How Banyana’s Kgoale is growing the Lipstick-Lady brand and dealing with mental health

It’s pretty amazing what a life of being an athlete can do for an individual, especially if they make the most of the opportunity.

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This is something that is possible for one of Banyana Banyana’s superstars Nomvula Kgoale, who has built herself as a brand in the last few months, particularly this year after the Caf Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) success with the South African senior national women’s team.

Kgoale can be easily spotted, having developed a trademark of putting on a red-lipstick in every game she plays and wherever she goes. That alone has already managed to differentiate her from the rest of her teammates and she is now growing the brand “Lipstick-Lady”.

Already, Kgoale can be seen wearing clothes with a Lipstick-Lady logo, meaning she can use the brand to do something out of football. She reckons it is still early days, but she is open to do something for people who want to start wearing clothes branded with her logo and designed by her.

“If people want them, why not? I’ve had a number of people approaching me regarding Lipstick-Lady designs. It wasn’t really something that I was doing for people, just myself. However, it is something that one might have to look at in the future,” said the Limpopo born player.

While her popularity has grown in the last few months and it seems like she is all set for the future, after winning the Wafcon, Kgoale decided to put a pause on her career after a spell in Spain with Fedaricion FC.

Mental Health

The Banyana player picked out mental health as one of the major reasons to take a break from playing football, which is not really talked much about when it comes to footballers and athletes in general. But, a recent incident that put mental health in the spotlight was that of Tennis star Naomi Osaka, who decided to withdraw from the 2021 French Open, to take a mental health break from tennis.

One’s health certainly comes first and for Kgoale, she knew exactly what she was doing as she decided to spend more time with her family and focus on other things outside football.

“I don’t know if players talk about it, but I have been taking care of my mental health. After winning the cup (Wafcon), I just decided to take things slow and focus on my life. And when I talk about mental health I am not saying that I want to kill myself,” she chuckled.

“I just mean, you get tired as a person, that is why there is sick leave, and … people go for vacations, so that is what I needed. The mind goes through a lot that people from outside might not understand. But I know when my body needs to relax or else diseases will make me sit down.”

Taking a break from the game should be something that works well for Kgoale, especially since this year will be busy for Banyana, with the Fifa Women’s World Cup coming up in Australia and New Zealand.