Gqeberha has a new platform to highlight the city and its good vibes only at Before You Go.
Named after creators Kent Cairncross and Mvume Ndimba’s desire to make a difference “Before they Go”, the platform aims to highlight the unsung heroes of the Bay.
The pair met on the soccer field as Grade 10 boys and have been friends ever since. Even though Cairncross went on to study fine arts and Ndimba, Logistics, the pair who are now both proud fathers, never lost touch.
“We first spoke about maybe starting a podcast five years ago, as many people do, we thought, ‘Hey we’re interesting, we could be entertaining’, but nothing came of it, until this year,” said Ndimba.
The pair, who also work together on Cairncross’ media company King Artistry, started Before You Go in February this year after both of them made big career changes. With more time on their hands, they have been able to pursue their dream of a channel that celebrates the city, with Cairncross handling visuals and Ndimba content.
“Although logistics is how I earned a living, I’ve always loved writing, from short stories, scripts and an unfinished novel, so it made sense for me to handle that side of things,” said Ndimba.
Cairncross handles graphics, editing and all visual aspects.
“When we started we were looking for someone to handle the photography and video side, we didn’t find anyone who fit the bill and I ended up on YouTube teaching myself the skills I needed,” said Cairncross about his newfound love for video editing.
“Our first Youtube video was the first full-length clip I ever edited,” he said, reminiscing about how far they have come in only six months.
The pair with their wicked senses of humor and love for their community have already started working with local brands and collaborators and have high hopes for their channel.
“It feels like every video, every post, everything we do through Before You Go, is a learning experience. If you look at our videos in order you can see how we went from not being quite sure how to position ourselves on camera and not having the best equipment, to improving on directing, editing and tools,” they said.
They are open and honest about their journey, sharing the story of how they crowded around a single mic for their first video and admitting that they had a lot of footage end up on the editing room floor, while they honed their skills.
As with any partnership, the duo don’t always agree with each other.
“If conflict comes up we give whoever we are working with a vote or we involve our family,” says Cairncross.
Ndimba adds that often the big decisions are decided based on, “whoever is most passionate about the issue at hand”.
“We trust each other, so if either of us feels very strongly about something the other would back down.”
When it comes to guests the pair say they have an organic way of deciding who to feature.
“We keep an eye out to see who is making waves in the city, but apart from that it is also very important to us that the people we interview and we work with have good energy, a great vibe around them and share our vision,” said Cairncross.
Ndimba echoes his sentiments adding that they want to make sure their content is entertaining and valuable.
“We started with the podcast, but have since expanded to include skits, advertisements and maybe even full-length features in the future,” he said.
The pair focus on their hometown of Gqeberha and insist that if their dream of making their channel internationally renowned is realized, they would continue to have their cornerstone content and main focus be the city and its people.
You can follow Before You Go on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
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