Robyn Poole - Multitasking her Way to Fulfilment

Robyn’s career took off in 1987 when she was crowned first princess at the Miss South Africa pageant. After that she went on to open her own hair salon, became a television presenter on SABC 3 and Kyknet, worked at Life Line as a counsellor, and is now a presenter on Jacaranda FM, the marketing director of a company and a make-up artist. And she still finds time to be a mother to her twins and an artist in her spare time.

“Being in the Miss South Africa pageant was a great kick start to my career in more ways than one. It put me in the entertainment industry, but most importantly it taught me not to give up on what I set out to do. It was very challenging for someone of my race in those days. Apartheid was still very much a reality, and so I really had to force myself to get out there despite the opinions and prejudice of others,” says Robyn.

Through all her various careers, and always in the spotlight, Robyn admits that the person she has always most envied is the make-up artist. So she started taking notes when her make-up was being done and slowly learnt the tricks of the trade.

“I really believe I have found my passion in this and have since become a professional make-up artist. I am juggling quite a few projects at the moment, but no matter how tired I am, I’m always happy to get to the studios and start on someone’s make-up. It is a huge challenge and gives me instant gratification,” says Robyn.

This multitasker has been at Jacaranda FM for almost two years doing the 11pm – 2am slot, which allows her enough time during the day to work on her other projects.

“I love working in the radio industry and being able to play around with my voice. It’s important to come across as if you are talking to someone specific and come up with interesting themes. It takes me an hour to prepare each show and to find interesting things to talk about with my audience, instead of just announcing each song. It is a late slot but you would be surprised how many people are awake that time of night,” says Robyn.

Growing up in the cheerful suburb of Eersterus on the outskirts of Pretoria, Robyn was one of four children. She speaks fondly of her childhood and has many happy memories.

“Eersterus was the type of place where the people would drag their garden furniture out onto the pavement to socialise with the neighbours on a Sunday afternoon. You’ll always find children laughing and running around in the streets. We spent every Christmas in Warmbaths on a farm where my grandmother lived. All the cousins would get together there and we would play from morning till night. We would leave my grandmother’s house early in the morning and not return till dark. One day I got covered in prickly pear thorns trying to get to the fruit, my gran spent hours trying to get them all out,” laughs Robyn.

Robyn’s twin children are now 3-years old and she lists them as her greatest achievement. “People must think me terribly boring because all I ever talk about is my boy and girl. To me they are not children but two little people with their own ideas and a will of their own. If there was just one thing I could hope for then it would be to see them all grown up and successful,” she talks, the pride evident in her voice and posture.

“I was very lucky to be a stay-at-home mom for a year after my twins’ birth. It is unfortunate that most mothers can’t afford to do so. My children were both colic babies, so I went for long hours without sleep. One day I got so desperate for help that I consulted a book on ‘boere raad’. Under colic it advised that I place six fleas on two slices of white bread and feed it to my children.

I thought to myself: ‘where am I going to find six fleas who are willing to sit still on a slice of bread?’ I started laughing uncontrollably and phoned my mom to tell her what I had read. After another half hour of laughing I felt so much better and came to the conclusion that ‘boere raad’ works wonderfully if it gives you a good laugh!”

With such an extensive career, Robyn says that the best part has been working with and in South Africa. “We live in a beautiful country with beautiful people who aren’t pretentious. We are a very friendly, charitable nation and it has been a pleasure working with the public for so many years,” she says.

And the one thing she still hopes to achieve? A good night’s sleep of course!