Latest news with #Mokhele
TimesLIVE
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
‘Becoming a Sdudla': Fitness coach Kopano Mokhele gains 30kg to walk in his clients' shoes
In a radical and deeply personal fitness experiment online coach and content creator Kopano Mokhele has been deliberately gaining 30kg with plans to lose it all by November in a bold attempt to better understand, connect with and ultimately serve his clients. The Johannesburg-based trainer, known for his digital fitness community, says he was inspired by a documentary he watched years ago featuring coaches who intentionally gained weight to empathise with their clients' struggles. One such show is Fit to Fat to Fit, which follows trainers who abandon their healthy lifestyles to join their clients in the trenches of weight loss. 'Even though it's not an original idea, the first time I saw a trainer deliberately gain weight was from a documentary, maybe 10 or 15 years ago. I'm just the first person to do it in this day and time in Africa. I knew this was going to help me grow as a coach, so that I can become more impactful to my clients,' said Mokhele. Mokhele said the idea was born from frustration over clients hitting a wall in their fitness journeys which, in fitness terms, is called a plateau where progress stalls and motivation fades. 'I always get to a point when coaching a handful of my clients where we hit a plateau. I know they can break it because it's all mental, but maybe there's a language or influence barrier. So I stopped talking to them or through them and decided to talk from them by embarking on this journey,' he said. Mokhele has amassed more than 116.4K followers and 1.3-million likes on TikTok.
Daily Maverick
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
New worlds unfolding — how Thekiso Mokhele uses AI to reshape artistic labour
Thekiso Mokhele has found a creative toolbox and is pioneering new territory for art-making. As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies reshape the boundaries of art, Thekiso Mokhele's work pushes into the speculative unknown. This is one of the reasons his art was selected by the WORLDART Gallery for the HEAT Winter Arts Festival, which takes place from 6 to 16 August and is centred on the theme, 'Other Worlding'. Blending his foundation in photography with new digital tools, Mokhele uses AI to imagine futures rooted in African narratives, memory and myth. At a recent art fair, he presented works made with AI. His marginal position was reflected in the display as his work occupied a small corner where he and another artist had works placed. 'This is where it starts,' he said. 'In five or 10 years, I'll look back and remember the exact corner.' For Mokhele, it was not about being first, it was about standing on the edge of what art might become. Mokhele is an artist based in Johannesburg, and his work with AI is fairly recent. He has a background in photography, and his artistic journey began long before the current wave of generative AI tools such as Midjourney or ChatGPT became part of today's creative toolbox. He was already digging through the deep web for tools he could use to help him see what didn't yet exist. He was looking for something that could not be done by a camera. 'I have always had an eye,' he says, describing the visual sensibility as nuances honed through the eye behind the camera. He began experimenting by testing how prompts could be shaped and worked, and this evolved with his curiosity. He came to recognition for a series of AI images, titled The Rumbling. These images were created in response to the methane gas leak explosion in the Johannesburg CBD on 19 July 2023. Inspired by the chaos, Mokhele used the destructive images to start a conversation among people about the state of South Africa's infrastructure. He often returns to this idea of curiosity of play and building. 'I want to create pieces that are going to speak to people… in a way that is deeper than just normal visuals that you'd expect. I want them to tell a story.' His workflow is complex and multilayered. Every image begins with intention, a concept, mood and composition. He constructs a vision using every tool at his disposal: photography, references, detailed prompt engineering and editing. He often uses his own photos as raw material. These are images he has shot, directed and styled, sampling and transforming them through the AI lens. Lighting, texture, framing, tone. They are intuitive but also learned. Years of working with a camera taught him how a photo should look, where the shadows should fall, and how the human body communicates through gestures and poses. These instincts guide the way he writes prompts, refines outputs and chooses what not to use. Because AI art is disruptive, it is controversial. It is threatening the status quo. It blurs the line between machine and maker, between invention and replication. And in doing so, it opens deep, uncomfortable questions: Who owns an image? What counts as authorship? Is creativity still creative if it is shared with a machine? We are not speculating anymore about it. It's here. Mokhele does not claim to have all the answers. He speaks often about how images don't make themselves. 'AI itself is another dimension because it references our world but creates what it interprets as us.' For him, AI is a tool and it is not here to erase artistic labour, but to reshape it. This has made him more aware of what he brings to the process – not less. His background in photography informs how he prompts. Every decision, every edit, every prompt is part of his intention. It is a hybrid process. One that relies on an understanding of code and colour, composition and command lines. Mokhele is still learning what the process is. Mokhele's work fits here because it is speculative. It imagines new worlds and challenges how we define what's real. He is not claiming to lead a movement, but he is claiming his space in it. His art exists in a moment that is still unfolding. 'Futurism is a duality of what we believe we're living in now and what the future will be,' he says. In many ways, his work is already part of an answer. He is not using AI to run away from art but to build on its existing characteristics. This fusion challenges the potential of African artistic production beyond colonial expectations and rigid traditions. To create work that lives in speculative worlds, future landscapes and imagined timelines. Work that is rooted in photography, but also in play, experimentation and risk. DM A longer version of this article will appear in HEAT: Emerging Artists You Should Know 2025. Mokhele is showing at WORLDART Gallery's HEAT Festival exhibition titled Technology as Palette: Imagination to Image. Meet the artist during a curator-led walkabout on 7 August at 5pm at Alliance Francaise. Visit to book and find out more about the festival.
The Citizen
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
More job cuts in Lesotho loading: How will they afford Starlink?
The potential 50% tariff hike has led to buyers from the US not placing orders, resulting in factories being forced to close. Like a domino effect, garment factories in Lesotho are closing one after the other, as the Trump administration threatens a 50% tariff hike. The closure of these factories has left many without jobs. In the same breath, Lesotho has experienced job losses after major US funding cuts to USAID and PEPFAR, led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The department was formerly led by Elon Musk. Recently, T-Connect Lesotho, a reseller of Starlink, launched. Musk recently stepped down from his position in DOGE to focus on his business interests. Starlink is his satellite internet service. However, if the Trump administration is busy causing job losses in the country, how will people afford Starlink? ALSO READ: Did Donald Trump get false info about Lesotho exports? Thousands of jobs are at risk More job cuts on the table The secretary-general of the National Clothing Textile and Allied Workers Union (Nactwu) in Lesotho, Sam Mokhele, told The Citizen he has recently been in a lot of meetings with employers over extensive lay-offs due to a lack of orders because of US tariffs. While negotiations are ongoing on the potential 50% tariff hike, the Trump administration has imposed a 10% tariff. This has led to buyers from the US not placing orders, resulting in factories being forced to close. Mokhele said the layoffs and retrenchments will negatively affect the lives of workers and their families. Looking at the bigger scale, he added that Lesotho's economy is set to be negatively impacted. Other sectors also affected He touched on how some sectors will be indirectly affected. If there is no one going to the factories to work, it means hawkers selling around the factories will be affected because there will be no one to sell to. The transport sector will also suffer because there will be fewer people to transport to work and fewer products to be transported. 'The list is endless: retail, education, health and construction sectors will be affected. Together with trade unions. 'More factories are expected to lay off workers for now, and if the tariffs situation does not change for the better, we will be faced with retrenchments, followed by the shutdown of factories.' One solution Mokhele said the only solution he sees to this situation is for the Lesotho government to negotiate with the US government to reduce the tariffs to 10%, instead of the 50%. 'If negotiations do not go well, we will have a very serious problem. Also, market diversification is needed even though we are now under pressure from the current situation. This is something the government should have done while the situation was still normal.' He also mentioned that he is unsure what will happen with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), as it is set to expire in September. Lesotho exported duty-free to the US under it. Agoa was established with the purpose of providing new market opportunities. Allowing Lesotho to export without paying taxes presented a significant opportunity for economic growth and job creation. ALSO READ: South African education programmes hit hard as USAID shuts down Disaster waiting to happen Mokhele stated that employees will not receive payment for three months. The union has been engaging with employers, with no success, in efforts to secure payment for the employees. 'We approached the government for a subsidy, but there is nothing. Really, it is going to be a disaster if things cannot change at the end of the tariffs suspension by the US government.' Starlink in Lesotho Meanwhile, the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) granted Starlink a 10-year operating licence. The internet service's presence in Lesotho is expected to create more than 10 000 jobs. Lesotho is the 23rd African country to be licensed for the service. Others on the continent include Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, Eswatini, Botswana and Ghana T-Connect Lesotho CEO Phelane Phomane said they are not going to be selling megabytes, but rather time to use the internet without limitations, and it will cost less than a loaf of bread. Starlink in SA? Starlink is not available in South Africa. However, there have been talks around introducing Musk's product to the country. Musk claimed Starlink was barred from operating in South Africa because he is not black, an allegation South African officials refuted. In May, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi published a policy direction to provide alternatives, paving the way for the Starlink satellite internet service in the country. NOW READ: Inside SA government's confused response to the USAid funding crisis
TimesLIVE
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Actor Moditle 'Boikie' Pholo honoured during film festival in North West
The festival's opening night highlight was the prestigious lifetime achievement award presented to Boikie, who was celebrated by Sebabatso Media and the festival for his contribution to South Africa's film and TV industry. Boikie is known for his roles in productions such as Lesilo Rula, Soul Buddyz, Generations and The Queen. He was lauded for his hard work, dedication and humbleness during his illustrious career. In his acceptance address, he expressed gratitude for the recognition while he is still alive, saying: 'I thank Sebabatso Media and the Khuma Film Festival team for honouring me in this way. I have been keeping away from the public since I entered the afternoon part of my life, but Naomi [Mokhele, founder of Khuma Film Festival] came to find me. For that, I am eternally grateful. 'I also thank my colleagues from the big and small screens and the theatre stage for sharing their talent with me.' Mokhele said she was saddened by the death of Presley Chweneyagae and its impact on the county's film and TV industry. 'The passing of Presley has come as a shock to the Khuma Festival and the South African film industry. No-one expected to hear the news of his passing, especially because he was young, but most importantly, this country and millions of his fans expected him to continue wowing them with iconic TV, film and stage performances,' she said. 'A true icon of this industry, Presley meant so much to many of us. We send our deepest condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and his adoring fans.'
