The man behind the rabbit suit

WE have all seen him at the traffic lights outside Caltex as you drive into Empangeni.

Fluffy, white and normally dancing, with a huge smile on his face. We all know him as the White Rabbit, but who is the man behind the costume who brings a smile to young and old on a daily basis?

His name is Phillip Wonderboy Mthethwa and he is 26 years old.

He has been doing this job since August last year and loves every minute of it.

After losing his father in 2008 and since he was the youngest child with three older sisters, Mthethwa decided that to survive and support his family, he had to get a job.

‘Crime was never an option, I was brought up better than that,’ he says.

After a prolonged period of looking for any sort of work. Mthethwa happened to meet a supervisor at Caltex who told him the ‘big boss’, Leigh Hornby, might be looking for someone to fill a small position.

Mthethwa was called in for an interview and was rather surprised when out came the rabbit costume.

‘I had no idea what they wanted, but it was a job and I decided to let them explain.’

After a short interview, which exposed Mthethwa’s fun loving, full of beans attitude, he got the job.

‘I was very nervous on the first day. The cars kept flying by and I was so hot! During the first two weeks I was always soaking from nerves and the heat, but that did not last. ‘Now I go out every day from Monday to Friday and I want to do the job ‘lekka’, he says with a smile on his face.

So next time you see Phillip in that hot Zululand sun, dancing and waving, wave back it will change your whole day for the better.