Josh Martin, also known as Big Jay or Masta Jay, is a naturally charismatic and friendly, yet still strangely enigmatic person. It is obvious that below the surface, tucked away below his happy face and cheerful smile, lies a powerful intelligence and a witty sense of humour. The combination of these characteristics makes him an undeniably interesting person to interview and adds a certain flavour to his tale of his first year at Rhodes. Maybe not the biggest looking person in the world, his weight is deceiving, because he has assured me a good few times now that he weighs “like a hundred dude!” What can I say, looks are deceiving…
When asked what made him decide to attend Rhodes, Josh answers with a “well… it had always been my plan to attend Rhodes to study journalism,” and then with a wry chuckle, “well that’s gone to the dogs!” With a quick movement Josh flicks his head in order to remove the fringe of blonde hair that had managed to creep into his eyes and begins to tell of how he was initially keen to study drama, as that was always his first love, but he thought journalism would offer a more stable career path. “I have absolutely no idea why,” he adds with a questioning look followed by another chuckle.
Josh unpacks his Rizla and tobacco and begins to roll a cigarette as the interview continues. By this point it had become obvious that journalism was not one of the highlights of his first year at Rhodes, so I thought it a prudent time to enquire what exactly he had enjoyed most. Josh does not hesitate for a second to supply his answer: “definitely the vibe,” he says. He explains that because he came from a conservative community (Pietermaritzburg in Kwa-Zulu Natal) he never really felt completely comfortable but in comparison Rhodes is very “chilled about wearing whatever you want to wear and doing whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it.” Then came a deep, thoughtful look as Josh considered his next statement, which was, “Rhodes isn’t obviously all about the jolling, it’s also about work. This year I found I have been able to channel the things I am good at into my work more than I was able to do at school. I have been able to channel my creative energies more effectively which has definitely helped my academics.” Like I have said, he is definitely not lacking in intelligence, as can be seen from that statement.
My next question was: “if you could go back in time, what single thing would you do differently?” Josh’s answer to this surprised me a bit because it was not the type of answer I expected from him. He said that if he could do one thing differently he would have been more disciplined, not in the area of work as is a common wish, but rather in his drama auditions. When I asked him to elaborate on this comment he explained that he is by nature a joker and so he jokes around all the time, and as a result ended up making something very important to himself into a big joke. I sensed an aura of self-disappointment lingering around this facet of his year at Rhodes but fortunately being the incredibly talented actor that he is he will undoubtedly have many opportunities to prove himself in the future.
The single biggest factor for Josh’s survival through first year at Rhodes has, according to him, been his friendship group. He says that he can manage the workload and the pressures by himself, but said that, “in down moments I need to talk to people and without mates I would have been in some trouble. I literally wouldn’t have gotten this far.” At this point Josh decided that he needed to listen to a certain a song, and although I do not know the name of the song, it is an old-time classic and its jovial tone adds to the cheerful atmosphere of the room. His taste in music is different to what I usually listen to as he goes for a more “bungie” feel which suits him completely.
There are not many people that can keep you entertained by a mixture of humour, wit and originality for an extended period of time, but Josh Martin is without a doubt one of these people. I will never pretend to fully understand him because he is truly unique, but it is because of this face that I am proud to call myself his mate.
Pistol Pete
When asked what made him decide to attend Rhodes, Josh answers with a “well… it had always been my plan to attend Rhodes to study journalism,” and then with a wry chuckle, “well that’s gone to the dogs!” With a quick movement Josh flicks his head in order to remove the fringe of blonde hair that had managed to creep into his eyes and begins to tell of how he was initially keen to study drama, as that was always his first love, but he thought journalism would offer a more stable career path. “I have absolutely no idea why,” he adds with a questioning look followed by another chuckle.
Josh unpacks his Rizla and tobacco and begins to roll a cigarette as the interview continues. By this point it had become obvious that journalism was not one of the highlights of his first year at Rhodes, so I thought it a prudent time to enquire what exactly he had enjoyed most. Josh does not hesitate for a second to supply his answer: “definitely the vibe,” he says. He explains that because he came from a conservative community (Pietermaritzburg in Kwa-Zulu Natal) he never really felt completely comfortable but in comparison Rhodes is very “chilled about wearing whatever you want to wear and doing whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it.” Then came a deep, thoughtful look as Josh considered his next statement, which was, “Rhodes isn’t obviously all about the jolling, it’s also about work. This year I found I have been able to channel the things I am good at into my work more than I was able to do at school. I have been able to channel my creative energies more effectively which has definitely helped my academics.” Like I have said, he is definitely not lacking in intelligence, as can be seen from that statement.
My next question was: “if you could go back in time, what single thing would you do differently?” Josh’s answer to this surprised me a bit because it was not the type of answer I expected from him. He said that if he could do one thing differently he would have been more disciplined, not in the area of work as is a common wish, but rather in his drama auditions. When I asked him to elaborate on this comment he explained that he is by nature a joker and so he jokes around all the time, and as a result ended up making something very important to himself into a big joke. I sensed an aura of self-disappointment lingering around this facet of his year at Rhodes but fortunately being the incredibly talented actor that he is he will undoubtedly have many opportunities to prove himself in the future.
The single biggest factor for Josh’s survival through first year at Rhodes has, according to him, been his friendship group. He says that he can manage the workload and the pressures by himself, but said that, “in down moments I need to talk to people and without mates I would have been in some trouble. I literally wouldn’t have gotten this far.” At this point Josh decided that he needed to listen to a certain a song, and although I do not know the name of the song, it is an old-time classic and its jovial tone adds to the cheerful atmosphere of the room. His taste in music is different to what I usually listen to as he goes for a more “bungie” feel which suits him completely.
There are not many people that can keep you entertained by a mixture of humour, wit and originality for an extended period of time, but Josh Martin is without a doubt one of these people. I will never pretend to fully understand him because he is truly unique, but it is because of this face that I am proud to call myself his mate.
Pistol Pete
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