Load shedding. Economic volatility. Infrastructure hurdles. By every standard equation of resource allocation, South Africa ought not to dominate the global stage.
And yet, it does.
From back-to-back Rugby World Cup triumphs and historic cricket tours to MotoGP podiums, Olympic medals, and world titles in disciplines most nations rarely master, South Africa consistently punches far above its weight. It is an extraordinary phenomenon—a country that transforms friction into fire, producing world champions with a frequency that defies probability.
This Heritage Month, Red Bull tackles the country’s most compelling unanswered question with the launch of What We Know, an arresting four-part documentary series hosted by comedian and broadcaster Eugene Khoza.
The Big Question: Genius Born from Friction
Splitting his time between Johannesburg and New York while collaborating with global cultural icons like Trevor Noah, Eugene Khoza occupies a unique vantage point. From the outside looking in, the pattern becomes undeniable: against every statistical odd, South Africa remains on an unprecedented winning streak.
Rather than delivering a scripted answer from an elevated pulpit, Khoza hits the road, pairing unexpected figures across disciplines—Springboks with skateboarders, MotoGP racers with hockey stars, Proteas with e-sports champions—to interrogate a single premise from every angle: What is the exact alchemy that makes South Africa keep producing the best in the world?
Divided into four core pillars—Creativity, Community, The Underdog Mentality, and Diversity—What We Know strips away corporate polish in favor of raw, unvarnished truth. Champions, artists, and strategists gather around kitchen tables and braai fires to compare notes on survival, instinct, and victory.
The underlying thesis is as provocative as it is timely: What if South Africa’s most demanding conditions are precisely what forge its champions?
Episode One: The Anatomy of Unscripted Creativity
The series opens in Johannesburg with an exploration of Creativity—not as a passive artistic exercise, but as an instinctual survival mechanism.
In the premiere, spinning champion SamSam Thubane and Springbok fullback Damian Willemse unpack what it means to transform pure instinct into high art, alongside b-girl Courtnaé Paul and skateboarder Boipelo Awuah. Cultural commentators Jason Goliath, TV personality Lerato Phago, and celebrated visual artist Karabo Poppy join the circle to examine why South Africans instinctively default to radical creativity under pressure.
Adding a breathtaking dimension to the opener is aerobatic pilot Pat Davidson, a six-time national champion who has represented South Africa at the World Aerobatic Championships in Osaka. Davidson plans every high-G sequence by hand, sketching flight paths in a private shorthand that no rival can decipher.
“You write it down, it goes into your head,” Davidson observes.
It is a disciplined habit born of necessity—one that saved his life during an engine failure at thirty feet, where there was zero time for calculated thought, only deeply ingrained instinct.
Cinematic Provenance: The Directors Behind Chasing the Sun
To capture the emotional weight of this narrative, Red Bull enlisted directors Greg Lomas and Colwyn Thomas—the visionary duo behind Chasing the Sun, widely acclaimed as one of the greatest sports documentaries ever produced.
Lomas and Thomas bring their signature character-led, high-access storytelling to What We Know, looking beyond athletic prowess to understand the human architecture of South African excellence.
“South Africa and South Africans’ ability to compete and challenge the best athletes and teams in the world can’t just come down to skill, ability, and training—that’s because we are under-resourced comparatively with the countries who are the best in the world,” note the directors.
“The premise of the show is that it makes sense that there is something else that contributes to our ability, and so one needs to investigate the characters beyond their ability. This investigation means meeting their families, their friends, and other important influences as well as visiting locations that have shaped them in some way as we try to understand what gives them a superpower.”
An Unprecedented Cultural Assembly
Episode one merely sets the stage. Across its four-part arc, What We Know convenes a legendary cross-section of South African talent rarely seen in the same room, let alone the same documentary:
- Rugby & Cricket: Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Damian Willemse, Kagiso Rabada, Temba Bavuma, and Laura Wolvaardt.
- Motorsport & Action Sports: Two-time MotoGP race winner Brad Binder, mountain bike world champion Greg Minnaar, professional surfer Jordy Smith, and aerobatic pilot Pat Davidson.
- Athletics & Endurance: Ultra-runner Ryan Sandes, 800m track star Prudence Sekgodiso, and strongman Rayno Nel.
- Football & Team Sports: Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Themba Zwane and hockey international Thati Zulu.
Sixteen champions. Five disciplines. One unifying narrative.
Broadcast Schedule
Timed impeccably for Heritage Month, What We Know premieres on national television this September:
- Episode 1 (Creativity): Wednesday, 24 September (Heritage Day) at 22:00 on SABC1
- Episode 2: Wednesday, 1 October at 22:00 on SABC1
- Episode 3: Wednesday, 8 October at 22:00 on SABC1
- Episode 4 (Finale): Wednesday, 15 October at 22:00 on SABC1
In a month dedicated to honoring heritage, What We Know offers South Africans something far deeper than nostalgia: a mirror reflecting our innate resilience, our undeniable flair, and the extraordinary superpower of being unapologetically South African.
