Hotshot radio DJ Stan Mars has recently made a huge leap in the radio industry. He sat down before the nationwide lockdown with Fern Bamber from MatieMedia to tell his tale.
Before the leap
Stan Mars lounges on a couch in an echoey photo studio, jersey laid over his lap and broadcasting equipment strewn on the table in front of him. Today, he is broadcasting out of the studio, and does not seem to mind. He has an important announcement to make and his excitement is tangible.
As of 1 April, Stan will be starting as host on the Good Hope Breakfast show, an enormous leap in the radio industry. “For the first time in 20 years I’m nervous,” he confesses.
“Everyone on breakfast now has been on for a minimum of 20 years.”
He knows it is a big deal, and on the flip side, he has 6 to 12 months to make it work. Radio is a big business, he stresses.
Stan has been a radio personality on Good Hope for 10 years, and has been in the radio business for 23 years. He is currently the host of Tea Time with Stan Mars as well as several late afternoon broadcasts.
Stan Mars, the previous host of the Good Hope Tea Time show. PHOTO: Fern Bamber
It’s war, he explains. The industry is cutthroat and he has been chosen for this great honour. “I’m a dad, I can relate to parents sitting in traffic, I can talk to them.” This is one of the reasons why he is perfect for the post, he says.
However, this confident man is in for a big change. He’s got a polished formula: short, sweet, punchy, to the point, play music. “Moving to Breakfast though, that dynamic has to change.”
Now, Stan won’t be able to adhere to his ‘less is more’ motto, he says, accompanied by a nervous laugh. It is cut short though, as he glances at his cellphone, then speaks out, voice carrying across the room, “Thomas, news in 3 minutes.” He places his headphones on with the ease of someone who has been doing so for decades.
“Give me the name of the song?” “When do we go in? Standby…”
A rhythmic chime echoes faintly from his headphones.He picks up the mic. The atmosphere becomes charged. His voice drops to a rich baritone.
“It’s Good Hope FM, we play the best music, it’s the Weekend’s Blinding lights. Tamara Snow on standby with the latest news and traffic.”
The news is grim. There has been a fatal shooting at a house in Khayelitsha, and the body of a 37-year-old victim has been discovered outside. A six-year-old girl was also wounded in the attack. Stan’s eyes are hooded during the rest of the report, expression unreadable.
A father’s words endure
Stan maintains that he began radio the right way, working himself raw between the hours of 2am to 6am most mornings. The aspiring personality honed his skills working for the campus stations, MFM, UCT and UWC.
“I got my big break working at what is now Heart FM. Working from 2am to 6am will humble you. But I was hungry for it. I wanted it badly,” he says.
In childhood Stan did not share the same aspirations as his peers. He wasn’t interested in becoming a doctor, nor a policeman, much to his mother’s dismay.
“I wanted to be a broadcaster, I wanted to sit in radio, I had an obsession.” Frequent nights of insomnia saw the young Stan depending on his radio, like many depend on their TVs, to fall asleep. On nights like these, Stan would wonder after his future. Two thoughts would endure, his desire to be rich and to be famous.
Stan did not share the same ambitions as his peers at six years old. PHOTO: Instagram/ Stan Mars
“One morning I was laying there, around half past 3 or 4 o’ clock, and it occurred to me. ‘I’m gonna be a radio broadcaster,’ he pauses to grin widely. “And from there, the goal was set.”
Stan hails from the northern suburbs of Kuilsriver. He is the son of a carpenter/janitor and a mother who worked in a factory. He describes his younger self as a normal Joe, an average Joe, the boy next door. “I am still that same guy. It’s just when I do broadcast I become Stan Mars, which is not my real name by the way, it’s my dad’s name.”
Family lies at the centre of Stan’s priorities, as they have stood by his side through this journey. It was not always smooth sailing; this is a changed man seated on the couch, confidence embodied.
Stan believes that he owes this to his father’s unwavering support. “I gave up on myself many times along this journey. My dad never gave up on me. My dad is sick today – Alzheimer’s – so he doesn’t get to see my success. So, for me -” he breaks off, looking away.
His sadness is palpable. “I’m getting emotional because I’m a daddy’s boy,” he justifies after some time. His father told him that he was the greatest. Stan reminds himself of this all the time. “I’m the best, because my dad said so.”He flexes his arm, now stretching into a smile, remembering his father’s words.
“I was reading something about a boxer. His name was Tyson Fury. He was born prematurely and the doctors didn’t give him a lot of time to live. His survival rate wasn’t great. And the father said to the doctor, ‘This son, not only will he live, he will be 7-foot-tall and he will be the greatest boxer on Earth, and he will be the champion of the world.’”
Stan breaks into a hearty chuckle, felt deep within the diaphragm, “He’s 6-foot-10, and he is a boxing champion of the world. His father spoke it into existence, like my father spoke it into existence.”
Empowered by the anecdote, Stan continues with gusto. He gave up, he failed. He exhausted himself in community radio, yet he could not break into commercial radio. But his father’s words endured.
“And one day,” he claps, “that was it.”
A faint voice emanates from his headphones, and anyone close by knows that it’s now Tea Time with Stan Mars.
A helping voice
Radio has given Stan a platform to meet and help people. One of the main reasons Stan went into broadcasting was to be a voice for people who can’t be heard.
“I know that frustration – when you can’t be heard. You want to shout something, you want to be heard,” he says.
Stan has never forgotten his roots, and makes sure to do community work for those who need it. The broadcaster hosts a fundraising show called ‘Big Stan’s favour,’ where people of the community ask him for help in raising funds.
“What is your biggest concern as you are sitting here? Whether it be studies, money, whatever… that’s your concern. My biggest concern is what time will I be done here. Then you meet people whose biggest concerns are ‘will my child be alive by the end of the week?’ Do you understand? It makes you appreciate life because of the people you meet. It’s scary.”
Stan makes clear his passion for his community, and his desire to push money back into it. His doctor, dentist and hairdresser are all based in Kuilsriver.
Life behind the mic
“The only time I have off is when I’m on air,” Stan laments. Working in the radio industry means that you are constantly exhausted. But the DJ’s determination, drive and hunger were always there. They still are. He has wanted to do nothing else with his life but be a broadcaster.
“I become Stan when I broadcast, I live a different reality. When I switch on the mic -” he clicks his fingers suddenly, “it does it for me. It’s a switch. My voice changes. It enhances me.”
His shows at Good Hope FM are not his only projects that cut into personal time. He is a professional MC, he hosts corporate functions and numerous events, and owns a nightclub, to name a few.
The broadcaster is the voice of several other shows and events in the Cape Town area. PHOTO: Instagram/ Stan Mars
Although having little time for himself, he stresses that this is the path that he has chosen.
“You know that saying: If you love what you do, you will not work a day in your life. Do I look like I’m working? I took a nap before you came.”
Despite his humour, it is clear to see the strain that working every day of the week has on the big man. He has sciatica, a condition that causes severe nerve pain, and he does not have the time to train or be treated for the condition, especially with the approach of his big break on The Breakfast Show.
Stan has not ascended the ranks of the industry unscathed. He has made many mistakes over the years, but has never missed a show.
“No one is untouchable, that’s another mistake. In broadcasting, you are only as good as your last show.” In radio, the only person that you can trust entirely is yourself, Stan contends, and being number 1 does not secure you.
Present: The nerves remain
Stan has now been a member of the Good Hope Breakfast Show for several months, and is happy to declare that his nerves have subsided, a bit.
“I have always been a firm believer that nerves are a good thing for any medium. Nerves are good, they will keep you humble, and on edge,” he says.
The DJ has been broadcasting from home for the past few months due to the national lockdown restrictions, and has had to adjust to the change.
“Everything that I have known with regards to radio, with regards to sitting in a professional setup and studio, and mic stands and the latest technology, is out the window,” he says.
Being a big team means that sometimes the crew talk over one another and fumble a bit. It is incredibly challenging, but they are getting a hang of it, according to Stan.
Stan sees himself in the position for no fewer than five years. In any broadcasting situation it takes one a year or two to establish oneself on a show, he says. He is determined to do justice to Good Hope FM Breakfast, and win the listeners’ trust.