During April 2015, Flow became the habitat of five new Flowstars. In true superhero style each has been working his or her magic from the get-go. Eddie, Sharp-Lee, Barbara, Spha and Lerato, we love you already!
Edwina van der Burg
Eddie, the undercover and street-smart fairy godmother.
Superpower: wordsmith.
Favourite work memory: being a cub reporter at South newspaper and covering Madiba’s release from prison.
Fear: “Waking up one day and thinking that I was too scared to explore every possibility.”
Secret indulgence: crab curry from Fisherman’s Plate in Cyrildene.
Recommended books:
- The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
- The Red Tent – Anita Diamant
- The Millennium Trilogy – Stieg Larsson
- The Fault in our Stars – John Green
- Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
Quote: “No matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.” – Lupita Nyong’o
Ideal: “I want to give every child, regardless of their background, one thing that they want and don’t have. I want to be Santa Claus.”
Can’t live without: words.
Sharp-Lee Mthimkulu
Undercover commander of Starship Enterprise, the person who scouts out new planets in undiscovered galaxies; sometimes the ice-cream genie.
Superpower: graphic design.
Fear: “The dark, no unknown unknowns, the things that I can’t comprehend yet.”
Recommended speeches:
- Marcus Garvey – Man Know Thyself: “... few of us can understand what it takes to make a man... One who will go out and make conditions to suit himself...”
- Charlie Chaplin – The Great Dictator’s Speech: “... you, the people, have the power – the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure...”
- Martin Luther King – Final Speech: “... we are God's children. And that we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live...”
- Patrice Lumumba – African Unity and National Independence: “... Africans, let us Unite. Africans let us walk hand in hand with those who want to help us make this beautiful continent a continent of freedom and justice!”
Ideal: “I want to understand it all. I want to travel everywhere and study everything. Every place has its own feel and character which come with its own knowledge and blessings.”
Quote: “I’m constantly trying to improve my rhetoric in the hope that one day I can convince people to make ice-cream free for all (insert evil laugh).”
Can’t live without: a pencil and a blank piece of paper.
Barbara Fouché
Undercover light maker.
Superpower: imparting new skills and empowering people.
Favourite memory: “Roughing it in Lesotho.”
Fear: evil, snakes – “They don’t have legs.”
Ideal: start my own business in training.
Quote: “I delight in watching the light go on in people’s eyes.”
Recommended:
- Despicable Me – “I love animation.”
- The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared – Jonas Jonasson
- Any novel by Jodi Piccoult
Secret indulgence: sleep (and walking dogs in the park).
Can’t live without: “My lovely sister, Kat!”
Sphamandla Mkhwanazi
Spha, undercover George Clooney, aka Danny Ocean.
Danny: Ten oughta do it, don't you think?
Rusty: [Stares off in silence, not looking at Danny]
Danny: You think we need one more?
Rusty: [Silence]
Danny: You think we need one more.
Rusty: [Silence]
Danny: All right, we'll get one more.
Rusty: [Blinks]
Best memory: “As a high school student, my friends and I used to play soccer every afternoon and on weekends. One Friday my dad brought this new gadget home – a computer. I couldn’t leave the house for the whole weekend. Not even for soccer. I got stuck in that house.”
Recommended movies:
- Oceans' Eleven
- Lucky Number Slevin
- Law-Abiding Citizen
- Hitch
- Steve Jobs
Ideal: Donate a lot of money to HIV orphanages. Travel to Paris, Zimbabwe, Dubai, Mainland China and Rwanda.
Can’t live without: “A computer. I shall buy a computer before I buy a washing machine or a TV.”
Quote: “I like challenges!”
Secret indulgence: Tex chocolate.
Lerato Matema
Undercover sidekick to John McClane.
Superpower: strategy, multimedia design, crocheting.
Quote: “When I watched The Land Before Time when I was six, I cried because of the sad story of the four orphaned dinosaurs, but I loved the beautiful dinosaur animation. I knew then what I wanted to do – become a designer.”
Fear: open sliding doors – there just might be witches that fly around on loaves of bread.
Recommended movies:
- The Walking Dead
- The Terminator Trilogy
- Die Hard quadrilogy
- Lord of the Rings
- Star Trek
Ideal: “To have a Wakaberry machine in my house.”
Secret indulgence: skittles at midnight.
Can’t live without: lip balm (and the people I love).
We are super-excited to have Eddie, Sharp-Lee, Spha, Barbara and Lerato at Flow Communications.
Don't be surprised when Marvel contacts them.
