Andre Lekota
Role model of the week
Would it make sense if I was keeping you posted with Vaal's influential or hardworking people and socialites if I excluded the man of the Night himself, Andre Lekota ? Known for the number of events he has organised in our hometown, Andre Lekota is one of the people who takes disappointment as a building block and a stepping stone. Ever- so- motivated and hard at work, He is the one I chose for this week's role model blog post. It was a rather hectic Thursday when I had this interview at Vaal's Number 1 Salon, So Bling but what he had to say revived my tired spirit!
Let's find out what he has to say about his life in the nightlife.
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| Andre Lekota and Prudy Blue at So Bling. |
Pru: “Where are you based, in the Vaal
triangle?”
Dre : “ I am from Sebokeng zone 14.”
Pru : “What role do you play in the Vaal Triangle? A lot of people know you but what do you do?”
Dre :
“I’ve always been a peoples person and I am a socialite, I love going out
, I am moving towards becoming an event specialist. With all the events that are
coming up now e.g. Uniform Party that’s coming up on the 15th, there
are a couple of big other ones coming out after that. Including fixing the Vaal
Nightlife awards. I am a marketing guru as well. I am graduating pretty soon.”
Pru: “What were you studying?”
Dre: “It’s not necessarily a full degree;
it’s an online marketing course that I’ve been doing. I didn’t study Marketing, I
did Financial Information systems. In retrospect I wouldn’t have; it’s almost
like I did the course for my parents. My love was always entertainment, it was
always events.”
Pru : “The Vaal School Uniform Party, your
event. What inspired that? What is the concept behind the Vaal School Uniform Party?"
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| Vaal School Uniform Party line up. |
Dre : “This is a brand that's been happening
in the Vaal. It used to be done by DJ Fresh and I only joined in afterwards. There
are people who initiated this event from the on set,which is Mpumi from Kasi entertainment and *Kgethang from K events. They came to me afterwards and we briefly spoke. Now after
the Clash of the Titans, we sat down again and we looked at what they would need
from me and what I would want out of the event and then we formed some sort of a partnership
going forward into this event."
Pru: “How was the turnout at Clash of the Titans?”
Dre : "It was turned up. It was packed. It
was a very successful event. It was a solid event, at some stage they weren’t even
allowing people to come in anymore.I have never been to a Cappello event and finding out that people can't come in anymore because it's too packed, so basically those were the numbers of my event."
Pru : “ Are you someone who’s willing to
educate the youth while doing or having your fun entertainment and concepts? Or are you mainly into the entertainment
industry ?”
Dre : "I am naturally deeply invested into education. When you look at it this way, next month we are having the *winter tournament again, which is called the Elias Nale *Ubuntu Challenge, so that's one of the things I am part of and there are a couple of people whom I help with regards to tuition and stuff or I connect them with people who can pay their tuition and so forth. I've always been invested in education, whether it be scholarships or learnerships. Whenever there are posts for learnerships , I always spread the word,I always share those particular posts. When there are job opportunities available,I always share those. So, I am a strong believer that education is really important because ; for the like of better terms attached to it,one of the things that you learn out of education is common sense. Whether you will be going into business or whether you are going to still be working for someone , the basic principles about everything remain the same. That's why if everything is in my call,I have the means. When someone comes to me and tells me ' I've been applying for a business course or whatever.' If I'm in a position to do it, I take money out of my own pocket and pay for the students tuition. Another reason why, for the past 15 years I've been doing this is because when I was still studying , I became aware that if you pass all your subjects with an average of 75% or higher, then you get your tuition back, so it means that if I'm not present next year when the person gets their tuition back then they can use it and study for the following year."
Pru : "Personally I'd like to think you have a mentor , a friend who really motivates you, either a mentor , a friend or someone who's really close to you,who pushes you to do everything that you do. Who would you say that person is?
Dre : " You'd have to start the hierarchy with the Alpha and Omega,which is God and then you have my mother and sister on the same level and her husband obviously, then you will have one of my closest friends Dimakatso Thaele. There are many people. Some of them think that they are just speaking to me but many of them have no idea their input matters to me, such as the owners of the Vaal Monateng Cafe, Jomo and Teboho. Eveytime I'm with those guys there is something I pick up from them and I try my level best to actually make an effort to altering a particular problem they highlight with me.
I've got someone like DeeToy. Look, me and Deetoy have our fights but I mean he's one of the few people who understands me and still speaks bluntly to me without thee being any backlash or issues. There's a hierarchy of people. I don't just take consultation from one person, there are many people. There is,however, one person I can confide in before I can decide I'm doing an event,it's Dima. If I come up with a concept, we sit down. Sometimes, I get the answers I'm looking for from her facial expressions because I know her so well . It will say to me " I don't like it" or other times she will be blunt to me and say to me 'Andre maybe you can change this' or ' That has been done too many times, don't do it.' So, I love starting things from scratch and conceptualizing them.
There are a lot of events that are happening around the Vaal around Gauteng, Bloemfontein, actually around the country,which I have conceptualized and sold to someone else. So, that's another avenue of revenue that I have managed to make for myself , because I know I wont be able to do maybe "1 2 3" during the Durban July : then I can just approach my contacts that side and tell them 'gents this is what I have for you' . Even last year with Macufe ,almost every year there is something I am involved in, whether it's my own event or whether it's just me conceptualizing the whole event and sending it over to someone who is in a better financial position or has better resources being executed."
Pru : "I won't say how old you are but you are old enough,ha-ha. Do you have wedding plans on your mind?"
Dre : "Well,I have tried once too many times. I'm actually very comfortable right now because ; to invest so much into relationships and for you to get to a point and feel this is it then it fails..." (sounds reluctant ) " If it happens it happens, I'm not going to go out seeking for it. I'm comfortable at the moment being by myself. There is an occasional kiss here and there but I'm not emotionally invested at the moment. If push leads to a shove, maybe one of my exes could be my ideal wife but I'm not looking. If it hits me, lucky. If it doesn't, I've got a beautiful son. My energy moves to all that.
Pru : Well, thank you for your time Andre and I wish you all the best with all your events plans and the Vaal School Uniform Party.
There,we have it ladies and gentleman. The down to earth yet so vibrant Andre Lekota took his time off to feed us with news on what his role is , who his mentors are, plans and how he operates Vaal's Night Life.
We wish him all the best for his Vaal School Uniform Party and I am confident that the turn out will outdo Clash of the Titan's turn out! haha.
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| Andre looking classy in his suit. |
Prudy Blue
xx
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