silly & conflicted

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Seeing Chelsea live, then a Lebo Mathosa song blares through the stadium speakers

What is your greatest fear?
Not realising potential. Complacency scares me to death

What is the trait you most dislike about yourself?
I tend to overthink things

What is the trait you most dislike in others?
A lack of empathy & compassion

Which living person do you most admire?
My parents

What is your current state of mind?
The Forrest Gump Suite just came on the playlist so I’m both nostalgic and that emotion where your head sways and you hum way outside your vocal range

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
It means I play Tinder & Bumble on the highest difficulty setting

What is the quality you most like in a man?
Compassion

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Compassion

Which words or phrases do you overuse?
Absolutely & Bathong!

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My faith & work! I want to keep learning until my last breath

Which talent would you most like to have?
To sing better. Please, bathong!

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d eliminate my anxiety

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Having persevered even when opportunities were slim. Finally getting to study after 3 years in a Dutch-speaking call centre is one of my most treasured experiences

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
A sea-facing mountain, honestly, yaz’ – That breeze, that majestic ocean & sun. Imagine

What is your most treasured possession?
It’s a toss-up between my glasses & the latest book I bought

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Hopelessness. I think losing that last shred of something to cling onto is beyond heartbreaking

Who are your favourite writers?
Dr Pumla Gqola, T.O Molefe & Ta-Nehisi Coates

Who are your heroes in real life?
My parents and their generation. Once you get older and understand the depths of their sacrifices it means a lot

What is your greatest regret?
The years I spent with the lowest self-esteem

How would you like to die?
I’d like to die with the peace of a world having acknowledged that one does not defile amasi with sugar

What is your motto?
The process is the product