The hardships Tsatsi went through won’t stop him from conquering the world
23-year-old, Tsatsi Fannie, from Ladanna overcame losing his mother, grandmother and sister, failing matric and other hardships to win the Mr Face of Polokwane 2019/2020 as well as Mr SA Model of the Year 2019/2020.
POLOKWANE – The current Mr Face of Polokwane 2019/2020, Tsatsi Kemisho Fannie is the reigning Mr SA Model of the year 2019/2020 and isn’t afraid to share the struggles that he had to overcome to become the person that he is today.
With an electrical engineering qualification in hand, Tsatsi says modelling started as an escape from realities of life that he has faced. From being rejected by his father at birth, losing his mother at a very young age, then losing his grandmother whom he was close to and having his sister go missing and being found killed, he has had his fair share of life-altering moments.
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“Due to all the stress and pressure, I failed matric and at that point, I felt like the world was against me. I would make excuses for the decisions I made until I had an epiphany one day that excuses sound best to the person making them, everybody else doesn’t care, they just want things done,” he said.
He competed in his first pageant at the age of 12 and currently has 13 title wins to his name. He remembers that when he started modeling, he decided that he would work towards his dream body and be in the best shape of his life, this motivation became even more serious years later when he became Mr Face of Polokwane 2019/2020 which earned him an automatic entry into the Mr SA Model of the year 2019/2020 competition.
“Preparations were so hard, it took a lot of self-introspection and at that point, I realised that I was not happy with the way my life panned out and I decided to make changes,” he explained. He decided to instil discipline into his life and the first change was to his lifestyle. “I started taking the gym seriously and cut off sugar completely. I stopped eating processed food, fizzy drinks and alcohol. The temptation was a lot to deal with and I continue to have moments of struggle but I keep focused on my end goal,” he said.
He is also a motivational speaker who uses his personal experiences to reach out to people. He has learned over the years that bottling things up is not healthy and talking to somebody helps. “Everything I’m doing is not for fame but so I can become a point of reference for other people. Struggle is a part of life and if you allow yourself to learn from the painful experiences you go through, at the end of the day, you become a better person,” he said. He shared that he is currently at a point in his life where he has the titles but there is a void that he feels is keeping him from fulfilling his calling in life. “I would like to reach out to more people and be part of people who make changes in other people’s life,” he said.
Tsatsi sees a bright future for himself and sees himself becoming Mr South Africa before the age of 25. He has also set his eyes on the Mr World title within that time frame. He plans to have a masters in electrical engineering by 2025. “You can only say something is impossible if you haven’t done it. Getting better is not a hack or trick, it’s a daily struggle that requires daily effort,” he concluded.
