A year after joining Kaya 959 from Radio 2000, Glen Lewis's journey on the afternoon drive has been filled with joy and laughter.
Marking their one-year anniversary on Tuesday afternoon, when Sowetan joined the studio fun, the veteran broadcaster continued to bond with his colleagues, Skhumba Hlophe and Kgomotso Meso.
He said he has finally settled into his new home after years of working for the public broadcaster.
"After working at the SABC for so many years, and having to leave and come work for an independent company, obviously, I had a few questions: 'Will I settle in? How will they treat me? Will I enjoy myself? Will I be successful?'", said the renowned broadcaster.
"But fortunately, everything went according to plan. I settled down even before I went on air. Everyone made me feel at home, except the fact that we eat so much here. I’m even scared I’m going to gain weight, but it’s been a fabulous ride working at a new station doing a new show... and people I’ve never worked with before."
Renowned comedian Hlophe described the last 12 months as a fulfilling "crazy ride".
“It’s been one crazy ride working with Glen and Kgomotso. I was never worried whatsoever about working with Glen,” said Hlophe. “I’m one of the blessed people to ever do radio. I’ve worked with DJ Fingers at the Voice of Tembisa, I’ve worked with Bob Mabena for over three years and with Thomas [Msengana], and now with Glen.
“I know how to be a team member, and I understand how it is to work with other people. It’s never about one particular person, it’s about the three of us and bringing our different personalities is the recipe behind the success of our show.”
Hlophe added that he believed they were just warming up and the show will continue to grow. “From the beginning, we knew what we wanted to do with the show; people just had to get used to our groove as the drive team,” he said.
“One thing about us, we will have fun. People might wonder, why? The answer is simple, we are in the entertainment business... we are supposed to be entertaining people, so if we’re not doing that, then we’re doing something wrong.”
While the team has mastered the art of having fun on-air, Hlophe said playing by the rules was paramount.
“We were joking when we said [on air today] that we got 17 complaints filed at the BCCSA (Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA) in the past year. The answer is none. I’ve been working here at Kaya for 12 years, and I’ve never been taken to the complaints commission – even with the crazy things I’ve said. [We’re lucky] that people who listen to us understand us and who we are,” Hlophe said.
Meso said she felt deeply honoured to work with two industry titans.
"It's been a whirlwind, but I had fun. Working with two guys has its challenges, but Skhumba and Glen are very gentle; they may seem tough on me when we're on air, but they are truly gentle souls. I'm very privileged to have worked with them," she said.
"I was never worried or concerned when I was told last year that I'd be working with the gents because I had previously worked with Skhumba – so he and I had a rapport already, we even have a friendship outside of the office.
"Glen was a complete stranger to me, even though I followed his show with Unathi [Nkayi] back in the day on Metro FM, he was a blank canvas [to me]. I knew very little of him then, so the back and forth was the beginning of the craziness. We didn't even plan it, to the point that our listeners felt that we had been working together for years."
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