Chetty: Go Out There and Do It

My name is Chervon Chetty, I am 23 years old (4 November 1988). I was born in Durban but moved up to Johannesburg in 1994. I attended Cornwall Hill College in Irene. Growing up I had always enjoyed watching sport, especially soccer and Formula One, with my dad and brother.

In 1994, I remember the hype around the elections but being so young, I never really understood the significance of it, the only time it really made any sense to me was when I watched the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.

As a child I only ever remember my family in Durban watching soccer. Suddenly I found my dad watching rugby, a game I had never really seen before and there he was cheering on this team in green and gold.

When the final whistle blew and the Springboks had won the World Cup, I saw a crowd, filled with South Africans of all colours and cultures, celebrating together as one. I then saw Nelson Mandela smiling bigger than ever and being carried by the team, that is when I understood the power of sport.

Fast forward a few years and I found myself watching more and more soccer. My dad had always been a Liverpool supporter and when I was younger whenever people asked me who I supported, I would follow suit and say I supported Liverpool.

Now that I was older, I found myself suddenly wanting to learn about everything that had to do with soccer, the names of the players, the rules of the games and tournaments. I wanted to know the histories of the teams. I found myself obsessed with the beautiful game. All I wanted to do was talk about it, and then the light bulb went off. I figured I could talk about sports as a living if I became a sports journalist.

I studied Journalism at the University of Johannesburg. I remember driving past the SABC Radio Park Building and saying to myself that “One day, one day, I will work there doing sports”.

My parents have always taught me that my success is my own and if I work hard today, tomorrow will be brighter. They have allowed me to chase after my own dreams with their full support.

Today I am a Sports Producer at SAfm as well as a Ballroom and Latin dance instructor. SAfm took me on as an intern in 2010 on a 3 month basis, and I have never looked back since. It was at SAfm where I met Helen Mittwoch. Helen is the type of person most people dream of working with. She will always seek for perfection when it comes to “SAfm Sports Special” and will accept nothing less.

However she still allowed me to learn from my mistakes and then correct them under her guidance. She has taught me lessons in my job that I will carry with me forever. Helen is the reason SAfm gave me the chance and I will forever be thankful to her for that.

SAfm is an amazing station to work for. They have given me some of the most amazing opportunities such as the chance to work with the BBC and compile a documentary called Chatsworth: “A chance for change”.

With my parents, SAfm and Helen Mittwoch supporting me, I know that when I hit a bump in the road, they will be there to guide me back to smooth tar.

In many ways sport has always been a male dominated area, however, in my opinion this has changed dramatically. If I look at “SAfm Sports Special” alone there is Helen Mittwoch (Executive Producer of Sport), Natalie Germanos (Cricket Commentary and Stand-In Presenter), Zeena Isaacs (Rugby Commentary) and myself (In-Studio Producer), and this is just for one show.

My advice to other girls that want to get into the world of sport is to go out there and do it, you have nothing to lose!