In The Spotlight

Liezl talks to Christine Mullaney, an expert on all things communication, working as a TedX speaker and communication coach. Liezl and Christine discuss the nature of connected communication and how it can be persistently improved, as well as Christine’s fascinating life journey to date, and how she learned to connect her mind and heart once more. KEY TAKEAWAYS It’s important to take into consider...

Liezl interviews Debbie, a resilient individual who has faced numerous health challenges throughout her life. From battling infertility to being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, Debbie shares her inspiring journey of courage and determination. Despite the setbacks, she has found solace and strength in various activities, such as running and bodybuilding. However, her health took a turn for t...

Liezl interviews Sue Parker, a female lifestyle entrepreneur who shares her journey of leaving her corporate job to pursue her passion and create a business that allows her the time and location freedom she desired as a mother of three. Sue opens up about her experience with burnout and the challenges she faced in the corporate world, as well as the pivotal moment when she realised she needed to m...

Liezl welcomes Theodore Brun, a former lawyer turned author, who embarked on an incredible journey of self-discovery and adventure. Theodore shares his story of leaving his high-paying job and comfortable life to cycle from Hong Kong back to his home in Norfolk, England. Along the way, he faced challenges, met fascinating people, and found the courage to pursue his passion for writing. Theodore di...

Drawing from personal experience, Liezl shares her expertise and tips for making the travel experience less stressful when accompanied by babies and toddlers. From considering the timing of the flight to choosing the right seats on the plane, Liezl provides practical advice for parents. She also discusses the importance of packing wisely, feeding the baby during take-off and landing, and bringing...

Liezl catches up with her friend Will Hawkins, the frontman of the LA-based band Nine Mile Station. They discuss the exciting recent developments in Will's music career, including the release of their first full-length album and a headline performance at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles. Will reflects on the challenges and rewards of pursuing his passion for music, and how the quiet time du...

Liezl is joined by doctors and marriage partners, Dr Eva Feredoes and Dr Jinendra Ekanayake, to talk about their pioneering work in cognitive neuroscience, how their slightly different pursuits (neurosurgery and neuroscience) blend academically and in practice. KEY TAKEAWAYS The brain has two hemispheres, and depending on which is being utilised, the effects upon the body can very wildly. People w...

Liezl talks to Hannes Van Den Berg, a survivor of a tick bite, who contracted tick bite fever in the aftermath of being targeted by the creature. Hannes describes the effects of the fever, as well as what he has learned through the experience, and how it has changed his life since then. KEY TAKEAWAYS The attack happened during the COVID pandemic, and so naturally, the focus of all health officials...

Natalie Bailey is a Property Developer and Coach and Mentor, as well as the creator of the Confidence Mastery podcast. Having over 10 years’ experience in running businesses, including Bars, Gyms, and eCommerce she now has a property development business with her business partner and mum, Paula. She helps others be more confident and successful in health, wealth & happiness so they can live the li...

Dr Johan Beukes is one of the most well-known leadership coaches in South Africa and the founder and director at Dr Johan Beukes Leadership Coaching. Johan specialises in high-performance leaders, helping and guiding them to become the best they can be. He joins Liezl to discuss leadership, the importance of factoring social and emotional well-being in life decisions and his proven formula for coa...

Anneke Green is the founder and owner of Pontem Developmental Centre (and franchise) in Bloemfontein, South Africa. She obtained her B.Ed degree in 2004 at the University of the Free State and continued to complete het B.Ed Hons and PGCE in Remedial and Support Teaching. Through her years of teaching at schools across South Africa, Anneke identified a group of learners who were being marginalised...

Zephnè Weston was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder as a result of placing too much stress on herself in order to achieve more and reach higher levels of success. Since recovering, Zephnè has been doing all she can to raise awareness of this condition and preach the message that our health and wellbeing should always come first before any concerns about career milestones. This week,...

Liezl explores the fascinating story of Nic Jacobs and Ben Njoroge Nduba, two astounding people who met quite by chance, and who decided to pool their energies into making the world a better place - providing water and sustenance to the village of Kimbimbi in Kenya. Nic and Ben join Liezl to talk about what drove them to complete their mission, how they came together, and the shared values that dr...

Today, Liezl is joined by Rob Moore, the king of podcasts and the reason Liezl started a podcast. Rob is an entrepreneur, property investor and educator, he is the author of 18 books, of which five are UK best-sellers, including Money and Opportunity. His podcast is the ‘Disruptors' which has almost 1000 episodes as well as 300 episodes of the podcast ‘Money’. He also holds  three world records fo...

Today, Liezl is joined by someone with maybe the most fascinating job you could imagine. Nina Armstrong is a British Hollywood stunt performer and has appeared in huge TV and movie series such as I am Legend, the Bond-movies, The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel-movies, Fast & Furious, Doctor Strange, Game of Thrones, Mission Impossible, Harry Potter, the list is almost endless. Listen in to In The Spot...

This week, Liezl is joined by the newly-crowned Mrs Globe South Africa 2022 - Zanele Sibiya! Zanele joins Liezl to talk about her wonderfully inspiring story, the origins of her fascinating name, how the world of pageantry has changed and evolved in the past decades and how the empowerment of women and the telling of their stories are leading to true global change. Mrs. Globe is one of the most re...

It’s every wine lover's dream to open their own vineyard in France, that’s exactly what this week's guests on In The Spotlight did. Jaco and Petrie Terblanche thought about what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives and went for it. Listen in as Liezl talks to Jaco and Petrie about their latest venture.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Petrie and Jaco are both originally from South Africa and studied at Ste...

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold, embracing the scars and increasing the value. That is what B Loved embodies, restoring people and empowering the broken, vulnerable, and abandoned to understand their value. Today on In The Spotlight, Liezel is joined by B Loved Founder Louis McLaren and his fellow Director Yolandi Venter. KEY TAKEAWAYS The B Loved Foundation has be...

All the way from LA, via the medium of the internet, Liezl is joined by singer songwriter and front man of Nine Mile Station, Will Hawkins. Today the pair talks about Will’s story of making music, his life, the ups and the downs and getting to the place where you can make your dream come true and how that dream can sustain your lifestyle. KEY TAKEAWAYS Liezl and Will met around 2003 in London at t...

Joining Liezl this week is the business partner of a former guest: we’ve had Jakes Maritz on the podcast but this episode we have Carl Cronje, the other co-founder and owner of Expat Explore. Carl is a true entrepreneur with at least five businesses to his name and on the show today he’ll be talking about why he has this entrepreneurial spirit and where it’s going to take him next. KEY TAKEAWAYS F...

Founder and owner of the five star atFrits Dog Hotel and Daycare Centre in Cape Town, Yanic Klue joins Liezl this week on the podcast. Hear Yanic’s inspiring story of turning her passion for dogs into a business and the challenges she faced starting something from nothing. KEY TAKEAWAYS Yanic worked in corporate and marketing in the UK and when she returned to South Africa she decided to get her M...

George Arbuthnott is deputy editor of the Insight team at The Sunday Times. His investigations helped to shape the Modern Slavery Bill, expose a global doping scandal in athletics and revealed that Boris Johnson failed to declare conflicts of interest over his friendship with an ex-model. George has won or been shortlisted for more than 30 awards. Join Liezl as she talks to George about his incred...

Today Liezl is talking to friend and Co-Founder of Expat Explore, one of Europe's biggest travel companies, Jakes Maritz. Tune in to In the Spotlight to hear Jakes’ inspiring story on starting a business, his adventurous spirit, the journey he has been on, and how he ended up where he is today. KEY TAKEAWAYS From 200 passengers in 2005, to over 17,000 passengers per annum in 2019, today Expat Expl...

I’m Liezl Colditz van Rooyen and welcome to my podcast. Born and raised in South Africa, at age 23 I followed my dream to see the world and twenty years on I have now travelled quite a bit, though there is still so much of the world to see and experience. I got to see so much of the beauty of this planet and for that I will forever be grateful. But I also got to know so many people from different...