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Primo Baloyi spoke to The Citizen at the launch of the Pirates five-part documentary 'Giants' which hit the screens on Sunday.
Content creator Primo Baloyi at the Pirates documentary launch. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Sports documentaries have grown in popularity in recent times, and this is because they combine two things that are loved, sport and storytelling.
“It makes the sport that much better to watch when you know what goes on behind the scenes,” content creator Primo tells The Citizen.
The lanky creator, who is also the son of former Bafana Bafana Captain Lucas Radebe, spoke to The Citizen on Thursday evening at the launch of Orlando Pirates’ five-part doccie, Giants, which tells the story of Pirates’ journey in the last season.
“The Europeans have been showing it with all these documentaries they’ve been doing, even the Americans in Basketball and all these doccies. A lot of people see sports from the outside,” said Primo.
He said that though sport is masculine, through storytelling, it opens itself up to the whole family.
“So now sport is becoming much more of a family thing. Even Formula 1 is becoming a family thing. A lot of girls and women are getting into Formula 1, golf; there are a lot of sports that are gaining recognition because we realise that there’s a lot behind the sports, behind the players and the game. A lot goes into these master performances.”
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Pirates doccie
The first episode of Giants will be screened on all MultiChoice platforms this coming Sunday.
A handful of media and some of the Pirates team were in attendance at the launch that was held in Orlando Stadium, the Pirates’ home ground.
The five-part doccie follows the players, their families, and zooms in on what inspires and drives them on the field of play.
“I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen from now on. There’s a lot we didn’t see, it’s like we’re excited to still see Rele (Mofokeng) and a little bit more of Tito (Patrick Maswanganyi). There’s still a lot we need to uncover, but this was the beginning,” said Primo after watching the first episode.
Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa and midfielder Talent Mbatha are the focus of the first episode. The doccie shows how much their mothers have been anchors for them, supporting them throughout their careers.
“The common thing with all of us, our moms had to be patient for us to be where we are, so it’s really good to see that. It was dope,” shared Primo.
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Travelling with Pirates
The content creator has just returned to Mzansi after travelling with the Pirates team to Spain, where they underwent their pre-season training, which also included some matches against European opposition.
“We had so much fun, it was insane. It was a dream holiday mixed with a dream pre-season engagement. I trained with the guys.”
Sportscaster Thomas Mlambo, former Pirates player and now content creator Michael Morton were also part of the trip.
Primo played football growing up and said he played with half of the Pirates team in the juniors when he was still playing.
“So it was very easy to kind of click with them. We’ve got such a really dope bond with the guys, and we went to the guys, I mean, we were the only supporters.”
“We left with them, we could chill with them, and we had time with the coach to speak about things. And it was my birthday on the 11th,” he says.
On his birthday, Pirates took on English side Bolton Wanderers. “It was insane, like my life was made on that trip.”
Primo has been collaborating with one of the main sponsors of the doccie, Vodacom, for the past few years and through that relationship, he travelled with the Pirates team to their pre-season training in Spain.
He is also one of Pirates’ ambassadors.
“In the last two years, I’ve been working hard to keep this relationship and establish myself as a brand, alongside a giant brand.”
“They believed in how I was tackling this marketing message of showing my passion for being a Buccaneer. I made a gimmick about holding the crossbones up before the game, and that ritual caught fire, so Vodacom really liked that and kept me alongside Pirates until the trip.”
“A lot of people didn’t know that I played football, and now that I can combine my content creation with my knowledge of football to be a sports caster, basically.”
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