As a young girl, Olivia Jones spent long hours
underwater in the swimming pool, pretending to be a mermaid. Not much has
changed over the years; this water baby has competed and excelled at countless
water sports. These days, she runs a communications company, Olivia Jones Communications, which gives
an opportunity to ensure that minority sports receive the attention that they
deserve and that females and differently-abled athletes are correctly portrayed
in the media.
Olivia has a warm spirit, and it comes across in her
work as a PR specialist, which has seen her work on various big events,
including Vodacom Springbreak, Vodacom Easter Adrenaline, the Durban Beach
Festival (former Beach Africa Festival), the South Coast Surf Carnival, and PR
Price PRO.
She has also been appointed as the Media Officer for
the South African Bodyboarding Association and Vodacom’s sponsorship of the SA
Paralympic Team.
Olivia believes effective PR practitioners are good
communicators, and their ability to write creatively usually puts them ahead of
the pack. Olivia’s biggest advantage is probably her ability to network and
influence people to believe and support the various causes/events she drives.
Its an exciting time for Olivia, who recently got
engaged to Russel Symcox (son of former Proteas cricketer, Pat Symcox), and she
is looking forward to spending the rest of her life with her dream partner.
Olivia’s philosophy on life and her approach to
whatever she does is refreshing and inspiring. Her greatest ambition is to
change perceptions in the media about women, use media contacts to educate the
public about the topics she feels strongly about – which includes
differently-abled athletes, the environment, minority sports and women in
sport.
Introducing gsport’s December Woman in Media, sports
PR extraordinaire, Olivia Jones!
Olivia, How did you get involved in sports media?
I completed my IMM diploma in marketing then
disappeared off to London
for six months where I worked in a publishing company. When I returned home in
2001 Pierre Tostee (World Surf Tour Photographer) persuaded me to apply for the
position of Media Officer for the Association of Surfing Professionals Africa.
I had grown up competing in a variety of water
sports and at the time was a competitive bodyboarder so I applied and much to
my amazement I was appointed straight away. I worked under Gavin Horn at ASP Africa for a few years and then resigned to form my own
company called Olivia Jones Communications.
I maintained a lot of my surf industry clients and
started picking up a lot of freelance magazine work covering extreme sports (in
mags like blunt and Locally Whipped) and was also appointed as the Regional
Editor for SaltWater Girl Surf. Since then I have diversified to cover a really
broad variety of sports from yachting to lifesaving, boxing, Jet Skiing,
freestyle motocross, skateboarding, fishing, volleyball, beach soccer, half
marathons, swimming, wheelchair basketball, disability sport (both physical and
intellectual) to list just a few.
For the past year and a bit I have been doing the
Vodacom KZN PR so have become more involved with CSI projects and other
exciting events which keeps work fresh for me.
Tell us more about Olivia Jones Communications?
I launched Olivia Jones Communications once I had
resigned from my position at ASP Africa and
really believed that it would a success. I had seen that there was a real niche
for working on free sports/ adrenaline sports so I decided to focus on that.
Initially it was really tough and my mom kept gently
encouraging me to get a "real job" with more stability but I have always been a
bit of a law unto myself and was determined to be my own boss and make things
work.
The PR side starting gaining more and more momentum;
I now employ two brilliant and extremely hard working young ladies – Rox-ann
Govender and Agnes Matladi who work from my office based in Durban. It has been incredibly rewarding to
see the two of them grow from strength to strength and gain confidence in the
media arena.
What is your company’s vision and how do you go about achieving it
every day?
My aim is to always ensure that minority sports
receive the attention that they deserve and that females and differently-abled
athletes are correctly portrayed in the media. Recently I have become more
involved with environmental issues and some charities which I would like to
build on.
On a daily basis I try to use my radio slots
responsibly, the media is such a powerful tool to have on one’s side so I try
to spread awareness about the things that I am most passionate about.
For example, in my fishing report I am constantly
reminding anglers about quotas, size limits and thinking about sustainability,
as we would all love it if future generations could enjoy the same things that
we do today. I believe that a lot of the evils in today’s society boil down to
a lack of education, and this could be solved through the correct media
channels.
Tell us about some of the big events your company has worked on.
I am so blessed, coming from a surfing background I
have been able to do the PR and assist for some of the biggest international
surfing events such as the Mr Price Pro and too many other smaller WQS events
to list.
I have worked as a joint venture on the Clipper
Round the World Yacht Race, assisted with the Vodacom Origins of Golf; I have
been the media liaison for many consecutive years for Vodacom Springbreak,
Vodacom Easter Adrenaline, the Durban Beach Festival (former Beach Africa
Festival) and the South Coast Surf Carnival.
I have also been appointed as the Media Officer for
the South African Bodyboarding Association and Vodacom’s sponsorship of the SA
Paralympic Team. I assisted for the last few years with all SASA-II (SA Sports
Association for the Intellectually Impaired) events, Lifesaving South Africa
and more recently Wheelchair Basketball South Africa.
One of the latest highlights has been working on WildFly fly fishing events.
What is your advice for someone who would like to break into public
relations?
First of all I always encourage youngsters to match
their talents, passions, dreams and find a way to make it lucrative for
yourself. There was no job description like mine when I left school so don’t
limit yourself, work out what your interests are and get into a PR field that
suits you best.
Shadow someone for a day and see if it’s the sort of
thing that you are keen on. Once you have set your heart on PR spend as much
time as possible getting work experience on a variety of projects as there is
no substitute for this ‘hands on’ approach.
What is the one skill one must have to be good at PR?
I wish I could narrow it down to one only but the
most important skill is that you need to be a good communicator. Over and above
this you definitely need to have a flair for creative writing, you need to be
able to be flexible, think quickly on your feet especially when handling crisis
PR work and you also need to be able to handle stress and deadlines well.
It can be very noisy and hectic especially at sports
events, everyone wants a piece of you and you have to be cool under pressure
and above all else keep your sense of humour. 
Where does your love for the water come from and what are your
favourite water sports?
My earliest childhood memories are of spending long
hours in the pool underwater pretending to be a mermaid. I have grown up as a
water baby passionate about swimming and then at the age of 13 I started
competing in lifesaving.
I have never enjoyed the idea of hanging around on
the beach in a bikini trying to look decorative – it’s not how I roll! So one
day my best friend Olivia Reitz and I hopped off the pier with a bodyboard and
never looked back. We competed on the SA Bodyboarding Tour for a number of
years at which point I decided to take up surfing and flowboarding.
These days I am as mad about spending time under the
sea as I am about riding the waves. I am a rescue SCUBA diver; I recently
completed a freediving (breath-hold) course with SA record holder Hanli
Prinsloo and also got my skippers license. So it’s a toss up between diving
(shark diving is my best), surfing, cray fishing, water skiing, riding my Jet
Ski or tow-surfing with my fiancé.
Who are your favourite sports stars?
Heather Clark – the queen of SA Surfing! She is
undeniably one of the most unassuming athletes I have ever met, it’s easy to
underestimate her due to this but she is a deadly competitor, has a wicked
sense of humor, she charges huge surf and succeeded at a time when women’s
surfing was not taken seriously at all.
Justin Govender – Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball
Star – his quiet determination, humility, professionalism, supreme playing
talent and great way of handling the media makes him one of my favorites.
Hanli Prinsloo – she is a fish! This woman is
remarkable; she recently smashed all of our SA freediving records and is the
most patient teacher and yoga instructor check out her IAmWater website!
Russel Symcox – my fiancé and tow-surf partner, he
is good at everything he does – he is a natural athlete from a professional cricketing
background, he is equally comfortable playing ball sports like golf as he is in
the water surfing, diving, Jet Skiing or trying something new and daring like
gorge swinging.
What are your favourite ways to keep fit?
By doing the things that I love, I have never been
one for gym or ‘formal exercise’ and feel that its way more sustainable long
term to dive, surf, ride… Whatever blows my hair back or the weather permits on
a particular day.
What have been some of your highlights of 2008?
Top of the list has to be when my boyfriend Russel
Symcox proposed to me on 14 November outside the Taj Mahal in India. It was
the most romantic, moving and thrilling thing that has ever happened to me.
We had just arrived in India and been told the story of
the Taj being the monument of unparalleled love when Russel went down on one
knee. It took my breath (and voice) away – it felt like a fairytale. It has
taken me a few weeks to realize: I really am that lucky and it really did
happen and I am going to spend the rest of my life with my dream partner.
Who are some of the people who have influenced your career?
Pierre Tostee -he had the vision to link to me up to
the work that I do today and he set me up with media contacts and sound advice.
Gavin Horn from East Coast Promoceans who saw the
potential in me back in 2001, took a chance on me and appointed me as the Media
Officer for ASP Africa; we still enjoy working
on events together as his company runs a variety of sports and lifestyle
festivals.
Melinda Lombard (SABC Sport & Women in Sport) is
an amazing woman that has always given me encouragement and supported me with
some TV work as well as covering events I work on. Her go girl attitude is
contagious, I have always admired the way that she is so forward thinking and I
have respected her sense of honoring women.
I also have a click of amazing friends in the media
field namely Renelle Naidoo (TV & Radio star & 2008 gsport Woman in
Media), Sophie Thompson (Publicity Matters), Frances Park Ross (KPR
Consultants) and the "honorary girl" amongst us – Simon Osler (Sports Ed for
Sunday Tribune). I treasure the time we get to spend together over lunches
swapping ideas, tips and celebrating our friendship.
Michelle Govender (Activate Communications) has
proved to be an amazing partner for joint ventures as well as a confidante and
loyal friend.
What more can be done to improve the state of women’s sport in SA?
I think that women need to be taken more seriously
as athletes. I am not overly keen on the way that a lot of sponsors make
decisions based on whether or not the girl can double as a model for their next
catalogue/ billboard.
Ideally, sponsorship should be merit-based. It’s a
real double-edged sword and in the surfing world it has seen a lot of the most
competent competitors suffer when lesser known but more "marketable" girls get
the backing from the bigger companies.
One way for event organizers and sponsors in the
surfing world to improve things further would be by upping the stakes with
better prize money, only selecting the best venues for women’s surfing events
and not sidelining them by running the ladies heats when the wind picks up or
the tide is wrong.
Who do you rate as some of the best female surfers in the country?
There are too many rising stars to list these days
but I am a major fan of the pioneers of the sport in SA – Wendy Botha, Heather
Clark, Kay Holt, Tamarys de Marroussem – these are the ones that have fought
hard to pave the way for the youngsters of today.
Now it’s easy to pick up a custom-made girls
surfboard, whip on proper girls boardshorts/ wetsuits, and be welcomed in the
line-up by all of the guys, but it hasn’t always been like that…
What is the best career advice you’ve received?
Diversify as much as possible, and don’t keep all of
your eggs in one basket. These pearls of wisdom, along with many others, have
come from my brother Greg Jones who is one of the most astute businesspeople
that I know.
As a result I have welcomed opportunities to do
different work with a wide variety of clients, and (despite growing up
suffering from stage fright) I have three radio slots and occasionally try my
hand at TV presenting.
I am up every morning Monday to Friday at 05h30
doing the "Marine and Angling Files" on East Coast Radio (Deon Govender’s
Show), then during school holidays I do the 14h10 "aQuelle Beach Watch Report"
on East Coast Radio and I have a slot on Tuesdays called the "Coast to Coast
Diary" on Lotus FM (Lunch with Varshan Show).
I have been fortunate enough to assist with TV
presenting at a number of beach festivals, as well as international surfing
events such as the Mr Price Pro and the World Surfing Games.
gsport strives to celebrate femininity. How would you define femininity
and what role does it play in your life?
Inner strength, outward beauty, compassion and
intuition would be my definition of femininity. I have always adored the way
that as women we are able to enjoy the best of both worlds. It thrills me to be
able to participate in male dominated sports (surfing, motocross, riding Jet
Skis etc) then to be able to come home and slip into a dress, put on lipstick
and feel like a lady.
I rely a lot on intuition and "gut feel" with my
every day life, and with business decisions.
How do you plan on spending the holidays?
The festive season is always busy for me so I will
have my hands full with the rewarding national Vodacom Beach Clean Up Campaign
(15 December to 7 January), Blythedale Beach Festival (20, 21 December), two
daily radio slots and a number of other Vodacom KZN projects.
In between working hard I plan on spending quality
time with my fiancé and our families, visiting and riding my gorgeous horse
called Classy Gent, going on tiger shark dives with Blue Wilderness, practicing
my free diving skills, spending heaps of time on our Jet Ski and squeezing in
some surfing when the waves are good.
http://www.bluewilderness.co.za/
What is your biggest wish for 2009?
Instead of focusing on the same boring topics that
centre on demonizing South
Africa I wish people would start thinking of
everything that we have to be proud of – especially ahead of 2010.
I wish that more people would adopt the "Stop Crime
Say Hello" approach that preaches tolerance and how to treat each other with
respect on a daily basis. Their SayHello website and newsletter is priceless,
uplifting and educational- check it out!
Who are your role models?
My mother – her strength and the fact that she is so
capable and practical; she always just "gets on with it" but still manages to
be tender, loving and will drop everything to help those that she loves.
Gail Addison, Julie Andersen and the rest of the Shark Angels Team.
These successful, gutsy, driven ladies are in love
with sharks, promote marine environmental awareness and will stop at nothing to
fight for what they believe in.
What inspires you?
As clichéd as it may sound God inspires me, I see
His beauty around me daily – especially when in nature like riding in the sugar
cane or spending quiet time in the sea.
What is your greatest ambition?
To change perceptions in the media about women, use
media contacts to educate the public about the topics I feel strongly about –
which includes differently-abled athletes, the environment, minority sports and
women in sport.
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