Table of contents for Issue 3 in Destiny

TERROIR EXCELLENCE

Images: Supplied It is in the remarkable terroir of the Simonsberg region that renowned family winery Delheim produced its latest flagship Grand Reserve 2017 Bordeaux blend. The 2017 vintage also marks the 40th year that the iconic Grand Reserve – the apex of Delheim’s red wine collection – has been in existence. It is only made in years of exceptional quality, with the maiden vintage released in 1981. Over the last four decades, no matter the winemakers involved, the Grand Reserve has achieved its unwavering style because of the Simonsberg terroir. Quality has always trumped quantity in its making. The wine has attracted a loyal following of connoisseurs who understand the celebrated winery’s commitment to consistent quality and simply letting the vineyards speak through the wines. The 2017 vintage is…

UNITED STATES OF AFRICA

Africa has always been bursting at the seams with insightful and eternally engaging stories. Non-Africans have often taken the lead in telling their version of sometimes skewed stories, but of late, an increasing number of African voices are taking up the baton to set the record straight. These are African changemakers who are no longer waiting for outsiders to dictate what being African should look, sound or feel like. They are using their heritage, expertise and ingenuity to stamp their authority in the world, using a number of platforms such as social media, streaming sites and podcasts. One of the most effective loudhailers in setting African narratives continues to be Netflix. As part of its strategy to produce as much African content as possible for a market that has been…

8 min

THE SCIENCE OF PEOPLE ACCORDING TO FHULU

“As I moved up the corporate ladder, I have not been inward focused. For me, true success is about transforming lives, it’s about helping people around me. I consider it my greatest achievement to touch a life for the better,” explains Fhulu. Growing up in a small village in Venda, Fhulu Badugela absorbed invaluable character traits from her parents and grandfather that would bode well for her later on in life when she stepped into high-powered leadership roles. A grade 1 teacher, Fhulu recalls her mother’s innate ability to identify the potential in all her learners. “As you can imagine growing up in a small village, most kids didn’t have the opportunity to go to kindergarten before starting grade 1, but my mom’s ability to see the potential in these…

8 min

VIEW LIFE THROUGH THE PRISM OF ART

In Johannesburg’s burgeoning art scene, many names will resonate with art lovers. Names that inspire and motivate creativity and are synonymous with the eclectic vibe of one of Africa’s most creative cities. One such name is Saki Zamxaka. Well known in financial and government fields of influence, Saki has also made a name for himself on the art scene as an avid collector and promoter of the arts. Born in East London and raised mainly in Centane, Eastern Cape, Saki’s studies took him from Butterworth, the University of the Western Cape, to Bard College in New York, before returning home to set his roots and make a difference in his own way. JOURNEY AND MOTIVATION “Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have two strong life values modelled to me.…

BUSINESS LESSONS TO LIVE BY

In business, there are numerous advantages to reflecting on what worked and what did not. One lesson that entrepreneurs learnt was that resilience and an ability to adapt to change are critical components of long-term success. This requires businesses to adjust their tactics in response to changing customer habits and needs. I should foster grit within my team so that we can keep each other’s morale lifted during tough times. GREAT THINGS HAPPEN DURING TOUGH TIMES Aisha Pandor, CEO: SweepSouth “When things are comfortable, there’s a lot to lose by stepping out of your comfort zone, but when your world is turned upside down, it often forces you to take actions that you would otherwise have considered too risky. It can be the best time for your company, or division…

Experience family beach bliss at Africa’s top resort

Images: Supplied With a recent win that places Morukuru Family De Hoop at the top of resorts in Africa, this jewel on De Hoop’s Koppie Aleen beach continues to tick all the boxes for the best close-to-nature family holiday. For absolute privacy for your family or friends, the exclusive-use villa Ocean House, about 1km away from the Beach Lodge, accommodates eight adults and four children. If you don’t mind sharing the vast five-star guest house with other like-minded guests, the four suites and honeymoon suite at Morukuru Beach Lodge are so lavish in size that you will hardly know others are around. With furniture pieces from top South African designers such as Haldane Martin and his Shongololo couch on the upper-level bar and look-out, you are in for a design…

MASERATI MEETS ALAJMO

‘Made in Italy’ is a value that unites Maserati and Chef Massimiliano Alajmo. From deep-rooted traditions to re-writing the rules as they race towards the future, these two icons of Italian culture embody the courage it takes to be a maverick and give shape and movement to this spirit with the Levante Trofeo Fuoriserie Edition for Alajmo. Massimiliano Alajmo, the youngest chef in the world to receive three Michelin stars, joins forces with the House of the Trident to create an exclusive vehicle under the aegis of the Maserati Fuoriserie customisation programme. As we move forward in the third millennium, the purest expression of luxury is the possibility to simply be yourself and a car becomes an extension of our unique identity. Trendsetters give shape to their self-expression combining elements…

YOUR VIEWS

Congratulations on the revival of DESTINY magazine. Like many other readers, I was sad when DESTINY ended, and was so happy to see it back on shelf again. I am still one of those people who loves print magazines. I have boxes and boxes of magazines. They have impacted my life in an immeasurable way. My favourite type of article is being able to see myself in someone else’s story, knowing that a positive outcome is possible for me, too. This is particularly so if the stories are about women because representation matters. The former DESTINY was clearly for women, focusing largely on being successful and living well. DESTINY Man did the same for men. I also found that the previous versions covered topics in a more direct way, which…

Isabella’s PORK FEAST

Growing up in the Free State, with the artist Frans Claerhout as a precious family friend and our priest, I was spoilt with regular visits to Catholic mission stations in Lesotho. As a little girl, I collected stamps and the nuns and priests kept their letters and stamps from all over the world for me. The young priest and nuns cured their own pork, grew the most fabulous veggies, and bred the most beautiful German Shepherd dogs. Our Wagter was a Lesotho Catholic dog, and so was our Bella. We were spoilt with cured hams and gammons, smoked pork chops and bacon, and boxes of fresh veggies, and a small puppy. And, of course, my loot of stamps, which I still have at the age of 66. I love pork…

SLOW YOUR ROLL

It’s heart-warming to catch up again with esteemed guide-turned-executive Beks Ndlovu (45) in his natural environment – outdoors. Even though he was out walking in the Constantia, Cape Town green belt and not at one of his 16 luxury tented camps and lodges established in untouched areas of Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. The African Bush Camps (ABC) CEO is typically cool, calm and collected, yet noticeably different to when we met three years ago. I put it down to the business pressures of the pandemic, but on further probing, he simply smiles and reveals his secret. Boxing. And a little yoga. “Working out has been my saviour during this stressful period. When you realise the weight of your responsibility, looking after 600 people in these times, somebody has to remain…

MOTHER OR SEDUCTRESS

Image: Gallo Images/Getty Images One of the hopes of the post-apartheid era was that it would not only free black people in general but would also free women and members of the LGBTQIA community. There were high hopes that the dawn of democracy meant higher representation of women in parliament, business and other sectors of society. This sadly did not happen in the numbers expected, but there were some changes with more women accessing careers that they previously could not even dream of – owning and leading multimillion rand businesses on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. However, despite all the strides made by real women in the real world, fiction has not imitated reality. The advertising industry and the world of reality TV series, soapies and telenovelas, and romantic comedies have…

SALT OF THE EARTH

According to many cultures, spilling salt is a bad omen and you will be cursed for seven years. To remedy your misfortune, you should throw some salt over your left shoulder with your right hand. Johannesburg-based artist Percy Maimela did no such thing when he spilled salt and his luck has been nothing but good. Percy worked for years as a merchandiser at one of South Africa’s supermarket chains and while on a lunch break one day, he spilled some salt in the storeroom. Instead of blinding the devil by throwing some over his shoulder, he liked the contrast of the white salt against the dark grey floor. Little did he know it would be the start of great luck in his creative career. “It was in 2014 when that…

The rise & rise of NFTs

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are part of the Ethereum blockchain. They provide digital artists with a mechanism to package their art so they can trade it and digitally authenticate it. The information is stored online and protected with blockchain coding. Art can be tokenised, but so can music tracks, pieces of text, apps, files or even actual physical objects. A spy pen-gun owned by anti-apartheid activist Oliver Tambo was recently auctioned as a non-fungible token to raise funds for a heritage site commemorating South Africa's struggle for democracy. What makes NFTs so special and attractive to artists and other creators is that it cannot be forged. It cannot be replaced with anything else. The artist and all subsequent owners form part of the blockchain. This explains why in some instances the…

Check your LEVELS

Images: Gallo Images/Getty Images Qhama Xhali (33) from Fourways in Johannesburg has been living with hypertension for about three years. He found out about his condition when he went for a random check at the doctor, a rare gesture for most men. When he was told he had hypertension, it didn’t surprise him because his mother also had hypertension. “It’s hereditary for me, so even though I lead a healthy lifestyle, I still got hypertension. However, I’m glad that I went for that check because I was told how to manage it. I have apps on my phone that help me to keep track,” he says, encouraging everyone to go for check-ups as early detection has been known to save lives. Qhama Xhali (33) from Fourways in Johannesburg has been…

SOLD!

Images: Supplied Arguably one of the most talked-about watch auctions last year was the ninth edition of Only Watch 2021, founded by organiser Luc Pettavino, President of the Monaco Association Against Muscular Dystrophy, to fund research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The auction, held on 6 November 2021 at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, saw watch collectors and aficionados gather to bid – sometimes through quite spectacular volleys – on bespoke watches created for the occasion and donated by 53 of the world’s best watchmakers. The final tally A jaw-dropping CHF30 million. To date, Only Watch has raised more than CHF100 million for its cause. Clinical trials are on track for 2022 when 12 boys and young men will be given a drug that researchers believe will alleviate DMD. “As the…

OF PROGRESS & ORIGIN STORIES

A young Rich Mnisi got into the habit of cutting up clothes, wrapping curtains around his body, and cutting up magazines to make paper clothing. This is his first distinct recollection of his interest in fashion, art and design. His first creative inspiration, however, was his sister, Memory. “She was so adventurous and creative in the way she looked – from the clothes she wore, to her make-up and ingenious hairstyles,” Rich shares. There are subtexts in the collision of what home is and the ideas behind what it represents. If home is an “irrevocable condition” as James Baldwin suggests, then for Rich, home is a constant state of pride. An ongoing celebration of his culture and heritage. Since its inception in 2015, the Rich Mnisi brand has influenced popular…

SMALL RIPPLES, LASTING CHANGE

14 NOVEMBER 2020 was a major turning point in entrepreneur Natasha Sydow’s life. On this Saturday, R400 stood between her and survival. Faced with the choice to either spend her last money on groceries or find creative means to expand on it, she chose the latter and turned a passion into a business idea. The result was FLAVR, a bespoke jam, condiment, preserve and spice blend company whose ground-breaking flavours pack quite a punch. “FLAVR was born out of sheer desperation to survive during lockdown,” Natasha reflects. “It’s been one hell of a journey; one that reminded me of my strengths and capabilities, because for the longest time, I relied on others to take care of me.” Prior to Covid-19 wreaking financial havoc on the balance sheets of many SMMEs,…

A MODERN-DAY GRIOT WITH BLUE-CHIP AMBITIONS

It is easy to spot when a person is living their true purpose. From the glint in their eyes to subtle fluctuations in the tone of their voice as they speak about daily routines dictated by Excel spreadsheets or aha moments driving them to be their authentic selves. They embody that chosen path of consciousness almost effortlessly, as the rest of us look on somewhat bewildered, seeing only the massive work required for what they have achieved, and the remaining big dreams they speak about quite casually. This is Bheki Dube, founder of the disruptive hybrid accommodation model, Curiocity. Reflecting on the path of his eight-year-old company that has five established properties across the country, two of them unlocked during some of the toughest economic years in South Africa, Bheki…

6 min

ALTERNATE CAREERS IN FINANCE WORTH CONSIDERING

Accounting, insurance, and banking are among the most popular career avenues in finance, however, there are other career choices that are fulfilling, high-paying (in excess of R400 000 per annum), and well worth investigating. PUBLIC MARKET INVESTOR This is a role that manages investments of both stocks and bonds. The investor needs to ensure that their portfolios, or those they’re being paid to manage, are correctly balanced. Understanding risk across various asset classes is a key skill in this type of job and learning with multi-asset providers helps traders determine how much risk they have in any given market. PRIVATE CAPITAL INVESTOR These professionals invest in equity or debt securities of privately held companies, real estate, or other assets. FINANCIAL ANALYST Analysts are often not spoken about because they’re not…

KING of couture

Images: Luciano Consolini Armand Hough @AshleyMarieFoto Gareth van Nelson @shotbycarolin @sjvanzyl…

1 min

A new era for MENTAL HEALTH at work

Images: Gallo Images/Getty Images 1 IN 6 South Africans suffer from anxiety, depression or substance-use problems, according to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG). A few weeks ago, my day began as it always did: coffee, emails, and a growing to-do list. As I added another task to my calendar, I could feel my breath getting shorter and shorter. My chest tightened, the room closed in on me, my phone beeped – a reminder to join a daily staff meeting, which I did. I was having a panic attack. The reality is that employees still feel the need to mask mental health struggles because of the stigma attached to it, with some employers not considering mental health as a fit reason for time off. It is yet to…

The state of PR in SA

“PR needs good PR” is what I said from the podium when I served as programme director at the annual PRISM Awards a few years back. At the time, I found it strange that an industry with a USP that garners publicity and promotes brands to profitability struggles to talk up its own self. Fast-forward to 2022 with a rapidly dynamic digitally driven marketing industry, my interest was piqued by a survey launched on the State of PR in the African Landscape by the Public Relations and Communication Association (PRCA). What then is the state of the PR industry in South Africa? I sounded out industry heavyweights and their views are telling. Tebogo Ditshego of Ditshego Media and the President of PRISA said: “A few challenges that have inhibited the…