Washington Post Interview -    Dene's Winding Path

In two-three sentences how would you describe what you do most days/weeks?

I’m the self-proclaimed “Chief Problem Solver” (or CPS for short), I oversee the daily operations at Earniversity and Empowered Youth. Every day, it’s a dance of everything between researching what’s new, hosting online and in-person workshops, meeting with clients and the team, and a fair amount of traveling - I live in Cornwall (SW England) but work all over the UK
so I’m constantly on the road - Other than that it’s all about surfing and being outdoors, meditating, reading, and a LOT of running around after my two-year old toddler, Blue, who keeps my wife and I very busy!

What did you want to be when you were eight?

A professional athlete, a world-famous travel-show TV presenter (stand-down Seacrest!), and a successful, global business owner. Traveling the world, surfing at all the best spots, and running some hugely impactful business while getting paid.

From a young age I had a remarkable talent for surfing and was ear-marked to be a champion surfer… until I had an accident that changed all that.

What did you learn about work that you learned from your family?

My parents taught me everything.

As an only child, I had no “older siblings” to guide me. I also hated school so my parents and I were very close. My Dad threw me on a surfboard when I was 5 years old and taught me to surf, my Mom threw me onto a theatre stage when I was seven and taught me all about performing.

Looking back, those two experiences would end up dictating my path.
My Father and I worked together for almost 26 years, and the lessons I learned from my Mother added the “spice” to nearly everything we did.

We started working together in 1998, when we decided to monetize my 16th birthday party - we secured some sponsored prizes, got some entertainment and a top-notch DJ, and charged an entrance fee.

The event drew 600 attendees and earned us a small fortune which opened up the idea to build it into a business. We would host quarterly parties, featuring celebrities, giveaways, and party-competitions... and make them epic!

I quickly took to my father’s words that “travel is the best education,” and in 2000 I moved from South Africa to London and applied my mom’s training in performing and presenting. In 2001 we unveiled Global Nomads, a travel TV show that immersed the viewers in the world of backpackers and adventure. This would ultimately go nowhere as a business, but we had a lot of fun working on it for +- 8 years.

In 2003 we launched a business based on the end of my surfing career, “Kahuna Surfing Academy” where we coached kids, athletes, and even coaches all over the world. We started running coaching programs and surfing events - the surfing events soared, culminating in the 2005 to 2012 Earthwave Beach Festival with the iconic Guinness World Record for the "Most Surfers Riding a Wave," and the birth of our events company, Kahuna Promotions.

After a decade of surf coaching and events we expanded the coaching element into skills development with the rise of Pride Factor - an Academy teaching entrepreneurship, addressing youth unemployment, crime, and poverty in South Africa. This led to my current work impacting over 63,000 youth in 9 countries.

One of the best lessons from my Dad, which he still reminds me about in his own way, "Dene, you'll spend a large portion of your life working, so make sure you're doing something you love doing, and always remember to add value to other peoples’ lives. This is key.”

What professional experiences or employers had the greatest impact on you?

In 2011 after I had a proposal denied I lost over the course of a week my house, my car, my job, and my cat Dexter. I befriended my seatmate, Mr. X, on a return flight from Morocco–where I went to heal from these losses. Mr. X took me under his wing at 29 and introduced me to the world of FOREX trading (the global decentralized or over-the-counter market for the trading of currencies) and opened-up the pathway of Motivational Speaking.

I traveled the world speaking on stages and addressing tens of thousands of people monthly. It was incredible and exhausting
Simultaneously.

This led me to the Success Summit industry and the Speaking world (working with the likes of Jordan Belfort, Steve Wozniak, etc.) and gave me the confidence that drew me to deliver stage presentations, host TV and radio shows, and become a sought-after music festival and sporting
event commentator too. Spending time with these highly aspirational people and seeing what they were doing inspired me to follow suit.

I created my own platform of skills development training, Pride Factor, in which Mr. X also invested. Up to this point Mr. X had been my greatest investor.

In 2022, Mr. X dropped me and became my greatest teacher.

After working exclusively on a program he asked me to build for his company, he dropped me. After 11 years of working together, and 6 months of exclusive dedication to building a youth-based program set to change the world, he decided he had more important things to do and left without any payment and I never heard from him again. I was heart-broken, confused, disappointed, and completely screwed! On the promise of financial security, I had moved my family to Cornwall, with a two month old baby. I had nothing….

… Until I realized that I had built an INCREDIBLE training program, and it was now 100% mine.

I had done all the research, identified the niche, found the solution to a global problem, and had created something substantial… and I alone, now owned the IP! I had to relocate the confidence I had in myself and what I had built.

I built a team of likeminded individuals and 12 months later we launched Earniversity And it's FLYING!

Mr. X is my guy - he always will be - and even though I want to throw him off a building for what he did to me and my family, probably unbeknownst to him. I can’t thank him enough for the lessons I’ve learned.

What is something about your career journey that people might not expect?

I’ve been working since I was 12 years old as my parents didn’t have a lot of money. Washing cars, baby-sitting, cleaning gardens, and fishing, you name it. Anything to make a buck.

I’m an ex-professional surfer due to a pair of broken knees and a snapped spine. I started out as “unskilled labour” in England as a shelf-packer, the street sweeper, barman, night-club bouncer, clinical-trial patient, pool lifeguard, and door-to-door salesman all to support my start-up idea.

I moved back to South Africa, between ventures and had success in real-estate initially selling properties and then using the money to invest in my own. I’ve also tried being a photographer, blogger, and influencer. I spent some time earning a living via acting and modelling. This led to hosting a radio show, TV appearances and ultimately winning a reality show (hosted by Trevor Noah) where I was crowned “South Africa’s Most Irresistible Man”.

The accolades continued in 2010 where I was selected, “Gay Icon of the Year”, and then “Cosmo Calendar Guy - Mr March”. I had achieved C/D/Z (whatever) list celebrity status and spent time monetizing my celebrity and raising my profile by MCing a range of events.

Simultaneously, I also felt like a massive failure. I am perhaps still a stress-ball, an insomniac, a total daydreamer and a bit of a troublemaker.

I suppose the most unexpected aspect of my career is that I’m a high school drop-out who runs several education-based businesses. I am a university lecturer who spends most of my time dealing with teachers, principals and educational institutions, or the very things I spent my life
running away from. I’m a living paradox.

In 2020 Empowered Youth was awarded as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and I made the list of the Top 100 Most Influential Young People, and then was branded as one of GQ Magazine’s Power People. More recently, I’ve had some humbling career highlights in the
form of being a TEDx speaker, and Empowered Youth winning “Most Innovative Skills Academy in the UK”.

I’m now an "h-author" which is half-an-author, or rather someone that has written a half-complete book (I’ll finish it soon, I promise.) I am a human being, who's been meandering through life, sometimes with purpose and direction, sometimes like a fart lost in the hurricane!

Why did you pivot?

If I look into it, there’s been several major pivots - one was the idea of following the dream of becoming a pro-surfer. Having a decent amount of skill plus all the support (coaches, sponsors, and opportunities etc.,) and then making a bold/regretful decision to drop-out of school at 15 to pursue my athletic career, only to endure an accident a few years later (and not even a major accident or anything cool - just falling off of a bicycle,) breaking my knees and spine which put an abrupt end to my professionally surfing life.

The reason behind this pivot was one of arrogance. I was 19 years old, “uneducated” in the traditional sense, and looking for “unskilled” work and a money-earning profession. Needless to say, I tried my hand at everything I could possibly find. I call this arrogance because I could have avoided it by simply going back to school/getting an education, qualification, something, anything.

Instead, that pivot probably cost me about 8 to 10 years of my life as I spent this time with very little direction and lots of “trying new things.'' What it did do though, was introduce me to surf coaching, which is basically performing, (thanks Mom) - I was good at it and enjoyed it, specifically working with young people. Coaching is ultimately what the next 20 years of my life would consist of. So, looking back, a good pivot.

The next pivot would come in the form of the catastrophe that was the middle period of my life, when I lost “everything” (house, car, job, girlfriend, and even my cat!) but actually gained everything. This one was one of ego, I was making a lot of money, was relatively “famous/well known”, was cocky and obnoxious - and partying too hard - I thought I was on-top-of-the-world and then, BAM! Smashed to the floor like an inexperienced UFC fighter who just wasn’t ready for the match up. This pivot was brutal, but yet again, brilliant and I’m grateful for it. Lesson: As soon as you think you’re bullet-proof…. you get shot!

At the end of 2019, we had just finished hosting a successful University tour of South Africa on behalf of Vodacom (Vodafone) and were negotiating an even bigger tour the following year - 2020 (Dum Dum Dum!). We had launched Empowered Youth in the UK with several successful events there and had launched Inspired Youth (the one with the guy on the plane mentioned above) in the Philippines, Kenya, Namibia and then digitally in India and Canada. We also had a MAJOR deal on the table with an international bank that would have had us expanding the team and business by 500% immediately… Then came the news of this “virus” spreading across the globe and POOF, just like that, it was all gone.

My (now) wife (my rock, hero, and an absolute legend of a woman) and I had scheduled our wedding for 1st May 2020 and had to cancel that too, so after five-months of “hell”, we made the hardest decision ever - sell everything - close everything - pack-up and immigrate to the UK and
start all over again, literally.

So, in answering your question, “why did I pivot?” One was ignorance, one was ego, one was forced. However, all of them were instructive. We sometimes forget that as humans we are natural explorers and adventurers, the unpredictability of life is what makes it worth living!

Also, as adults, we sometimes need a little smack on the bum to put us in our place… Pain is the greatest teacher, right?

What skills were portable from what you had been doing previously and what was brand new to you?

From surfing I gained the ability to be coached, and the understanding of how important and valuable coaching is in any aspect of life. Getting advice, guidance, and support from those who have lived it has been invaluable to me and now I’m coaching young people on how to live their
best lives.

What was the hardest part about making a career pivot?

Breaking the comfort zone, the curvature of change we are experiencing in this day-and-age is steeper than it’s ever been before, and it’s only going to get steeper!

Personally, leaving our family and friends behind in South Africa, moving overseas with nothing but two bags of essentials and a sense of “hope”, and then starting all over again. Trying to convince ourselves that this would be the “best move” for us was not easy.

Furthermore, I get exhausted just thinking back on what it took for us to move during the lock-down. We departed days before the South African Travel Ban was enforced and arrived to 2 weeks quarantine. We spent that time online 24/7, my wife finding us a place to live, purchasing what we needed to have a home and me reaching out to schools, making introductions, sharing our programs, setting up meetings and closing deals. It was INTENSE!

What were the most important lessons you’ve picked up along the way?

I remind myself frequently of something a wise man once told me, “Dene, in life you don’t get what you want, you certainly don’t get what you deserve, in life all you get is what you tolerate!”

So my question to you is, what’s your level of tolerance? When is enough, enough!? Because once you know that, you give yourself permission to be true to yourself and you know where you limit is and to stop taking sh*t… When to say YES, and when to say NO MORE! That’s your level of tolerance, and it’s vitally important to where it is.

What would you say to others who are doubting their ability to make a change in their career or vocation?

Don’t do it. No really… You don’t need to. If you’re happy where you are, then stay there.

However, I would suggest mixing-it-up. You don’t need to quit your job and go guns-blazing into a new career only to find yourself on the wrong side of an unpaid mortgage/health insurance payment. Don’t put your family through that - trust me! One of the best things about this day-and-age is the access to information, right? Gone are the days where we had to choose one vocation/career/life-path or another… We do multiple. Keep the job, start a side hustle, and never stop learning. Ensure your financial security with the job and do what you’re passionate about on the side to earn some extra moola in the mornings/evenings/weekends.

Lastly, never stop absorbing content, but proper content - micro learning/reading - Not just checking what your high-school crush had for brunch yesterday, but rather proper, valuable content. THEN, once that becomes more and more fluid (which it will if you’re passionate about
it and), THEN take a look at potentially replacing your current career with that and increase the quality of your (and your families) lives. You are going to spend a large portion of your life working - make sure you’re doing something you enjoy doing 🙂 (and remember to always add
value to other people’s lives - This is where true happiness is found.)

Where did you get the confidence and support to make such a change?

In 2019 I embarked on a life-changing/enhancing Ayahuasca journey that truly opened my eyes and heart to the energy of the world - I was coming to the end of a very successful year, financially - my ego had taken over, my health had dipped, my “partying” was over-indulged, and I was alllllll about the money and not much else. My wife and I decided to do a retreat and kapow! “Brutally beautiful” is how I remember it. I took a long hard look at myself and my actions, my possible legacy, and my future… This built an intrinsic confidence that I never knew I had, I no longer required the validation of others, self-recognition was enough.

To me, Confidence is everything. We define Confidence as “owning your own space” - Owning yourself and everything you do and are. It’s about being deliberate and being accountable in your actions. It’s also about “keeping the promises you make to yourself,” that’s the main thing.
YOU say you’re going to do something, DO IT. Confidence and self-worth sits on the other side of that achievement.

The rest of my confidence comes from my wife/rock/partner/muse, Cayla, my son, Elijah Blue - they're my backstage crew, my confidence  superheroes - and the silence of meditation and time spent in the ocean, surfing.

What was the hardest thing you had to overcome in your professional life?

Nothing about having a professional life is easy… Nothing, nil, nada. Anything worth doing is never going to be easy, right? I believe that your professional life is all about overcoming obstacles - “Chief Problem Solver”, remember - and as entrepreneurs, well, that’s what we do. We look for problems. It actually sounds narcissistic when you think about it, but yes, we look for problems and try to solve them. By doing this you are not only adding value to other people’s lives, but also finding income streams because people pay for their problems to be solved (think about it). And there are a lot of problems out there, so get solving!

Hardest thing though is time and people… There’s never enough time to do it “all”, and collaboration is key, and people are awesome, but difficult to deal with and hard to know who to trust sometimes.

What, if anything, are you hoping happens next in your professional life?

Time for the grand finale, Bringing Earniversity to the U.S. After scouting the East Coast recently, the team and I have identified it’s a great place for the U..S business base and on a personal side, the raising of my family. Building the Y.E.S Generation, globally… The Young, Ethical and Successful.

After that, who knows… Taking everything I’ve mentioned above/looking back at the journey so far, coupling that with the lessons learned along the way, working with the youth - which I absolutely love, and my Father continuing to remind me at the tender age of 75, “I don’t know
what I’m going to do when I get older.”

What happens next…? It’s an open book (well, finish writing my book actually!) Keep exploring. Build another empire. Create a legacy. Live a prosperous life and always strive to add value to the lives of others.

Socials:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dene-botha/  
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Dene.Botha/  
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/denebotha/  

About the author: Russ Finkelstein is the opposite of your High School Guidance Counselor. A career coach, social entrepreneur, and advisor to founders, he is currently the Director of Coaching with the Roddenberry Fellowship and a Coach-in-Residence with StartingBloc Fellowship. He was a founder of the noted careers website Idealist.org and was chosen as a Generation Z & LGBTQ Influencer by LinkedIn.