‘Alphi’ is putting smiles on people’s faces, changing lives

Tik Tok star Sipho “Alphi” Mkhwanazi decided to quit his comfortable job as the head of communication and marketing for South National Parks seven months after the social media bug bit him.

“There was just so much work to do on both fronts. Traditional work required me to give my all, while my other dream also required so much from me. I couldn’t balance both of them,” he told Time Out this week

Since then life has changed forever for the 29-year-old from Daveyton since his very first video. He has been able to forge a very lucrative career online whose skit videos have made him an internet sensation.

“The first video that I posted was of me sitting in the bathtub after a very long walk. I was just frustrated and I vented that ‘the day I get my flat stomach, I am going to be the most disrespectful person you could ever imagine’, because I felt then that people disrespect us because we have big bellies,” he said.

“I was not on Tik Tok at that time and so I posted that video on WhatsApp. People took that video and shared it around because they related to it. That video went as far as the UK and the US, and trended for a long time.

“I am told that some people started using it as a soundtrack to their exercise routines, as motivation, to lose the belly. While that was happening, that was the beginning of my career,” he said.

He has since gone to create a variety of skit videos, some inspired by his growing up and his mother. “My mother is my rock and I use her as reference for some of my videos because it’s always easier to look within, you know.

“She is my alter ego, I am a reincarnation of my mother with these videos and the content that I post. She is not as bubbly nor is she in-your-face as everyone would assume but the characters that I portray of her are exactly who she is,” he said.

Although he has been a small-time MC for the past 11 years, his new-found fame has landed him on big corporate stages and he will be co-hosting his first biggest lifestyle event alongside Somizi Mhlongo at the Exclusive White party at Carnival City in Brakpan on the East Rand.

“It’s nerve wracking to be right next to SA’s best, because Somizi is incredible, but also, I am excited to have the opportunity to work with somebody of that stature. But also, it’s so pleasing to see that all my efforts are being recognised and people are eager to work with me and give me that opportunity that I have been looking for,” he said.

With his mantra being “put smiles on people’s faces, affect lives positively and travel God’s beautiful earth”, Alphi says he is living his dream.

“I just landed from Zanzibar because of my work through Tik Tok. So, I do believe that my mantra is coming into fruition. The responses that I am getting from people, that my content is brightening up their days in different circumstances that they find themselves in – all these pockets of achievements speak to the bigger picture and they are a pat on the back. I feel honoured,” he said.