Local gives 5FM his all
People laughed at him when he was in Grade 11, when he said he would present a show on either Highveld Stereo or 5FM two years out of high school.
He proved them wrong.
Justin Toerien’s (24) doubters did not know that he would become the youngest commercial radio presenter in the country, at age 17.
A few months after graduating from Ashton International College, Toerien landed a job at Highveld Stereo.
The Crystal Park resident is continuing to make a name for him in the industry.
On May 5 he was promoted to his new slot on 5FM.
Toerien’s voice can now be heard on weekdays from 1am till 3am, and on Saturdays and Sundays, from 1am till 4am.
Although Toerien is working at his dream radio station and knows it’s what he is destined to do, he accidently fell in love with radio.
His whole life had been geared toward becoming a professional cricketer, but that changed in three hours.
Toerien said, in Grade 11, pupils at his school were asked to do two days’ job shadowing.
”Most of the guys went with their dad’s to work, but I was not really interested to see what my dad did – I know what he does for a living,” said Toerien.
”So, I though of doing something different, something fun, but nothing that I wanted to go and do as a career.
”It was never a thought to be on radio or wanting to do it, it was just something different to do apart from what everyone else was going to do.”
He decided to shadow at the Rude Awakening show on Highveld Stereo for a day.
From that moment, Toerien knew that radio was his call.
”I just absolutely fell in love with it and pretty much got home that day after I sat there for the three hours and started phoning any radio stations that I could, to try and get me on there,” he said.
One of the stations he called was UJfm, who told him he was too young.
A few weeks later UJfm called him to say he could attend an audition.
It was made clear to him that he would not get a job, but that it was more for the experience.
Toerien got a call-back and was told he was welcome to start working at the station if he thought he could manage it with his school studies.
He took up the offer and towards the end of his matric he was hosting the afternoon drive.
Soon he received a call from Highveld – where he worked for over four years.
Now, after a year at 5FM, he has a new time slot, but is intent on making fast strides.
”I look around at other DJ’s at 5FM and I think, ‘I wish I was doing their radio shows’, but then I look back and think they are six years older than me and I still have got six years to get to that stage,” said Toerien.
”Sometimes I feel like a small fish in a big pond kind of thing, but other times I think I still have so much time and that something I forget.
”I think I am trying to rush through this and I just want to be at the top already.’’
He admitted that he often puts this pressure on himself.
”Everyone always says to me: ‘Dude, just give it time, you are still very young”’.
Toerien still DJs and lends his voice as an announcer at the Proteas games and for the Highveld Lions.
Follow him on twitter @JustinT_SA.
