Bio
Mandla Hlatshwayo is a South African spaza shop owner best known for winning the third season of the Mzansi Magic reality competition television series Big Brother Mzansi, in 2014.
Big Brother Bio
Spaza shop owner Mandla (24) from Sebokeng describes himself as humorous, intelligent, spontaneous and adventurous. The father of a two year old son says he's most proud of starting his spaza from scratch and seeing it go from strength to strength.
Mandla identifies DJ Sbu as his role model because, "He is humble, consistent and a hard worker. These are qualities that any ambitious young person strives to possess."
Mandla, who says his bad habits include that he talks and eats too much, dislikes ignorant, inconsiderate, selfish people and liars in general.
The Kaizer Chiefs fan who has one brother and seven sisters says his hidden talent is voice impersonations while his hobbies including playing pool, listening to music, reading books, solitaire and arcade games.
If his friends and family had known he was going to participate in Big Brother Mzansi, "they would be surprised, but I know they would respect and support my decision."
Mandla, who believes South Africans have Ubuntu, says the best advice he ever got was from his late accounting teacher who said, "Don't get too excited".
Currently in a romantic relationship, Mandla speaks Zulu, English, Xhosa and Sotho. His favourite books include Losing My Virginity (Richard Branson) and Think and Grow Rich (N. Hill).
His favourite movies are Django Unchained, The Shawshank Redemption, Purge and World War Z while his favourite stars include Terry Pheto, Pamela Nomvete, Sophie Ndaba, Connie Ferguson, Denzel Washington, Fana Mokoena, Leonardo di Caprio and Sello Maake ka-Ncube.
Meanwhile, top of his playlist are the songs S'gelekeqe (DJ Vigilante) and Take Back the Night (Justin Timberlake). And if he could visit one place in the world, he'd visit the Playboy Mansion!
He views Big Brother Mzansi as, "an opportunity of a lifetime for me to finally showcase who I am, and hopefully wow the viewers. This show is a stepping stone for those who do well in it – not necessarily just for the ultimate winner."
If he wins the money, Mandla, who's passionate about job creation and youth empowerment, would like to "start a lucrative business that can hopefully create employment."
Audiences should watch him because, "I am humorous, naturally. This is one of the most underestimated weapons ever."