“I have a passion for what I call social engineering : building and maintaining brands, and using one’s influence to create a lasting impact on others. And, very conscious of social relevance.” – says Siyabonga Nyezi, Editor of Markhams Menswear Magazine. The 23 year old impressively champions the title of magazine editor as a student, columnist, part time model, blogger and former presenter at Imbo Live Radio.

I’ve always been one to say that to hedge the constant conscientious badgering of social media by the older generation is to show them that there’s more to Facebook than the rapists and business scams, and to Twitter than trending #hashtags and of course the hilarious bogus bios like these —> “..I save hot girls” avatars and claim they are my girlfriends”. Using these social media platforms smartly can get you somewhere, hell, a living testimony is this young editor of Markhams’ first ever magazine.

He’s simply THAT Guy who at the end of the day wants to “Make umama proud”. Hailing from Umtata in the Eastern Cape, Nyezi moved to Cape Town to study Economics at the prestigious University of Cape Town and has since then also managed to strategically place his fingers on the pulse of social media. In 2012, Siyabonga was nominated by The Markhams League to partake in a competition that embodies the brand’s voice of young men who are influential movers and shakers, those who are making waves in their respective fields and are still on their journey. Although he only made it to the Top 10 and didn’t progress to be a part of the Final 5 that joined The Markhams League, which embraced the likes of Loyiso Mdebuka and Vuyo Matyolo – look where ambition and a career-driven hustle has brought him.

When asked about the Markham brand and what it emulates, Siyabonga stated that “The Markhmam brand represents the style, sophistication and the elegance of the South African man; concepts that can bee seen in the new Markham Menswear magazine. It’s an expression of class; and the symbol of a man who’s a step ahead of the rest”.

And lastly, the publication hits the streets at the end of April. LIVE applauds Siya and his team for the hard and smart work that is going into this work.

You can follow Siyabonga Nyezi on twitter – @Siya_THATguy .