Malawi – Mr 265 – Age: 23
TV presenter, Mr 265 is single and currently studying Purchasing and Supply Management. He entered Big Brother Hotshots because he always thought he could win it, when he used to watch it. ‘It’s easy to criticize people on different things, especially when you don’t know how it’s like being in their shoes,’ he says. I have watched Big Brother for a while and I have always told myself I can win the show, I can do better, but I don’t know what really goes on. So I have given myself a challenge to now step into the shoes I wasn’t wearing before and see how I will walk with them’.
Mr 265’s favourite food is crispy fried chicken, his favourite book Screw It, Let’s Do It and his favourite singer, P.Square. He enjoys watching, CSI Miami, Big Brother Africa and Suits on the small screen, and 300, The Bourne Identity, The Dark Knight Rises and The Italian Job on the big screen. His favourite actors are Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel and Robert Downey Jnr.
He won’t pretend to be someone he’s not, to win the grand prize. ‘It’s very disappointing to get booted out and know that you weren’t your real self. I would rather lose the money at the expense of being myself. Then I can say I tried my level best. Everybody has his own morals,’ says Mr 265. Asked about his feelings on knowing that the continent’s eyes will be glued to their screens 24/7, he says he’ll feel the pressure. ‘Pressure is and will be there for the first few days. I am taking it like a new job’.
He says that the best thing about Africa is that it’s very rich in natural resources, with Mangochi as his favourite place. Further afield, his favourite place is the USA, because ‘it’s a big country and has a mixture of different people with different cultural backgrounds. Raw talent is an asset,’ he says.
Mozambique
Mira
Age: 21
Mozambican student intern, Mira, likes to eat pap and beef stew, the music of Sia and Miley Cyrus and watching Lost and Covert Affairs. Her favourite book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and her favourite actor is Adam Sandler because ‘I trust him to get a chuckle out of me’. She has one older sister, and a younger brother and sister.
Her favourite place in Mozambique is Maragra. She says the best thing about Africa is that ‘it’s the Motherland – you feel the warmth here’. Her favourite faraway place is the United States, because she loves the diversity there.
If she wins the grand prize, she says she’ll build her parents a retirement home, open a soup kitchen and shelter in the heart of Maputo and start a business to create more employment opportunities.
She describes herself as ‘fun, honest, reliable, fair and considerate’ and says that she’s ‘laid-back and easy to talk to’. She enjoys people who are considerate, honest, reliable, fun and opinionated, but doesn’t like rude and judgemental people.
Zambia
Macky2
Age: 29
Hip hop musician Macky2 is from Luanshya in Zambia. His favourite book is 48 Laws of Power and his top TV shows are Suits, Crisis, Game of Thrones and Idols SA. His favourite actor is Denzel Washington, because he’s able to play so many characters and bring each one to life.
Jay-Z is both his favourite musician and his role model – the latter because ‘he’s one of the most successful entertainers of our generation’. His father has also played a huge role in Macky2’s life.
He entered Big Brother Hotshots because he believes that ‘people naturally fall in love with my personality, so I know I stand a chance of winning that grand prize and changing my life’.Macky2 says he won’t lose himself and what he believes in, along the way.
Describing himself as ‘a natural entertainer who’s loveable’, he says he always pushed himself and is never discouraged by setbacks. ‘I’m confident and I truly believe I can do anything I set my mind to,’ he says.