ATHCO

018: A Joke Became South Africa's Fastest Growing Drink Brand

Michael Tones has been building brands since he was 10 labeling bottles in his family's factory in Durban. His dad was a serial entrepreneur who risked everything and lost everything more than once. Michael watched and took notes. Years later, a mate said "toss me a naughty water" on a Friday evening. By Monday he'd trademarked it. No plan, no product. He sold his house, went R700K in, spent a year getting the flavour right, then had 375,000 cans banned by the government because the can size was illegal. R1.5 million scrapped. He started over. In this conversation we get into the real side of building a product brand in South Africa why he does the opposite of what every other brand does, the partner who demanded R1.4 million for worthless shares, why giveaway competitions kill your brand, why he didn't take a salary for two years, and why he thinks consumer products in SA are the biggest opportunity nobody's taking. 🔗 Follow Michael & Nawty Water Instagram: @michaeltones / @nawtywater 🔗 Follow ATHCO Instagram: @athco.cc YouTube: ATHCO 🔗 Follow Us Daniel: @dannyjd_ Jannis: @itsjaaannis

017: He Ran the Entire Length of Japan to Save Lives

Michael Larter's girlfriend Amiee took her own life in 2017. After years of depression and healing, he founded the Amiee Howard Foundation to get teenagers access to therapy the group who can't afford it and don't have medical aid. Then he ran across countries to fund it. First South Africa to Namibia, 772km in 14 days. Then the entire length of Japan 3,300km, solo, self-funded, pushing a baby pram with all his gear. No team, no physio, no support van. Just him. In this conversation, he takes us through all of it the viral video he posted before his first marathon, the visa denial that rerouted him from the US to Japan, what it's like to run through a country where you don't speak the language with nobody around for days, and why every kilometre was for someone else. 🔗 Follow Michael Instagram: @michaeluncharted Foundation: amieehowardfoundation.org 🔗 Follow ATHCO Instagram: @athco.cc YouTube: ATHCO 🔗 Follow Us Daniel: @dannyjd_ Jannis: @itsjaaannis

016: What HYROX Athletes Can Learn From Rugby Players

Shaka started rugby at 14 five years behind everyone else. He came from a school with 90 boys, studied mathematics at Stellenbosch, and did 1,000 passes a day during COVID because he couldn't pass with his left hand. Now he coaches rugby performance and works at one of the top schools in the country, bridging the gap between what team coaches expect and what individual players can actually do. In this conversation, we get into why rugby players are the original hybrid athletes, the difference between being fit and being game fit, a high-intensity workout structure that would break most gym users, what HYROX and fitness athletes can learn from rugby training, and why you can't coach heart. We also talk about why South Africa's rugby content creator space is wide open. 🔗 Follow ShakaInstagram: @shakacoachingTikTok: @shakacoaching🔗 Follow ATHCOInstagram: @athco.ccYouTube: ATHCO🔗 Follow UsDaniel: @dannyjd_Jannis: @itsjaaannis

015: The Secret to YouTube Videos That Actually Make You Feel Something | Laura Kirkpatrick

Laura Kirkpatrick spent four years in med school, started a vegan business that landed in 30 UK stores, did three years in management consulting, and then quit everything to ride bikes and make films. She left with 10,000 followers, no brand deals, and one consulting bonus as her safety net. She came to Cape Town on a whim after a stranger on a training camp suggested it instead of Mexico. This conversation is different from most we've had. Laura thinks about content like a filmmaker story arcs, conflict, feeling. She talks about why she hates Instagram, why her worst content gets the best metrics, and the difference between chasing views and making something that actually connects with people. We also get into the breakup that triggered everything, bikepacking from Annecy to Nice with someone she'd met once, building a van, and what it really means to be all in versus all consumed. 🔗 Follow Laura YouTube: @lauradoessportsInstagram: Instagram@lauradoessports Strava: Laura Kirkpatrick 🔗 Follow ATHCO Instagram: @athco.cc YouTube: ATHCO 🔗 Follow Us Daniel: @dannyjd_ Jannis: @itsjaaannis

014: He Got Bullied for Making Content. Now It's His Career.

Kuba Nowosiński quit his sales job in June 2024 with three months of savings and one bet: what happens if I put 100% into content creation? Two years later, he has 116K followers on Instagram, works as head of business development at one of Poland's biggest social media agencies, and gets flown out by brands across Europe. He sits on both sides of every deal. He's the creator and the person writing the brief. In this episode, we get into what most people never hear about social media. Kuba breaks down how brands actually choose which creators to work with, why most South African influencers don't know how to do a proper brand integration, and what Poland's creator economy (which is about a decade ahead of South Africa's) can teach us about where things are going. He also gets real about the darker side. His girlfriend is Poland's biggest TikToker and won Dancing with the Stars. Their first photo together brought death threats. He got bullied in high school for making content. And he still shows up every single day because, as he puts it, if you don't post, you didn't come to work. We also talk about why being cringy is free, why your friends will never be the ones to make your posts go viral, and why he thinks the best social media advice is the one nobody wants to hear: there's no hack, you just have to show up. One of our favourite episodes. This one's packed. 🔗 Follow Kuba Instagram: @kubanowo TikTok: @kubanowo 🔗 Follow ATHCO Instagram: @athco.cc YouTube: ATHCO 🔗 Follow Us Daniel: @dannyjd_ Jannis: @itsjaaannis