COVER – Nochill God: A Man on a Mission to Inspire
Social media sensation Ndivhuwo Muhanelwa, popularly known as Nochill God, has made remarkable strides in his 31 years on earth. The vlogger turned authour has single handedly created an impressive online career with his celebrity skits that have tinkled Mzansi’s fancy – subsequently winning him 9 awards in his 8 year long career.
This past Sunday, the Nochill God walked away with his fourth Social Media Personality of the Year Award at this year’s South African Social Media Awards (SASMA) ceremony in Sandton.
And while he is reaping the rewards of hard work and tenacity, life has not always been good to him. But through it all, he proved to be a survivor and hopes his life is a testimony that one can achieve anything they set their mind on.
You see, the last born of four boy children had to quickly learn how to fend for himself especially from the very tender ages – with this need intensifying right after his mother’s passing in 2011. Poverty wreaked havoc in his life and the lack of adequate opportunities spelt a very bleak future for him. Life was nothing like what it is now.
2023 winner at the SASMAs for Social Media Personality of the Year Award
“The situation at home was really bad and I always looked for ways to escape it. I would study for longer hours at school just so I escaped my painful reality. When My mother passed on, as someone whom I looked up to for everything, life quickly became darker than what it was before. I always say that how I survived my situation is all because of God’s hand over my life,” said the Nochill God who is a firm believer in the Higher power and is never shy to speak on it.
And as a very intelligent person who achieved impressive results in matric, his University journey was not as favourable either, due financial woes which saw him struggle with two different universities.
“After losing my bursary with the second university in my second year for failing just one module, I would sleep in the bathroom for like two months or even try to sleep at the library. My school performance obviously took a dip which led me to drop out ultimately.”
Life knocked him down at every turn, but he knew he needed to do more than just school to survive. He looked for a job. Fortunately, he landed an apprenticeship at an aviation company that later employed him and has remained his workplace till date.
He picked himself up one paycheck at a time.
Silencing the voices of his past traumas through prayer and staying focused, he stumbled upon the social media world and started to create memes and skits as a form of a hobby. His very first video skit, being a stitch of the once very popular ‘I drink the wines, I am the girl’ video, trended beyond his wildest imagination and led him to wanting to do more.
He admits that what he started doing as fun morphed itself into a lucrative career that he too did not ever imagine. But it just didn’t happen by chance. Passion, consistency AND GOD guided his path – he said.
But that too took a lot of sacrifice, investing in personal development, juggling a job, sowing seeds into this passion of his and also maintaining his faith in a world that wants to dilute one’s moral code.
He loves knowledge, he admits, and that led him to teaching himself everything that he knows now about social media through reading and researching. That resulted in his entire journey moving him out of poverty to a place where he is affirmed that nothing is impossible to attain with the right knowledge at hand.
It is for that reason that he aims to spread knowledge through his debut book dubbed ‘The Influencer’s Code’ and also one day build a school that will hopefully benefit those who are not exposed to life changing information.
“I want my life to show how anyone can change their own lives. It is definitely possible because it has happened to me. The bigger vision is to change how people think. It all starts in the mind, I want my influence to result in mindset changes, because that is where the real change lies,” he said.
So behind his successes and entertaining videos is an authentic man who is on a mission to inspire the world using his influence and solid growing community.
“What good is it for me to go through all that I have to ultimately achieve all this, but not change lives? I believe everything happens for a reason, good or bad and it is about recognising what your path is about. Mine, I believe, is anchored in being a change agent in society. I’ve never had it all nor was I always put together. But I did not allow that to dictate my life.
“The power to succeed is within us and I am determined to expose it in each and everyone of us. One skit at a time,” he said.