Only The Brave: Recent Episodes
Dane Smith
A conversation with men and women from all walks of life addressing challenges they're facing in society. We will leave no topic undisclosed, everything on the table will be unpacked. We heal through communication.
Lets talk about friends baby. On this episode I speak to one of my closest friends about the corner stones of life "friendships". Having gone through adversities of our own it took us some time to mend our friendship and grow individually and come back and make amends. We discuss the challenges that come with friendships so when you turn into this episode be sure to enjoy it with a friend. Enjoy.
On this episode we chat to founders of Shippii, a courier start up that has seen great success since its inception during the pandemic. They offer merchants an affordable and safe service around Gauteng, Eswatini and Botswana.
Women have been calling on men to speak out against abuse, and my guest on today's episode bares it all, he shares his journey with us. He founded Ride Abuse based on his own trauma and his goal is to reach 1 million boys and girls and plant a seed of excellence through his workshops as he cycles through South Africa and plans on spreading the message through Africa. #Abusestopswithme
South Africa is gripped with domestic violence and the WHO has ran a study and found that there are 60 000 reported cases in South Africa, however that number is much higher due to the cases that go unreported. Nandipha who is brave enough to share her experience of abuse and she takes us through her traumatizing experience and how she was able to work through it.
I have been on a journey of self discovery and I there is so much beauty in healing, all my life I have blamed the people around me for the experiences I've gone through and I've spent most of my life running away from my problems. I went on a journey to understand my story and asked the uncomfortable questions I was so afraid to ask and to my surprise I was met with open arms while asking those questions. I have healed for myself so I can cultivate meaningful relationships with those around me. I wrote a blog post on onlythebravepodcast.org that gives a brief synopsis of my journey and it has been so powerful for me and I hope it inspires every reader and listener to face their demons head on. I love you for listening enjoy!
Following the unrest in South Africa and celebrating youth month, I chat to Sefenya and try to understand what we as youth are doing wrong and how we can collaborate to make South Africa a thriving economy. Are we collaborating with each other or is classism at play? Are we dealing with generational trauma? In this two part conversation join in on the conversation and lets help each other move forward.
In this season I welcome a new set of audience and open up the platform to YouTube, I've always had an insecurity about doing this podcast yet alone a YouTube channel! However I have learnt that its more about the message and not about me. In this episode I recap what I've been up to building up to the shooting of this season, I have had challenges along the way and still experience them as I start uploading the content, but I have come to understand that those challenges build resistance and character. I want people to take away from this episode that it important to keep learning and getting to know ourselves as cliche as that might sound its true.
If you want a visual presentation of the podcast do join me and subscribe to the YouTube channel "Only The Brave Podcast".
Thanks to each and every guest who joined me on this new journey, your stories have touched many lives and I will continue to provide this platform for as long as life allows me. We need to be kinder to our brothers and sisters in the name of "everyone is facing a demon". I have been allowed to be vulnerable through this platform and will continue to do so and inspire more conversations. For season 2 story telling email me on bravemensa@gmail.com. I love you for listening!
My high school friend Leigh-Anne joins me in conversation as a last-minute guest, we discuss finding our passion in our community Eldorado Park. We talk about our experiences with our parents and how we want to help our community. Leigh-Anne’s daughter Nova makes her podcast debut.
I was pretty nervous going into this conversation with Tyla and we recorded in a wholesome space in Cape Town, Tyla gives us some much-needed insight. As a registered counsellor she can screen community members and give them some crisis management tools. She studied psychology not because of the messiah complex, but to give a new face to the industry.
Reflecting on her relationship with her dad Tyla says “The patriarchy is strong, and her dad only has daughters and as expected her dad was very stern and dominate”. As he and his kids grew and her father understanding what it Is to be a man, he become a lot softer and open minded. Her father has shown a willingness to learn as his gotten older his looking at alternative ways to parenting as it is no longer parent child but parent adult. Men need to allow themselves the space to be soft as it does a lot for you as a person to engage in that space and it benefits the people around you.
It is our responsibility to do our part when engaging with our parents to be more intentional for a healing outcome.
When it comes to toxic masculinity in vulnerable communities and the layers that exist there, what stands out is that personal is political ad without the capacity to have a full-time job your sense of security is compromised, and with the feminist movement women have become the providers and men are struggling to show up as a man because they have lost their sense of self.
Email me on bravemensa@gmail.comif you’re interested in sharing your story with us.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Thembenkosi “Tiger”
Chairperson of Royal Tigers FC, a community builder and mentor, Tiger mentors’ boys in his community, he tries to teach the boy child life lessons through football.
Managing the boy’s parents has been a challenge for Tiger but he has used it as an opportunity to connect with parents and partner them with different organizations that can better meet their needs.
Pride stands in the way of a man when he needs to ask for help. Men have this idea that they have everything under controlled. Surround yourself by people you can be Vulnerable with. Society needs to be kind to one another and realize that we are human and have emotional needs that need to be met.
When comes to GBV we need to deal with the problem and not the emotions, men have used GBV to display dominance, and to reverse that we need to rehabilitate the perpetrator. There needs to be consistency when it comes to solving the GBV pandemic.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Guys I recorded the podcast at home and the kids were on top form lol!
Berneth Koopman-Kelber hails from a small country in Southern Africa and had to deal with the community pressures of being a man in what we call community standards of masculinity.
Opening up about his journey as a Gay man and how that has shaped the way he has carried himself in his new environment. He found himself once he moved to Johannesburg South Africa. He had to deal with his own Shame because he was not comfortable with the person, he was based on his up bringing.
We need to humanize challenges and not box or label them based on gender, race and sexuality
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
I sat down with newly wed and business owner Shane Biegnaar as he opened up about his journey before tying the knot as well as setting healthy boundaries when it comes to family. He says his parents has set the bar as to how he should navigate through life but of cause life is a personal journey and your own personality will drive your decisions. Therapy has helped him and his now wife understand each other more and he was open about it to his friends and those around him.
Shane has had business ups and downs but says staying focus and consistent has helped him achieve success, he has been generous enough to provide an amazing opportunity for 5 young individuals to get a chance to score themselves an internship at The Bizniz Media "an e-commerce agency that is obsessed with growing businesses and brands, we leverage the power of the Shopify platform to design, build and optimize beautiful e-commerce websites for fashion, beauty, luxury and lifestyle brands. We love partnering with merchants to help them scale through growth development, social media marketing, commerce conversion optimisation, paid advertising and Shopify shore development services" Shane says.
To get in touch with The Bizniz Media email Shane or slide into his DMs instagram
Shabiebiegnaar8@gmail.com
@shabie_mac
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Hope I do not offend my Tswana listeners I have since learned how to pronounce Tumi’s surname.
Masculinity is a personal journey; the onus lies with us and we need to trust and have faith in ourselves.
“Men don’t cry we weep”, seeing my father cry was an unforgettable moment, crying is necessary to let out those emotions and to do so in a safe space.
Losing close friends is painful and humbling which forces you to deal with your emotions on a different scale. And when dealing with these experiences it is important to have a support group. There is a stigma that going to therapy makes you look weak among the generation that raised us and there is a lack of appreciation for it.
I have exhibited toxic traits but with self-reflection I have worked on changing my ways for the good of my younger sister and changing your ways is a constant journey.
Vulnerability takes time.
29:30min hunter joins in on the conversation in the background
Plug the business time!
“Clayholdings Est in 2017 helps make the tech experience better for everyone, the journey has been long, but consistency has kept us around”. They sponsor varies NGOs whose aim is to uplift our society through their work.
clayholdings.com for more information.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Society has been struggling with addressing Shame, Vulnerability, Insecurities, and Toxic Masculinity/Femininity. Only The Brave a spin off from my NGO Brave Men SA further provides a platform not only for men but women as well to address the mentioned challenges so that we can come up with solutions as one. Email us your episode ideas bravemensa@gmail.com
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app