You’ve been described as SA’s sexiest man. How do you feel about that?

It was a huge compliment to be chosen as SA’s sexiest man, especially by Cosmopolitan magazine (which has been my source to understanding women for many years… although that is an impossible task). But I certainly did not let it go to my head, and at the end of the day, there are many things in life that are far more important than the title of ‘sexiest’.

Do you miss your kick-boxing days much?

Very much, especially as I have been ring announcing for several fights over the last few months. That really got me fired-up because there is just nothing that compares to the experience of entering a full-contact arena, to confront and fight against an opponent who has spent the last several months training with the single intent of taking you apart. Yip, hectic stuff.

What town is SA’s hidden gem?

If I have to single out a ‘new-old-find’ (I stumbled across it this past December on my way to Port Alfred) it would be Hoggsback in the Eastern Cape. According to legend, JRR Tolkien based the Lord of the Rings series on his experiences growing up in the area. This has now been disputed, but regardless it is a magical place, and one could clearly see how he could have been inspired by the beauty.

Tell us about your home entertainment set-up.

I have a great LG flatscreen TV, wirelessly connected to my decoder and DVD player. My wife didn’t want to have all the ‘machines’ visible in the living room, so I put them elsewhere and connected them. I’m not too big on sound though, and simply connect some speakers to my laptop when I’m hosting a party.

What would you call the most important gadget of all time?

Historically… a pocket knife, (although you can still use the knife for technological advancement… by way of mugging somebody, and taking their cellphone…. this is South Africa after all).
But seriously, I love gadgets, especially where one item has loads of different functions, like a Leatherman and the new generation cellphones. I am a big Sony Ericsson fan, having gone through the entire P-series (P900, P910, P990) and now I have the XPERIA which is great.

How do you stay connected all the time?

Except for my phone with full connectivity, I also recently bought an Acer Aspire One Netbook, because I travel so often. I need to be lightweight and mobile, and by using an MTN USB Modem, I can pretty much connect anywhere. (Hopefully my colleagues don’t realise this too soon, because then I no longer have an excuse for late reports.)