How the ultimate wingman racked up 14k followers staging proposals

IT was on Valentine’s Day some eight years ago that Durbanite Zain Moosa planned his first event, with no idea that his company, I’m the Guy, would be born. As a self-described hopeless romantic, Moosa is in his element orchestrating some of the most magical moments in his clients’ lives. He sets the stage for all sorts of special occasions, and the results are a hit on social media where I’m the Guy has racked up a whopping 14 000 followers on Facebook.

With Valentine’s Day upon us, Caxton Durban journalist, Danica Hansen, sat down to chat with Moosa about how he became the ultimate wingman, the joy of sharing in his clients’ magical moments and how he rose to success after a terrible car accident left him bedridden for six months.

“I specialise in intimate experiences for couples and small groups. Some of the experiences include proposals, birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, milestones, gender reveals and baby showers,” said Moosa, “The most popular experience I offer are proposals, and the sunrise-sand sculptured experience which is a must for anyone’s bucket list.”

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The concept was an instant success with Moosa gaining 7 000 followers overnight after posting photos from his first event in 2015.
“I started this business eight years ago on Valentine’s Day as a favour to a friend, and it just grew on social media,” he said.
“After the first event, I went home, exhausted, having been on the beach in the sun all day from the early morning. I posted pictures on Facebook and went straight to sleep. The next morning, I checked my analytics and saw the photos had been viewed by people in 31 countries around the world and I had gained 7 000 followers overnight,” said Moosa.

Disaster strikes

Following this success, Moosa decided to take his business to Cape Town, and he had just booked his first client on the West Coast when disaster struck.

“I went to Cape Town about three years ago and spent three months there, marketing my business. I had booked my first client when I had to come back to Durban for a wedding, and that same night, I was in a terrible car accident. That messed up all my plans. I had to have bed rest for six months as I recovered from severe injuries on my back and shoulders. It was really tough. All the money I had budgeted for the business was used up to pay medical bills. Eventually, I started the business up again, and then Covid-19 hit, which caused all sorts of problems,” he recalled.

Despite these challenges, Moosa has risen again to success – doing what he loves. His work is a lot like being the ultimate wingman – and he must have the magic touch because he has yet to set up a proposal with a negative outcome.
“I have never had a single ‘no’ to a proposal that I’ve planned,” he said.

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That is not to say that the job does not come with its fair set of challenges.
“The biggest challenge is working around strong weather conditions as we set up most of our experiences in gardens, on beaches or at private venues,” explained the event planner.

But, it’s all worth it in the end for Moosa who cherishes the chance to witness others’ joy.
“The best part of my job is seeing the look of awe on my client’s faces as they enter their experience,” he said.

I’m the Guy is based in Durban, although Moosa, who hails from Overport, often travels to picturesque settings to create the perfect backdrop to a special occasion.
“We travel mostly around Durban, Ballito and the south coast of KZN,” said the ‘ultimate wingman’.

• Along with setting up the perfect stage, I’m the Guy organises professional photography and videography, partnering with Tangent Studios. For more information, check out I’m The Guy on Facebook or contact Moosa on 074 349 0253 or zain@imtheguysa.co.za.

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