Avukile Mabombo, 28, Hennessy Brand Manager

MY GRANDFATHER

A true gentleman at 89 not out. Wise, honest, funny and hard working.

MY MOTHER

My mom worked extremely hard for me to be able to be where I am today and because of that, failure is not an option for me. I don’t think as a child you fully appreciate the sacrifices and hard work a single parent has to make so it’s up to me to ensure that the effort she put in was not in vain.

SOUTH AFRICA

We are a people with a profusion of stories and experiences. The good, the bad and the ugly is what makes us unique and once you accept this is when you open yourself up to the richness of the country. If you allow yourself to step out of your world and engage with people of different cultures, religion, geographic areas and interests you grow yourself as an individual. We tend to think that being agreeable and diplomatic is the only way to operate. The “Rainbow Nation” and “Ubuntu” is all gravy but don’t be afraid of conflict or disagreements (non-violent obviously) because that’s the only way to achieve progress.

NEW YORK CITY

The energy. The hustle. The contrasts. The only place I have visited outside of South Africa that I can easily see myself living. There is no mediocrity in New York. You can draw inspiration from the guy at the top floor of an office building on 5^th Avenue to the old lady running a Laundromat in Greenwich Village. New Yorkers just make it happen.

MUSIC

Music is my companion in whatever I’m doing. If I’m in a good mood I listen to music. If I’m in a bad mood, I listen to music. There are so many artists that inspire and influence me for various reasons.

Kanye West for his creativity and unapologetic ego

Jay Z because he is the smartest that has ever done it

Robin Thicke for the way he speaks about love with no reservations

TKZee & Bongo Maffin for being the shining light for many young, black artists of today

The Roots are the epitome of musical excellence

Zakes Bantwini for the care and effort he puts into his craft

Ciara just for making that “Ride” music video *_*

AUTEUR DIRECTORS

Very often in life creativity is marginalized in the name of business and one place where this is most prevalent is Hollywood. I have huge respect for directors like Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone, Woody Allen and Spike Lee who have managed to retain their creative influence and credibility within their work in the face of the finance machine, to the extent that the creative doesn’t give way to the business side of things but rather their creativity is what drives the business.

GOLDEN CHINA CONSOLE

This has been a metaphor that I have applied to so many aspects of my life. “iTV game” as we referred to it back in the day is the first materialistic thing I can remember wanting with all of my heart. I learnt about patience. I learnt about priorities. I learnt about saving. I learnt about humility. I learnt about friendship hierarchies. I learnt about jealous and envy. I learnt about status and social class. I learnt about setting goals. I learnt about reward and I learnt that I can stay up all night doing one thing.

COMPETITION

Iron sharpens iron. I enjoy being in an environment of winning people who can challenge me. I have a very strong competitive spirit and I don’t like losing.

PASSION

I don’t believe you can be truly successful in anything you aren’t passionate about. I always look to do and put myself in environments that are not only stimulating but that I have strong affinity towards. I find people with passion in their lives are just generally more pleasant to be around.

ME TIME

I love going out and spending time with my friends and family but one of the most sacred things to me is my time alone. It’s when I get to zone out and think about my life. I’m also not very big on small talk so if I don’t have anything to say to someone I’d rather retreat into my own thoughts as opposed to try force conversation. I’m Ray Charles to uncomfortable silences. I always have something to keep me occupied in my head