We caught up with Romy Titus: Mom, media mogul, and cricket crazy fan (most especially of the Lions) to hear how she juggles it all, whilst still making time to sit as a subcommittee member at the Central Gauteng Lions.

  • Tell us about yourself: Your loves, dislikes, weaknesses?

I’m a mom, sports journalist, doula and currently doing my Executive MBA. I love my daughter (my mini-me) Hera to death! I love live sport, I dislike anything that does not have a running order and my weakness is that I take things too personally sometimes…

  • What drives you / what wakes you each morning?

The crack of dawn! LOL! Wakes me up – actually it’s my alarm to be honest. I study till the wee hours of the morning so I’m heavily reliant on that right now, but my drive really is the next chapter of my life.  My MBA is one component of it – but I’ve entered a space where I’m working on doing only what I want to do… might sound selfish but I think I’ve earned my stripes to pick and choose. The next chapter which kicks off in a year is going to be exciting!

Talk to us about your family and friends – key individuals who help you cope/ make you love life/ teach and guide you.

My Life Coach whom I’ve been with for the past 2 years has really assisted me in putting things into perspective, I would greatly recommend this to anyone struggling to juggle life, single momhood like me, jobs, family drama – it’s a safe space to be human but to also keep a firm grip on my career goals. My best friend Tina who lives in Paris is really my sounding board and we’ve been friends since the age of 12. My sister Celeste and I can make our own jokes and laugh loudly like we’re comedians when life gets tough and in my heart I carry my grandfather Alexander Titus – who passed away when I was 17. He taught me so many things that spring to life only now as an adult and I cherish those moments and pass them onto my daughter and I hope they spring to life for her when they’re needed.

  • Where did your love of sport originate from?

It wasn’t inate… Sport came to find me. I wanted to be a hard news journalist all my life. In the newsroom I used to think what a waste of time the sports department was. Their stories got cut all the time or dropped unless of national importance and it comes at the end of a bulletin yet a story I package could get the lead… Yet there was always laughter in the corner, chatter about sports things and some days I envied that. I needed an escape from dead babies, mince meat people on the highway, raped children, dead children and crimes that live on in my mind forever… The landscape of being a hard news journalist did take its toll and so when I was offered a chance to venture down the sports path, it was temporary. It was going to be for only a year… then back to my first love news… I’ve never looked back and have found the laughter that would eminate from the journalists on the sports desk.

  • Take us through your typical 7 day week and what it entails?

I work on radio 7 days a week. I host a weekday drive time show on Vision View Sports Radio 3-6pm called the Locker Room and the weekends I cross over to FM with Radio 2000 hosting The Touchline which recently scooped the ‘Best Sports Show’ on a PBS station for the second successive year, a sports show that encompasses live sports, but all sporting codes are given air time. On the weekend I’m on TV as well focussing mainly on live TV events from womens football, men’s football and special broadcasts like the Olympics. I’m a doula so if not behind the mic, I’m assiting mom’s give birth (yes I know, rather different from the norm) and then studying and raising Hera, taking her to swimming, music lessons and gymnastics.

  • Talk to us about your love of the Central Gauteng Lions?

It really started behind the mic. I would interview different personnel  from CGL and there really was an effervescencse about them, you could sense the love they had for what they did and a belonging. I was really envious of the culture there, wish I had a piece of it. A family friend was the old CEO and he would always embarrass me when I did interviews… I would end up addressing him as Uncle Greg live on air!!! LOL!!! So blame uncle Greg for the interest in the brand the bright pink CEO suit that comes out on Pink Day! Ravishing!!!!

  • Talk to us about Imperial Wanderers Stadium?

Well… shall we address the parking? Because I always Uber… My first visit to Wanderers was when I was in grade 11. My high-school boyfriend was cricket crazy and played for the first team and thought a good date destination would be Wanderers… I rolled my eyes but it was better than staying home so off I went. It was my first visit there and my very first live cricket match. There was a vibe like no other that made me understand why spectators would leave their homes and attend, and often when I go back I relive that moment, remembering where I sat. Which food stall I visited and how I was transported to another dimension for a few hours. Magic!!!! It was a good date btw.

  • What personal dreams are you still to achieve / reach?

I’ve wanted to for a long time tell real, raw relatable stories of sports people. They’re more than the sport we see them play. They’re human doing the extraordinary. I want to venture into the documentary space and I’ve been saying it for a while now. It’s high on my list of goals and one that needs a time frame now and less talking about it. Oh and my masters degree… I’m almost there…

  • You are a subcommittee member at CGL – dealing on matters of marketing, commercial and communications. Talk to us about this role?

    It is interesting to hear the varied views of all the professionals in that space. There is a lot that I’ve questioned and now that I’m a part of the conversations I realise there’s more to a decision than just a yes or a no. I do believe that CGL as a brand needs no introduction but as a media hound I do believe there’s still so much more than can be done to have every tail wagging at the utterance of CGL. I enjoy being a part of the circle of change within this role no matter how small a contribution that might come from my side, that is heard and considered for the greater good of a magnificent brand.
  • August is womens month. You have achieved so much and clearly love life: Please give some words of encouragement to fellow women reading this.

Do it for you! If you’re not doing it it for you, then who are you living for? I think we should stop with the self loathing (I’m a victim) and get up and stop at nothing until we stare our wildest dreams coming true in the face. It starts with YOU! So let’s start there… What are you waiting for?