It took radio DJ and digital media specialist, Renaldo Schwarp, a few years to get comfortable with talking about his sexuality in the broadcasting industry. Now, in 2020, Renaldo is working on a book based on his award-winning queer Afrikaans docuseries, Skeef, and is proud to advocate for and to be part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Renaldo Schwarp dreamed of being an actor when he was younger. He wanted to be on 7de Laan and share a stage with the Afrikaans drama industry greats. He wanted to give a voice to people’s untold stories.
“I would tell people [that] I’m going to be an actor and tell people’s stories. Little did I know that it wasn’t actually that platform that I was looking for, or that I would thrive in,” said Renaldo. He rather found himself flourishing in the broadcast and digital content creation industry. He started his professional career in 2015, and soon thereafter he had the industry talking. This can be attributed to his dedication, constant upskilling and his ability to keep his eye on the goals at hand.
“I tend to be extremely driven and goal orientated,” said Renaldo, former Stellenbosch University (SU) student.
One of the highlights of Renaldo’s career and a product of that unwavering dedication is his self- produced mini-documentary series, Skeef. Released in 2019, Skeef was a project that told stories from the Afrikaans LGBTQ+ community. Renaldo, being a gay Afrikaans man in the media industry, knew that the challenges faced by the Afrikaans queer community often go unheard in South Africa. Thus, he wrote, directed and commissioned the four-part documentary.
The most rewarding thing for me would be being in a position where I can create meaningful work for myself that really affects change
Before creating Skeef, Renaldo realised that he needed to use his position of privilege to normalise queer representation in South African media.
“I think I need to assert myself as, yes, I’m a gay brown person [and] there’s nothing wrong with it,” said Renaldo.
The road to radio
Renaldo’s broadcasting journey began at SU, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama in 2012 and a post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) in 2013. He was encouraged to join the campus radio station, MFM, by some of his lecturers.
“I joined the campus radio station in Stellenbosch and that was just a hobby that became a very big part of my life and essentially opened up a variety of opportunities,” said Renaldo. His time at MFM as a DJ and marketing coordinator, made him realise that his forte was in lifestyle, human interest and entertainment content. After Renaldo graduated from university and left MFM, he worked as an intern for Netwerk24. Thereafter, he worked as a digital content creator for media entities such as Die Burger, Kyknet, Media24’s corporate office and Cape Talk.
Acceptance, then advocacy
During his year and a half long stint at Cape Talk, Renaldo began consuming more LGBTQ+ media content. This content was usually British or American, as the UK and US have an abundance of TV series with queer people being the main focus, according to Renaldo.
“This obviously has never been the focus in the South African media landscape or entertainment [industry]. We’ll have the odd gay character here or there and it would mostly be stereotypical and overly sexualized or very camp,” said Renaldo. In episode 2 of Skeef, Renaldo addresses the lack of queer representation on South African television and in the conservative Afrikaans community.
“We see the backlash with, for example, Boer Soek ʼn Vrou last year when they had a gay farmer on [the show]. That farmer got the most backlash. We see it when 7de Laan has a gay kiss on screen…it becomes Sunday paper news just because there’s a gay character on TV,” said Renaldo.
It took Renaldo some time to get comfortable with talking about sexuality and queerness publically. “I hated it because from a very young age we hear narratives that being gay is wrong.”
Early on in his career, he, like many other queer people, had the view that it was not necessary to showcase his sexuality in his work, as he did not want that to be his only brand.
“I remember in first year, the first thing one of my lecturers told me, and this is something I heard throughout the three years, ‘You come across as too camp, you’re too flamboyant you’re never going to get work’,” said Renaldo. However, he soon realised that it was okay to be openly gay, as there was nothing wrong with it and that it is important to use his platform for advocacy.
“I’m aware that there are gay people who are not as safe as I am, so I need to use my platform to at least normalize the mainstream spaces. We need to normalise people, lived experiences and conversations,” said Renaldo.
Skeef sequel and more…
After the release of Skeef in June 2019, Renaldo was inundated with emails from LGBTQ+ people and allies, expressing their thanks for portraying the queer Afrikaans experience.
In response to this positive feedback, Renaldo is working on a more diverse, English sequel to Skeef, to be released in 2021.
“What I think Skeef did, is that it put a very big spotlight on the injustices and showing the resilience…But we are so much more than that,” said Renaldo. “We are vibrant and colourful, we have families and that’s a big theme that I’m going to address”
Additionally, he recently announced his newest project: A book which will be released in 2021. “A few months ago I signed a book deal and it’s based on my documentary Skeef,” said Schwarp.
Although Schwarp can’t quite reveal an in-depth summary of the book, he says that it will highlight the LGBTQ experience.
With the book on the way and Schwarp’s portfolio as digital head at Jacaranda FM growing, he decided to take a break from his weekend broadcast shows at the radio station. “It’s weird because it’s not like I’m quitting being a presenter. I just really need to write and something had to give,” he said.
With a broad smile, he expresses that he is happy with all the opportunities that Skeef has brought him.
“It was this very small thought that I had, which turned into an online series that later became a film that debuted in palm springs. Now it leads into a book project, It’s just a fascinating journey for me,” said Schwarp.
Looking to the future, Renaldo is excited to continue his advocacy in South Africa through creativity and independence. “The most rewarding thing for me would be being in a position where I can create meaningful work for myself that really affects change,” said Renaldo.
