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Voted one of GQ’s most influential men last year, he is living up to his name as a real legend in business
In an unforgiving media landscape that has seen few entrants and even fewer new jobs created, Nkululeko Manqele has emerged as a potential mogul as the owner of two popular magazines titles that were almost lost to a turbulent economy.
Manqele, who was nicknamed Legend by his grandmother, has earned a reputation in show business as a hotshot content producer.
But he recently raised eyebrows when he emerged as the new owner of Ndalo Media’s magazine titles Destiny and Destiny Man.
City Press sat down with the 30-year-old founder and CEO of The BarLeader to get a glimpse into the life of the young man and find out how he ended up with the prized assets.
One of four siblings raised by a single mother, Manqele was born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1989.
He briefly lived in Pietermaritzburg before moving back to Durban, where he matriculated from New Forest High School in 2007.
Although he didn’t know anyone in show business, he had always wanted to be part of it: “I genuinely thought I was going to create television shows and movies. Whether it was me acting or producing, I just knew I wanted to be involved in the creative process.
“I wanted to be part of the final product. I wanted to see my name in lights and in the credits.”
Armed with a dream to conquer show business and a desire to study in the creative arts space, Manqele’s journey was derailed early on because of a lack of funds.
Read: Building social capital in young South Africans
“I had thought my family could afford tertiary [education fees], and I applied [for admission] here and abroad. I wanted to go to a specialised school and even told my mother [a teacher] that I wanted to go to the National School of the Arts, but, unfortunately, I could not. So I ended up having an involuntary gap year,” Manqele says.
That was in 2008, and the clothing retail chain store he worked for part time offered him a full-time job.
“I saw it as the perfect job after matric. I became a manager in one of the stores as a product specialist, and that gave me a lot of experience and insight into running a business,” he says.
After the brief stint as a manager and with R3 000 in savings, he packed his bags and headed to the City of Gold.
He ended up in Doornfontein, where one of his school friends lived.
“I rented a room for R1 200. The goal was to find a retail job around Rosebank. I would walk there to look for a job.
“The day I got the job, I had walked [15km] to Urban Brew Studios in Randburg and found myself in the audience. I was dressed well and I stood out and got to meet the producer,” he says.
“I had a chat and eventually I became a production assistant [in 2009]. I started that job on my birthday, May 12, and I felt that was a gift from God.”
With a salary of R1 250 as a production assistant, Manqele says he was eager to learn everything he could, and that is exactly what he did for the next five years.
“I was essentially a runner – I made tea, printed documents, delivered things, made sure there were [blank] tapes and helped the producer.
“I thought that was a blessing because I knew nothing about the TV world and was now exposed to that. I was earning about R1 250 for the first few years and my friends and my mother would help me financially,” he says.
Manqele adds that he was so grateful for the opportunity, which he embraced fully.
By the time he left, he was a content producer for some of the biggest shows at Urban Brew.
Later, he co-produced and starred in a short film titled Child. It got a lot of international exposure, presenting him with opportunities to travel abroad.
“The film was for a competition and it was a taste of the bigger picture. It opened doors for me.”
More opportunities started rolling in, among them several TV production jobs, including a few reality shows, such as Channel O Top 50, Dineo’s Diary 4, The Cover, Rich Kids 2, Living The Dream With Somizi seasons 2 and 3, and Being Bonang.
Live events included Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Akhumzi Jezile’s funerals last year, and this year’s SA Film and Television Awards.
“I bought The BarLeader as a shelf company because I liked the name. I like the meaning that you should not push the bar, but rather lead the leader. For me, that means I should set the standard,” he says.
He was a diligent student during his formative years, and learnt as much as he could to empower himself.
Today, he imparts that knowledge by upskilling his staff.
When asked about how he bagged the Destiny magazine titles, Manqele says that, contrary to popular belief, he only bought the intellectual property from the liquidators and not the company as a going concern.
“I have always loved Destiny and GQ magazines. As an adult, I have always admired Khanyi Dhlomo [Ndalo Media’s former owner] and she has been one of those people who inspired me. I am fortunate I have had an open line to her, and she’s one of the people I seek advice from,” Manqele says.
After a few meetings with Dhlomo, including a chance meeting in New York, Manqele moved his company’s premises to Ndalo Media’s offices in Bryanston, but, just a month later, it was placed under liquidation.
After keeping a close eye on the liquidation process, Manqele stepped up to the plate and bought the intellectual property of the two titles when they were put up for sale a few months ago.
“Some people think I bought it from Khanyi, but I didn’t – I bought it from the liquidators and I didn’t buy Ndalo Media at all,” he says.
The two magazines are now the group’s only print publications and are an integral part of Manqele’s broader vision for the company.
He says this vision includes big and bold plans in the digital space.
When not running the diverse company, Manqele relaxes by jogging. He also meditates and loves travelling, especially to the Big Apple.
“I am very motivated by people such as [US actor, writer, producer, comedian and director] Tyler Perry and many more locally,” he says.
Having taken bold steps in a sector notorious for swallowing purses, Manqele might just be a legend in the making.
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