Meet Shilo, Matt and Yuvi – three local Umhlanga men who are, without a doubt, making moves and waves within their respective industries. We sat down to chat to them about their passions, involvements and exciting, successful business endeavours.
Shilo Ramdin
He knew his future was in sport from having played provincial cricket and hockey. After a gap year in Oxford working at a school, Shilo returned to South Africa and was part of the Dolphins Academy for two years. He went on to play first-class cricket while studying at the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He bounced between SA and the UK, playing cricket for three years. Once he was done studying, Shilo realised he had to be honest that cricket wasn’t going to work out. He also didn’t like that he was travelling as often as he was. “I am a homebody,” Shilo says with a grin.
He started as an intern at a local gym in Umhlanga and did this for close to two years. This gave him a feel for the industry and the foundation he needed. At the end of 2016, Shilo plucked up the courage to fly solo. This was a challenging period, “I remember training some humans in the garden just to get the business going, but after a few chats with a good friend, Russell Swanepoel, Strength Society was born and saw its first client on 3 January 2017,” Shilo says. Towards the back end of 2017, they were forced to move out of their space in Outlet Park. They then thought they had found their dream spot, but it was taken away from them due to a mix up in the paperwork. “We were left ‘homeless’ for a month, again a tough moment; I was close to throwing in the towel. We finally found our perfect spot in Glen Anil and have been there since October 2017.” Shilo says with a smile.
Strength Society is a semi-private gym in Glen Anil; we are for the high-level athlete and weekend warrior. Everyone should feel comfortable when they walk in, no matter their fitness goal. They run class-based sessions, but everyone follows their own plan according to their own goals. Their focus is to produce well-rounded athletes and happy human beings. Strength Society is more than ‘just a gym’; it is a community and a family.
Shilo’s goal for the rest of this year is to make Strength Society an even stronger brand in and around Durban, known for its results and high-quality coaching. Another goal of his for the next year is to work closely with the National ladies’ hockey; this is his focus on a personal level. In terms of the gym, he does want to start thinking about opening another Strength Society. “It is a big risk, and as a small business, you have to balance risk vs reward, but I LOVE our gym and the community,” Shilo adds. For him, it is home.
Matt Davies
The journey started at the tender age of six at “Doh-Re-Mi Piano Studios”. Matt had the most incredible piano teacher who laid a strong foundation for him. He decided to pick up a guitar only later in high school, and vocals followed with it. Matt never really sang a lot because he was a shy guy when it came to performing his music until he decided to enter his school’s talent contest one day. I know this story seems familiar, but this did happen. When he got up on stage, people were slightly confused; they had never seen him in this light before. Matt sang “No diggity” by Black Street, and thankfully, the audience and judges loved it! This moment opened up a new wave of confidence for Matt.
He then started making music with one of Durban’s finest “Julia Church”. “She taught me so much, and I’m so grateful for her influence on my music,” Matt says. It was only about a year that he met Tim Lewis, and they made “Just Be Here”, which was released with Universal Music Group, where he got his radio debut. “Tim is such a talented producer, composer and saxophonist. He has taught me so much in the short time that I have known him,” Matt says. They now have a second single out called “Shakin’ in my shoes”, which is also gaining traction on the waves.
Matt’s music differs from what he performs and what he’s released so far. His Live sets are very bluesy and soulful. He’s always been tremendously inspired by Paolo Nutini. He used to listen to him all the time as a kid and, in many ways, has moulded his sound around Nutini’s music. Matt’s music has been of the electronic genre, which is entirely different. He likes it like that, though – keeps the people guessing. He writes his own music; he feels it’s important to draw from real-life experience. “I think a lot of what I write is from my own experience, but I also get inspired by what I see and the stories I hear from other people,” Matt says.
In the future, Matt says to expect a lot of variety. He doesn’t want to limit himself to one genre. He thinks it’s essential to explore all that there is to offer. Matt wants to work with as many Durban artists as possible. “I think we have such rich talent in our city – it’s time that they showed off a bit more,” Matt exclaims.
Yuvi K
His photography journey was like an adventure; he fell in love with this passion when he was 20 years old after messing around with his grandfather’s camera while travelling in Europe for a month. After that, Yuvi worried his dad about getting him one for his birthday. Yuvi never studied photography; he was studying to be a quantity surveyor. He started taking random landscape photos and was encouraged by friends as he began to share images on Facebook and started to get likes and feedback. People got to see Durban from a different perspective and liked it, which motivated him to pursue it.
In the beginning, Yuvi didn’t know everything like the technique, the exposure and the ISO. He had never taken a course but has always tried to document things independently through what he’s seen. Yuvi learned that there are a lot of rules to follow for taking good pictures, but also realised that beautiful photos come from passion and one’s commitment to being able to bring something special and unique through a shot.
In 2012, he got into drone photography and found himself later that year competing in the Parrot AR Drone World Championships in Las Vegas. In 2013 he applied for an internship at Vogue India Magazine, and everything started from there. Yuvi gained some of the best experience working in India for over three years and was exposed to some of the world’s best creatives, travelling to exotic locations and being on some of the most impressive sets with celebrities and fashion icons.
In 2015, he was part of a National Geographic TV series consisting of 16 photographers chosen to shoot the cover of Nat Geo Traveller India, where they travelled through the city for the month, competing to take some of the best storytelling images. A few years later, he went solo and went on his journey to start his company, Kapture Studios. Born with its roots in the unique cultural expression of Eastern weddings, Kapture Studios, over a short span, with the inimitable style of the Kapture team, got attention from all corners of the globe. Kapture Studios has become one of the industry’s leading wedding photography and filmmaking specialists. They launched their physical studios in 2020 at Park Square in Umhlanga, and it catapulted them into the industry. Now, in 2022 they are based at the Umhlanga Arch with an entirely natural light studio and offer a space for photo and video production, including studio hire for creatives in the city. They are a team of eight people covering photography and videography and specialise in Weddings, Corporate, and Events. Their photography is personal and authentic and tells each client’s unique story.
In mid-2022, he plans to launch their creative agency KURATED offering digital and innovative turnkey solutions for brands and clients. Yuvi would also like to set up physical studios in Johannesburg and Cape Town. So stay up-to-date on their pages!
Opening image: Yuvi K