Listen To Your Footsteps

Actor, poet, musician and social activist Antonio David Lyons joins Listen To Your Footsteps to talk about grief, ancestors and what it means to keep stepping through every open door.
Raised between Jamaican, Bahamian and African American worlds, Antonio traces how dance, poetry and libraries became early places of healing and imagination, long before New York stages or South African screens.
He shares how a stalled career in Los Angeles led to depression, envy and a promise to protect his soul, eventually pushing him to leave Hollywood, move to South Africa and rebuild an authentic lane across acting, house music, racial justice workshops and foundation leadership.
From Hotel Rwanda and Generations to the Valerie J MaynardFoundation and Georgetown University, his story shows what a true portfolio life can look like when you stop waiting for permission.
The conversation moves deep into grief, as Antonio reflects on losing his mother, stepmother and mentor, and learning that “you must hold yourself” while staying rooted in Yoruba spirituality and the belief that he is his ancestors and his ancestors are him.
Together with host Kojo Baffoe, he explores therapy, ocean rituals, responsibility to family and why some people are drawn to chaos while others discipline themselves towards peace.
If you are wrestling with loss, thinking about leaving an industry to save your soul, or wondering how to build a creative portfolio life that actually feels like yours, this episode offers language, companionship and a gentle push towards your next open door.

Recorded at Vodcast TV

Chartered marketer, brand strategist and podcast host Mpeo Nkosi joins Listen To Your Footsteps to talk about burnout, career change and choosing an intentional life beyond corporate comfort.
In this honest conversation, she shares how staying too long in the wrong role made her physically ill, why she now works three days a week and what it really takes to design the next 23 years of your working life on purpose.
We explore the psychology of consumers, the difference between skills and job titles, and how storytelling can help youbuild brands, businesses and careers that actually fit who you are.
Mpeo opens up about parenting a 23-year-old, letting go of control, navigating a blended family and getting married at 36 after deciding she might never meet her person.
If you are a mid-career professional, creative or entrepreneur questioning success, this episode offers practical reflection prompts and language you can use to renegotiate your relationship with work, time and validation.
Listen in for grounded wisdom on owning your choices, redefining stability and giving yourself permission to live an unscripted, more deliberate life.

Before he became one of the most respected voices shaping South Africa’s music ecosystem, Refiloe Ramogase was a boy in a Catholic school uniform learning discipline, structure and the emotional silence that often comes with it.
His path moved through political science dreams, economic pressure, call centre shifts, artist management battles and industry boardrooms. Along the way, he learned that leadership is not defined by title or visibility, but by the willingness to disrupt yourself repeatedly and consciously.
In this powerful episode of Listen To Your Footsteps, Refiloe reflects on:
How Catholic school discipline formed his worldview, ambition and emotional habits.
The economic realities that pushed him from political dreams into the corporate world.
The moment he stepped into the music industry and saw the structural gaps hurting artists.
Why the industry needs better systems, policies and protection rather than more stars.
The emotional weight of grief and how loss reshaped his identity, presence and priorities.
How therapy helped him unlearn inherited patterns and build healthier ways of being.
The transformative role of fatherhood and raising daughters with emotional intelligence.
Why leadership rooted in self-disruption creates better teams, systems and legacies. 
Refiloe speaks with clarity, humour and emotional honesty, offering a rare look into the internal and external work required to lead in creative industries. His story is not about chasing power.
It is about becoming the kind of person who can hold power responsibly.
Whether you work in music, lead people, raise children or are navigating your own evolution, this episode will shift how you think about leadership, identity and the systems we build.
Listen now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Afripods⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can find the latest from Refiloe on the following platforms:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠| ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkTree⁠, or get the latest from Refiloe Ramogase Productions by visiting LinkedIn | Instagram⁠
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zebra Culture Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Recorded at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vodcast TV⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Show Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Kweku 'Taygo' Baffoe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ayob Vania

Siphiwe Mhlambi’s story begins with rupture. Abandoned as a child, raised without answers, and left to assemble a sense of belonging from fragments, he discovered a camera at thirteen and found more than a hobby. He found a lifeline. A discipline. A language. And eventually, a world that would let him build himself, frame by frame.
Today, Siphiwe stands as one of South Africa’s most respected documentary and jazz photographers, a quiet custodian of history whose images have travelled far beyond the stages and streets where they were born. His archive does more than capture musicians or moments. It preserves a culture, honours overlooked lives, and restores dignity to stories that might otherwise vanish.
In this powerful episode of Listen To Your Footsteps, Siphiwe reflects on:
How childhood abandonment shaped his relationship with silence, searching and storytelling
The moment a camera became both structure and salvation
Why jazz is not just a genre but a philosophy that shaped his way of seeing
His role as an archivist of South African culture and why documentation is a form of justice
The mentors, communities and chosen family who gave him roots
The emotional labour of photographing other people’s truths while confronting his own
Siphiwe speaks with humility, precision and emotional clarity, offering a rare look into a life shaped by creative resilience. His reflections remind us that healing is slow work, artistry takes courage, and legacy is built through consistent, deliberate witnessing.
Whether you know his photographs or meet him here for the first time, this episode reveals the human story behind the lens: a boy becoming a man, a seeker becoming an archivist,and an artist learning to belong.
Listen now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Afripods⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can find the latest from Siphiwe on the following platforms:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠| ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , or visit ⁠siphiwemhlambi.com⁠
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zebra Culture Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Recorded at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vodcast TV⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Show Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Kweku 'Taygo' Baffoe⁠⁠⁠⁠
Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ayob Vania

From natural hair blogging before it was a movement to podcasting long before it was mainstream, Ntsiki Mkhize has spent her entire life arriving in spaces early.
Today she is a social entrepreneur, author, speaker, mentor, and founder of Mentor, a global mentorship community for women navigating entrepreneurship, leadership, and social impact.
But her story did not begin in boardrooms or ecosystems. It started at a family table where she was encouraged to question everything, design her own path and live “on purpose, on purpose.”
In this episode of Listen To Your Footsteps, Ntsiki opens up about:
Growing up with young parents who created room for her voice, her ideas and her tenacity
Why she entered Miss South Africa as a teenager and later returned with an afro that challenged the norms of beauty and representation
What it means to be “ahead of the curve” and why timing, not talent, often determines whether an idea succeeds
The truth about burnout, reinvention, and rebuilding a mentorship ecosystem from scratch during COVID
How her global mentorship platform, book, magazine and corporate work converge into a deeper purpose centred on women, youth, entrepreneurship and inclusion
The role mentors have played in her evolution and how individuals and organisations can structure mentorship that actually transforms lives
Why she is now being invited into tech, finance and policy spaces and what excites her about becoming a woman shaping Africa’s future
The healing and grounding she found through swimming and free-diving after a traumatic experience
Whether she is building communities, writing stories, designing ecosystems or diving ten metres underwater to relearn trust in her body, Ntsiki shows that purpose is not an accident. It is a deliberate act. A daily alignment. A way of being.
This conversation is a blueprint for anyone trying to navigate purpose, timing, ambition and reinvention.
Listen now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Afripods⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can find the latest from Ntsiki on the following platforms:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠| ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , or visit ntsikim.co.za
Subscribe to:
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WATCH | LISTEN⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zebra Culture Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Recorded at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vodcast TV⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Show Music by ⁠⁠⁠Kweku 'Taygo' Baffoe⁠⁠⁠
Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ayob Vania