All-in-one money chaser
Bubbly and outspoken radio presenter, dancer, MC and actor, NSK, bares it all.
He is the guy you know but don't know. He appears to be a shy person but once he opens his mouth all that changes. Meet your breakfast show host, MC, actor and dancer, amongst many titles, NSK.
His love for making people happy started when he was still in high school by hosting events in the community of Walvis Bay. This was until nine years ago when Denzel Naobeb, known in the media fraternity as NSK, challenged himself to go beyond his town. Born and bred in Walvis Bay, NSK says he is a 'baai-naar' and gives credit to his community for grooming him because in Walvis Bay, a child belongs to everyone. When asked to describe himself he simply says he is an entertainer without limits. He said he realised that he had a passion for what he does when he hosted Miss Duneside High School. “I was usually a singer and I did very little talking so when I got a great response from the crowd I though okay, something is going on here. Later that week I delivered a speech at school and I can tell you I nailed it. That's when I was convinced that this could be my thing,” said NSK.
In 2009, NSK bid farewell to Walvis Bay for the city, like every matriculant, to come in pursuit of a better chance at life. For him things turned out the complete opposite and he says he does not regret any of his life choices. Like many, NSK recalls not being sure about what he wanted to study so he ended up studying something for the sake of being in tertiary education. “I remember fancy people from the then Polytechnic coming to my high school with pamphlets. I got that and applied for the first course I saw, human resources. Little did I know I was going to hate it,” said NSK who only stayed in school long enough to obtain a national certificate. During his short stay at varsity, NSK advanced his love for choral music by joining the Poly choir and learned something new about himself that added value to his current work. This was dancing. “There was a song that we sang in the choir that allowed us to go down a little bit. This song made me itch for more dancing and later that year I joined Equipped Dance Academy. I got exposed to a bigger crowd because choir is limited. It's because of Stanley Mareka I developed strong business ethics. It was a two for the price of one,” he said.
NSK started his radio career when he heard that Unam Radio was looking for presenters and took the opportunity. On his first trial he failed the audition. He went for another try out in 2011 and this time around, he got through. The workload became a lot and NSK was forced to drop his newfound passion dancing to give more time to radio. A highlight from his early Unam Radio days was with the programme called Industry Loops he did where he judged local music by giving very honest assessments. “My co-hosts and I picked up a lot of fans and a little bit of haters who didn't appreciate our input. Today Industry Loops is a column in a local daily that is published on Fridays. So yes, amidst all of this I am a writer too,” said NSK. At the beginning of 2012 he got a call from Radio Energy's production manager who wanted him to audition as he believed NSK had a great voice for news and presenting amongst other things. NSK says getting into Radio Energy shaped his career as he worked with many people who were interested and eager in building his presenter skills. “Energy taught me corporate governance. It taught me that as an entertainer you can't just be all about entertainment. You need to have human skills to an extent that you can hold down an interview with the president, one with an artist and a street sweeper too. It was at Energy where I learned that one could get paid just for talking and most importantly branding.” In 2015 his journey ended at Radio Energy when he joined 1FM and later this year FreshFM where he still is.
Whilst at Radio Energy, NSK also realised that his voice could earn him money and started his own business. He says the NSK brand grew when clients saw how he still continued to work when his paid gigs where done. “They saw that I could dance, talk for three hours with the same energy levels and maintain a crowd. This happened to a point where I left Energy and they still requested my services. When I work, I work. My brand is doing great,” he says.
When he is not MC-ing, presenting or dancing NSK is also a theatre actor. He has acted in two productions with the last being Tura Tour Guide. He is currently busy rehearsing for the latest production titled Madam President. It is about a woman who gets power hungry after becoming a politician and getting support from her husband. “It's a very strong play and it talks about the woman's role in today's society. It's very interesting also because there are just two actors in the whole play, myself and Nelago Shilongo,” says NSK.
The production will be at the COTA theatre school from 2 to 4 August. Tickets are N$80 and more details are available on his Facebook page.
NSK concluded with his catchphrase GMTM (Go Make That Money) and encourages people not to be shy about their hustle. “I know of people who claim to be doing what they do because it's their passion but I always ask what will pay the rent and bills. Make peace with the fact that we all need money and go get it passionately in your respective field,” he says.
June Shimuoshili
His love for making people happy started when he was still in high school by hosting events in the community of Walvis Bay. This was until nine years ago when Denzel Naobeb, known in the media fraternity as NSK, challenged himself to go beyond his town. Born and bred in Walvis Bay, NSK says he is a 'baai-naar' and gives credit to his community for grooming him because in Walvis Bay, a child belongs to everyone. When asked to describe himself he simply says he is an entertainer without limits. He said he realised that he had a passion for what he does when he hosted Miss Duneside High School. “I was usually a singer and I did very little talking so when I got a great response from the crowd I though okay, something is going on here. Later that week I delivered a speech at school and I can tell you I nailed it. That's when I was convinced that this could be my thing,” said NSK.
In 2009, NSK bid farewell to Walvis Bay for the city, like every matriculant, to come in pursuit of a better chance at life. For him things turned out the complete opposite and he says he does not regret any of his life choices. Like many, NSK recalls not being sure about what he wanted to study so he ended up studying something for the sake of being in tertiary education. “I remember fancy people from the then Polytechnic coming to my high school with pamphlets. I got that and applied for the first course I saw, human resources. Little did I know I was going to hate it,” said NSK who only stayed in school long enough to obtain a national certificate. During his short stay at varsity, NSK advanced his love for choral music by joining the Poly choir and learned something new about himself that added value to his current work. This was dancing. “There was a song that we sang in the choir that allowed us to go down a little bit. This song made me itch for more dancing and later that year I joined Equipped Dance Academy. I got exposed to a bigger crowd because choir is limited. It's because of Stanley Mareka I developed strong business ethics. It was a two for the price of one,” he said.
NSK started his radio career when he heard that Unam Radio was looking for presenters and took the opportunity. On his first trial he failed the audition. He went for another try out in 2011 and this time around, he got through. The workload became a lot and NSK was forced to drop his newfound passion dancing to give more time to radio. A highlight from his early Unam Radio days was with the programme called Industry Loops he did where he judged local music by giving very honest assessments. “My co-hosts and I picked up a lot of fans and a little bit of haters who didn't appreciate our input. Today Industry Loops is a column in a local daily that is published on Fridays. So yes, amidst all of this I am a writer too,” said NSK. At the beginning of 2012 he got a call from Radio Energy's production manager who wanted him to audition as he believed NSK had a great voice for news and presenting amongst other things. NSK says getting into Radio Energy shaped his career as he worked with many people who were interested and eager in building his presenter skills. “Energy taught me corporate governance. It taught me that as an entertainer you can't just be all about entertainment. You need to have human skills to an extent that you can hold down an interview with the president, one with an artist and a street sweeper too. It was at Energy where I learned that one could get paid just for talking and most importantly branding.” In 2015 his journey ended at Radio Energy when he joined 1FM and later this year FreshFM where he still is.
Whilst at Radio Energy, NSK also realised that his voice could earn him money and started his own business. He says the NSK brand grew when clients saw how he still continued to work when his paid gigs where done. “They saw that I could dance, talk for three hours with the same energy levels and maintain a crowd. This happened to a point where I left Energy and they still requested my services. When I work, I work. My brand is doing great,” he says.
When he is not MC-ing, presenting or dancing NSK is also a theatre actor. He has acted in two productions with the last being Tura Tour Guide. He is currently busy rehearsing for the latest production titled Madam President. It is about a woman who gets power hungry after becoming a politician and getting support from her husband. “It's a very strong play and it talks about the woman's role in today's society. It's very interesting also because there are just two actors in the whole play, myself and Nelago Shilongo,” says NSK.
The production will be at the COTA theatre school from 2 to 4 August. Tickets are N$80 and more details are available on his Facebook page.
NSK concluded with his catchphrase GMTM (Go Make That Money) and encourages people not to be shy about their hustle. “I know of people who claim to be doing what they do because it's their passion but I always ask what will pay the rent and bills. Make peace with the fact that we all need money and go get it passionately in your respective field,” he says.
June Shimuoshili
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