Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 58, May 2014 | Page 19

Balancing Act

Expressing Himself
You know him as one of the presenters on the Expresso Morning
Show on SABC3, and may also have seen him in TV commercials or
doing MC work. That has made Katlego Maboe a household name
and well known celebrity, but what most people don’t know about
the Cape Town-based TV celebrity is that he is also a very keen
sportsman. – BY SEAN FALCONER

hen the cameras switch off and the
Expresso team wraps up the early morning’s
work on another show, the first thing Katlego
Maboe does is put on his adidas running shoes
and hit the Green Point Promenade. “I try to
take a jog every day, at a steady pace to get
my heart rate up, and I hit the gym three times
a week as well.” He also plays social soccer
on the Promenade every evening at 5pm.
“I’m more the creative midfielder, making the
through passes, and I reckon I’m definitely an
asset to my team,” says a laughing Katlego,
who mostly played hockey and cricket at
school, going on to play at provincial level for
the North West in cricket. “I was an opening
batsman and wicketkeeper, so I had to be one
of the fittest guys on the field, and running was
key to that.”

GETTING STARTED
Katlego (27) grew up in Potchefstroom, then
studied for a B.Com degree in chartered
accountancy at the North West University,
which he completed in 2007. Alongside his
passion for sport, his other passion was for
music – he actually started singing when his
grandmother was late picking him up after
school one day and he followed other kids
to the school choir auditions. He went on to
sing and tour with the North West Children’s
Choir, and then in his second year of university,
Katlego joined one of South Africa’s premier
acapella groups, Flip a Coin.
Katlego ventured into television when he
was 21, as Marathon 4/22/14 12:37 PM Page 1
Peninsula May.fh11 2013.
Modern Athleteone of the leading presenters on
DEKAT TV. A few months later he moved to

the 50/50 environmental show, and then was
approached to join the Expresso team. He has
developed a huge fan base thanks not only
to his good looks, easy-going nature, quick
sense of humour and obvious intelligence,
but also thanks to his ability to communicate
with people from all walks of life. He is fully
trilingual in English, Afrikaans and Setswana.

BUSY MAN
A typical day for Katlego starts at 4am, when
he drives to the studio to shoot the day’s
show. “We’re normally done by 8:30, after a
quick meeting to discuss plans for the next
day, I then head home again, having eaten at
the show. I like to go for a jog at 9am, then
practise a bit of guitar and write some music,
and do some work for the rest of the morning.”
He also regularly attends castings for potential
acting roles.
Around 1pm Katlego hits the gym, then it’s
back home to do some more work to prepare
for the next day’s show, and at 5pm it’s down
to the Promenade for footie with his mates.
They play till it is dark, then it’s home again,
dinner and a final bit of prep work, and Katlego
says he is in bed by 11, ready for another early
start. “I ensure I eat as correctly as possible,
getting enough veggies and protein, and I try
to look after myself, like getting enough sleep.
I’m not in top physical condition, but for a
person with limited time, I think I’m in