In 1984 British Rock Band, Queen, performed at Sun City. Their tour garnered negative press the world over: It was during the height of Apartheid era South Africa and international sanctions had declared South Africa a no Rock & Roll zone. Throwing caution to the wind, Freddie and his band mates went ahead with their plans for a five-event tour. 

My parents, already married at that time, managed to attend one of these infamous shows. And on that rarest and most rebellious of occasions, I was conceived. 

Little did my parents know that this setting would determine the pace of much of my life. 

“Rebellious”, “daring”, “charming”, “brilliant”, “outlandish” “audacious” were some of the words used to describe the legendary band’s infamous performance. These same words would be used to describe me as I went about finding my place in this world. 

When I tell people that the theme of my life consists of things that shouldn’t happen but happen anyway. This is essentially what I am referring to. Against all odds, this classic rock band managed to circumvent political establishments and international sanctions; all in the hopes of finding a way to perform to their adoring fans in a country ostracized by the rest of the world.

Julius Jooste is a digital content creator. His work is inspired by cosmopolitan culture and stems from his travels and the multitude of high profile projects he has worked on before becoming a career artist in 2021. Of an Afrikaans background, he was born in Roodepoort during the end of the Apartheid era and grew up alongside a vibrant and flourishing South African democracy. As a pupil, he studied Motion Picture, Music, Information Technology and Electrical Engineering and during his near-decade of tertiary schooling graduated from some of South Africa’s finest academic institutions. 

During his travels, Jooste has worked with, trained and inspired dozens of creatives from all walks of life to create with intention and remains a strong advocate of the “art as therapy” approach. In addition to his creative endeavors, he has proven himself to be a competent business person, educator, engineer and humanitarian as can be seen from the work he has done with international broadcasters, municipal institutions, world-leading performing artists and a plethora of news and media outlets. 

His genesis artwork, created specifically for the 2016 IMS (International Music Summit) Gala Dinner in Ibiza (Spain), raised €15 000 (approx. R250 000) and helped pave the way for the Bridges Academy, a revolutionary music and business school situated in Langa, South Africa’s first and oldest township.