“I Want to Have Fun, Learn and Become the Best Version of Myself”: Author and Speaker Penuel Mlotshwa Talks Shop About The Penuel Show
He is the man, the myth, and the legend. Born in the Madadeni Township in Newcastle, Penuel Lungelo Mlotshwa is a South African author and speaker who has gained a cult following with his podcast The Penuel Show, having established himself as one of the country’s most thought-provoking and scholarly thinkers.
Grounded on Penuelism, his own religion with its own set of principles that he founded five years back, his podcast is among the most well-known, with multitudes tuning in to his YouTube channel, TikTok and Instagram accounts. It is poetic justice that the name Penuel itself, from a Biblical standpoint, means “Face of God”.
“Penuelism was a result of over fifteen years of researching religious groups around the world. Being baptized Roman Catholic, I was a Christian for most of my younger life. When I got to university, at Rhodes in Makhanda, I wanted to become the best Christian I could be. I read the entire Bible and other religious books. I consulted religious leaders and realised I was not aligned with the core beliefs. After a phase of atheism and being agnostic, I decided to create my own belief system, as an alternative for those who want something modern,” he said on Penuelism and how it has shaped his character.
Having had a sit-down session with mercurial tycoon and world-renowned speaker Vusi Thembekwayo, one he cited as among his personal favourites, his show has exceeded his own benchmark. Building upon a five year plan, he sought to exploit the void philosophical niche in the industry, breathing intellectualism into his content and recruiting guests who come from every sort of walk of life.
“I’m currently in year two of my five year vision, and have luckily exceeded my own expectations, but that makes me want to work even harder. From a YouTube perspective, I was hoping for 30,000 subscribers by the end of 2023… I’m currently at over 180,000. For TikTok, I was aiming for 50,000 followers and am over 200,000 currently. I’m incredibly blessed, and I don’t take any of this for granted. So I’m doing better than I thought, but I still have a long way to go,” he said.
Penuel Show Episode with Vusi:
As with all other journeys in life, for Penuel, his ascent and that of The Penuel Show has been a steady marathon run with other like-minded individuals. Among those he paid homage to were American podcaster and commentator Joe Rogan for The Joe Rogan Experience, as well as Russo-American podcaster Lex Fridman, and entrepreneurs Steven Bartlett and Patrick Bet-David.
With the steady growth of his show, he shared his appreciation of people having different opinions about his show and what he stands for.
“I’m very blessed that my role models are mostly controversial figures, who have challenged many ideologies and concepts on the biggest platforms on earth. From Jacob Zuma to Tupac Shakur to Lauryn Hill to Kanye West to Elon Musk… they challenge (or have challenged) the status quo and share their unfiltered thoughts on platforms, including many which are polarizing. Then there’s Jesus Christ, who was crucified for being alternative. It helps me know that I’m not crazy and that my thoughts and opinions are valid,” he said.
For Penuel, the show isn’t about hype but substance, with him admitting that sacrificing clout for mind-challenging episodes has been a ritual which has gotten the podcast to the heights it has reached thus far. And even with the successes, he still feels there’s more that could be done to spruce up the show.
“The greatest challenge is actually myself, weirdly. I’m very reluctant to sit down with people just because they are famous… so I tend to turn down guests who can bring crazy views if I feel they won’t bring stimulating conversation. The other point is that I don’t think I’m working hard enough. I need to quadruple my work ethic within the next six months if I am going to get anywhere close to my real goals in the game,” he said.
With the future looking bright and the show gaining more and more traction with every passing week, Penuel seeks not only to use his flame to light up other candles like him but to place his eggs in different baskets across the entertainment industry in the next decade.
“Ten years from now, I hope to have passed on the baton to five other podcasters to do the work I’m doing, and hopefully, I’ll have a stake in their channels. I also want to experiment with media content that South Africans haven’t indulged in. I want to make music. I want to make artworks. I want to have unique conversations with insane minds from the African continent and beyond the continent. I want to have fun, learn and become the best version of myself, while giving value to my audience,” he said.