Dr Fezile MKHIZE

ECHOES OF THE PAST BRING HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

His swanky style and the confidence with which he walked made him stand out as he arrived. He entered through the regal doors of Nineteen by Michael and we knew, this was going to be a good chat. Currently the co-presenter of Top Travel and the recent winner of Mr Supernational South Africa, Dr Fezile Mkhize is no stranger to the limelight. Yet, his demeanour is typical of someone who invites conversation and engagement.

Together with his partner, Dr Anesu Mbizvo, he's been travelling all over, filming Top Travel after taking the baton from former Top Travel presenters, Janez Vermeiren and Jeannie D. Dr Fez, as followers and fans have come to know him - loves exploring the globe with his best friend by his side. That’s not all that keeps him busy, though and one thing is clear: For Dr Fez, life is there to live!

A Man On A Mission

As he throws a vintage green jacket over his shoulders for a photo, a moment passes where we can’t help but wonder about the path he’s taken to get where he is today. Dr Fez is a medical doctor by profession, but also an actor and presenter who is often seen on television series like Generations and more. Not to mention his recent new title of Mr Supernational South Africa!

A FULL, ENGAGING LIFE

"As a kid I always thought that people do what they love and that that was the way to do it," the Top Travel presenter says. He doesn't believe in an individual identifying as purely one thing, like being a doctor, debating that there are so many facets to being human. That said, as a medical doctor by profession, he has always loved the procedure side of things, hence one could say that he is at least in a position where he does what he loves. But, he also loves acting and he is excited to be in a position where he can live out that dream too.

He's done some proper classical training in the acting scene, with Dorothy Ann Gould as one of his mentors. It all pretty much started during the Covid-19 pandemic, with much of it being done virtually. As soon as they started transitioning out of lockdown, he was fortunate enough to play Macbeth in a Cape Town production, which he describes as very unique. Not only was Gould his Lady Macbeth in the play, but they also got people from the community to complete the cast, which made it a very interesting project and experience. The Shakespeare production served as his right of passage into the entertainment industry, Dr Fez says, as it forced him to learn monologues and throw his voice in an outdoor setting while speaking Shakespearian. We'd say that serves as a graduation of note!

While he just landed the title of Mr Supernational South Africa, he says he does not necessarily take part in pageants to win, but because he wants to make a difference.

“I am just telling people how awesome it is to engage with the world… I am just trying to live a life that is as full as possible.”

For him, whether he is treating a patient or presenting on television, it’s very much the same. Either way, he gets to engage with people, which is what he loves to do.

Couple Goals

Dr Fez comes from Port Shepstone on the South Coast and he remembers seeing Janez and Jeannie D on television, almost struggling to think that they were real. Now, he gets to travel the globe with his best friend, Dr Anesu Mbisvo, creating a visual diary which they can hopefully show to their children one day. It all started when the doctor couple, who have been together for ten years, did a two-day trip to Reunion for an Insider insert. That ignited the Top Travel opportunity for them and since then, they have been travelling the globe, having fun and engaging with people from various different cultures and countries.

“For us as a duo, it’s very important to never be too busy to travel,” he says. “We have a lot of fun together. She keeps me grounded. She is somebody who is very much in tune with things that have an effect on you.” According to him, she knows a thing or two about astrology and moon cycles and through her, he has been learning progressively and he has even gone through a teacher training programme as a result of it. “It really expanded my horizon when it comes to spaces like that. Because of her, that translates very well on screen, because we are just people who are adventurous and engaging.”

THE ECHOES OF A FATHER

Much of who Dr Fez is today, is because of the echoes of the father he barely knew. His dad sadly passed away when he was very young. Still, there were many influences in his life who had a profound impact on how he sees the world, including his brother, who somehow succeeded in showing Dr Fez glimpses of his dad. Dr Fez says his brother often echoes who his father was and that he has some recollection of what his dad was like. “He is a very structured individual in many ways. He’d come home and before he could do anything else, he would do homework,” he shares about his older brother. “It’s something my father had put in place with him when he started going to school and whilst I hadn’t gone to school yet, I could see that my brother was very much like that. There are ways in which my brother kind of meticulously looks after his stuff,” he continues.

Unfortunately, most of the male figures in Dr Fez’s family passed away when he was young, which left him growing up among mainly women. “Sometimes [my dad’s] friends would come over to see how we were doing. But, the anchoring male figure in my life –although he was only three years older than me – was my brother.”

Because he reads a lot, Dr Fez would also curate his experience and his engagement with others from books. This led him to hold himself to standards that are not necessarily realistic, as many books are often rather strict when it comes to a gentleman’s ways. He refers to concepts like Superman, who was given a tremendous amount of power, but was able to fly and stop at a beat to help a little baby across the road. “Isn’t that the best version of a man – if you could find somebody who is strong enough to carry the weight of the world?”

Some of the influential people in his life also showed him the gentleness that is required from a man. These people included his mother – who was a teacher – as well as his brother and sometimes even his younger sister.

Thinking back on an episode they shot in KZN, where he grew up, for Top Travel, Dr Fez says: “It’s an incredibly humbling experience.” His mom even got to visit the set and he admits that seeing the pride on her face, made it all worth it. “At some point, she was just sitting and looking at me and it looked like it just hit her that her little boy was making a success of his life. That little kid who lost his dad; who was so scared of losing his mom or not being able to look after her – here he was, making a success of his life and his mom got to see it all… For me, there was nothing but a sense of gratitude and hoping that if my father is existing somewhere, he’s kind of happy. Maybe not with having left her, but at least with what we’re doing between myself, my brother and my sister - to make sure our mom is okay.”

GO! MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Another individual who played a profound role in who the Top Travel presenter is today, was his dear aunt, who also recently passed away after losing her battle to Stage 4 Breast Cancer. Her passing, together with the unfortunate loss of two cousins, served as trigger for Dr Fez to partake in pageants to raise funds and make a difference.

His aunt was the most travelled person in their family. “Thankfully, I got to see her two weeks before she passed,” he says. “She was one of the strongest, feistiest people I ever knew. She would go to chemo in heels, because she said: ‘Mkhizes show up. We fight and people see us. Then they see that there is no reason for them not to get up and fight for themselves.’”

Before her passing, his aunt had been given a principle’s post at a Durban school. She had been a teacher for a long time and after being brought into this school - which had a rather poor pass rate - she more than tripled it! His aunt brought in security and infrastructure for the school, as well as teachers from other countries to improve the quality of maths and English. “The last conversation I had with her (I recorded it without her knowing), she just spoke about the fact that she just needed to keep pushing for the school.” Now, through Mr Supernational South Africa, Dr Fez hopes to raise funds for the school. Some of the spaces were quite delipidated when he visited and his aunt had told him an amount which would be needed. He wants to raise that amount or more and name it (even if it’s just her classroom) after her. Then he would like to take the Let’s Heal Together concept - a programme he launched around the challenges of gender-based violence - further to those kids. “It’s been a tough time for our family,” he says, “but sometimes it is people who have gone through the hardest times who can highlight what the most important things in life are.”

Dr Fez is a man of many talents, but even more so, a man with many, many dreams. After all these dreams and humanitarian responsibilities have been fulfilled, he jokingly says that he will become a fat professor with many stories to tell. Or, he will go farm somewhere where he can just sit, grow his own food and take it to the table. “By then I will have lived a life as full as I could and I will just go back to Shepstone,” he laughs. Somehow, we can’t see that ever happening. H