With a love for broadcasting, Nantal Hopley, a Zeekoevlei resident, opened his studio in the comfort of his living room.
In this studio, several podcasts were born including the “Edutainment podcast” aimed at positive stories to share with the community.
Hopley says he fell in love with hip-hop and music in 1993.
“I was a DJ and jeweller and then I lost my job. And I figured, what was I going to do now?”
He entered a DJ competition at Goodhope FM at the time and says by some miracle won the competition.
“My wife coached me to network so I emailed the bosses at Goodhope FM and thanked them for the opportunity. They then later offered me a job, a residency at Goodhope FM around 2014/2015.
“I did it for two to three years and then they told me about an opening for a studio technician, where you would receive training as well.
“So, I started doing that and fell in love with broadcasting and saw how Nigel Pierce and Stanley Mars would shape their shows.”
At the same time, he used to watch hip-hop podcasts.
“I was inspired, then called some of my friends. They did their utmost best but were not broadcasters and then they all left to work on their projects and I was alone.”
Shortly after leaving Goodhope FM in 2021, he started working full-time from his home studio.
“I started to podcast around 2018/2019.
“My wife said I could use part of the living room space and at the time we were building/ extending this part of the house.
“Then my friends came along, I invited the hip-hoppers and they didn’t really take to it. The comedians took to it though.”
The studio equipment was paid for from his own pocket while working.
What he loves about podcasting is that it is never scripted and more conversational, says Hopley.
“With podcasting, we want to show that coloured people, black people and even white people are not the stereotypes that they are made out to be.
“We just want to show the true essence of who Cape Town people really are. The podcast is aimed at anyone and everyone.”
Chad Cupido, who runs the Edutainment podcast, says it is a combination of entertainment and education.
“I want to bring on people and tell their story and ask cool questions that’s very entertaining, getting them to do poetry, sing or give a favourite quote.
“So, there is entertainment but at the same time, there is education. And what many podcasts fail to do, is that it is very entertaining and they talk about current affairs, but it’s not necessarily educational.
“I believe in order to educate, you also have to entertain.”
Cupido added that the beauty of podcasting and “the awakening” is understanding who you are while interviewing and connecting.
“We have three open seats in the studio and we would love for the community to come to the studio and see what we do.
For more information contact Cupido on 074 831 5961.
