Meet Springbok superfan and Internet sensation Desi Koolen

Published on

4 October 2023

You’ve probably seen the video of 7 year old Desmond Koolen performing James Browns’ “I Feel Good” at his school, proudly wearing his Springbok jersey. Desi was getting ready for the South African Championships of the Performing Arts and his mom snapped a video of the performance. After loading it on TikTok the clip went viral and impressed the likes of Will Smith and Wayne Brady.

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We caught up with young Desmond who is fully aware of how much the world loves him right now. He also had a few tips for the Springboks ahead of the knockout stages of the world cup.

We love your energy, Desi. Thanks for putting a smile on our face.

Phil de Lange

Phil de Lange is the producer of the Ryan O'Connor Breakfast show and has been with Smile 90.4FM since it's inception in 2013. Through his work on the breakfast show he has won two national radio awards. He has been in broadcasting for 15 years and has honed his talent at 6 different radio stations. Outside of radio he is also a podcast producer and award winning stand-up comedian.