Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

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Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#1

Post by YoteFox »

Yes this really happened, it's still unreal to myself but this totally happened.

Check it out here:
https://www.jacarandafm.com/shows/sceni ... nic-drive/



Basically how this came about, I listen to Jacaranda on a daily basis at work especially the Scenic drive with Rian. Rian is a pretty controversial bloke and there have been times where I had to stop my car and pull off the road whilst listening to him due to me laughing so much at what he does or says. He did manage to slip in a few controversial things during our on air time but nothing directed towards us atleast.

So I just put off the radio at work and I got a message on whatsapp from my mother telling me Rian is talking about furries. He initially called us furbies but someone responded and corrected him about it. I turned on the radio and unfortunately just missed it. My mother told me I need to phone in and tell them I'm a furry. I believe they caught wind of us from the huisgenoot article because a lot of questions asked were actually relating to the article. Anyway, I was afraid to message them at first because we all know the rule about casting calls and furries.

I ended up whatsapping Jacaranda anyway and I told them:
"Ek hoor julle soek na 'n furry. Ek is n furry en ek was in die huisgenoot ook gewees. Ek het self my kostuum gemaak. Van Ryno"
Which translates to english as:
" I heard you were looking for a furry, I am a furry and I was in the huisgenoot as well. I made my own suit. From Ryno" (Sorry if bad translation)

I was panicking the moment I saw my phone ring and it was Jacaranda's name on the true caller app... I was greeted by an extremely friendly Morne JK who told me that we furries are incredibly difficult to get a hold of. He specifically told me that they would really like us to be on the radio because they find us very interesting and people want to know more about us. He also said that he knows furries are a bit misunderstood and that he wants to give us a chance to become a bit more known to South Africa and dis spell some common misconceptions on air. Our conversations continued on Whatsapp.

I had to choose a few furs to come on live air with me and chat to Rian, immediately my mind started racing my first pick was Ivic because he's diplomatic and has the most experience out of all of us talking on the radio and he's a good talker since he's a lecturer and I feel he is an amazing representative for the fandom as well. My second choice was Tempest because his suit is amazing and I know it would reflect great on the possibilities of what furries can do and into what depth characters can really go, plus he was with me in the Huisgenoot article which is I think the biggest reason they wanted us on air. So far 3 furs who have dealt with media before.

We went with Niexie because she is a fursuit maker herself and has been longer than any of us plus it shows a bit of diversity having a female with us. I didn't even know DW was going to be there with us, but at the end of the day I was really glad he did come with us because he made Rian say OWO so many times and added a good measure of humor.

I researched into Morne JK and Rian a bit even though I listen to them daily I wanted to see what type of media they put out. I found out that Morne JK is gay and I immediately felt more at ease about the entire interview because I knew for a fact he wouldn't persecute us.

ON the way there: We were nervous, really nervous. Myself and Ivic trying to keep our minds clear of possible questions that could be asked and debating if this is a good idea or not. This wasn't something small, not at all. This could literally make or break the furry reputation. Atleast the local community was extremely supportive and that is amazing, thanks everyone for you amazing support throughout the entire thing. This is why we did it, not for ourselves, not for fame, not to be popular but for the community. For you guys, for us all. This was a giant leap for furry community in SA.

One small step for a sabrefox one giant leap for furries of SA.

We got to the radio station, nervous as all hell. Morne JK greeted me and Folf, such a friendly demeanor to start of with I did feel a tad bit more comfortable after that.
Shortly after the others arrived, we signed in with security and were guided to the conference room where we suited up and chatted with each other. Morne JK came to brief us on what's going to happen. It was me and Tempest first then it would be Ivic and Niexie.

Immediately I panicked, why are we being split up?

We walked into the studio, myself and Tempest. Both of us nervous to the core, being the first two on air we didn't know what to expect. Was this going to be a roast with burnt fur on the side. Either way we were ready, me and Tempest fist bumped and I instantly felt better and charged for it.
The two presenters chatted to us first before Rian got there, made us feel a bit more comfortable too.

Rian came in not having seen our faces yet, he greeted us with "Hello furries!" we promptly greeted back.
The show started, Rian started talking and my heart was racing faster than Johnny Rabb could hit the percussions.

The first question directed at me... I blanked, I tried to think of something witty but wanted to come off as a lazy student so I botched it and gave probably the most boring answer in the world. Then the face reveal... To be honest I was extremely scared to take of my suit head but at the same time I wanted to portray the image of "Well wouldn't you know it, they really are human"
I had to think for a few seconds when Rian asked me if it's a sexual thing, because it really isn't but wording it would be tricky. I looked at my head on the table infront of me and reached for an answer from deep within because I have legit never been asked the question and I believe I gave a good answer: It's a form of expression, I express myself through this.

But when we finished I told Tempest I actually would love to be on again. They were so nice to us. When me and Tempest went back to the conference room, we chatted about how things went and listened to the broadcast via the roof speaker. I laughed my ass off for the song choice for the intro of the others


All of us got so many messages afterward thanking us and commending us for our responses to the questions asked. This made me personally feel amazing that the community appreciated our efforts, because this is all we did it for. Not one of us did it for ourselves, we subjected ourselves to the media took a leap of faith and went on live radio in fursuits to talk about what we do. Because as a wise man said to me in a telegram conversation, the sense of Ubuntu is growing ever stronger. Furries are Furries through other Furries.

I was initially completely unsure of how it would be, how the other fluffs would feel about us outing ourselves as furries and representing the community for that matter on live radio with probably one of the most controversial radio hosts out there. If anything this was a total leap of faith and I didn't know if it would go down positively but I feel they did give us a fair chance to answer the questions asked and defend ourselves from the misconceptions out there.

At the end of the day this was a big win for us as a community and we went out after the broadcast for some celebratory drinks since it was deserved!

I personally want to thank the furry community of SA, if it wasn't for this community I wouldn't have found what I believe is my X factor. If I never found this community I would have never known that I could make suits and craft so well with my hands. Imagine if we spread the word about the community and get more people just like that how great that would be!?

I believe in the South African furries, not only have the community shown me how amazing it can be through the convention but through the incredible people in it too. I can't share my appreciation for this community enough. You people are amazing people and inspire me to be the best me. Thank you
I'd rather be fursuiting

Suit up and it will make you feel better
- Pepper Coyote


People get built different. We don't need to figure it out, we just need to respect it. Maybe he likes his company more than I like mine - Princess Bubblegum
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#2

Post by Rakuen Growlithe »

I'd already seen the article on Twitter but now I'm having breakfast and watching the interviews. So cool! Definitely the best and biggest exposure so far for the furry fandom in South Africa! Also loved the reference to the forum in the article. ^^

Edit: Good interviews. Really proud of you guys and how much the furry fandom has grown in South Africa.
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#3

Post by Ryall »

Hey all, I listened to the radio interview and saw some of the stream, and I have to say, well done!

Your fursuits were magnificent; you were relaxed and amiable; you handled the fetish question well; and all in all you were good ambassadors for the fandom! I was also impressed with how you were able to showcase your many talents - from fursuit making to youtube content creation - and diverse backgrounds - chef, accounting student, lecturer etc.. I will be curious to see if we get any new members as a result of this exposure. Bravo! Excellent work too on securing this interview, and thank you to everyone who went! You really have done this fandom a service!

With that said, please allow me to provide some constructive critique so that if ever we get the lime-light again, we can do even better! Yote, when they ask you, "what do you do in your fursuit," please don't respond, "I sit at home and do nothing:" you don't want to bore the audience to death, and you don't want to leave it to their imaginations as to what you really do in that suite either. Try and show some excitement, and share something interesting with them. I don't feel this was too bad though as you did open up later in Afrikaans and you spoke about the 'braais' and the 'kuier' which I think would have resonated with a lot of people. Dragonwolf, nobody outside of the fandom gets the 'OwO' reference, and by silently presenting yourself in that suite, you distracted from the actual fursuiters as well as the interview itself with a joke that was completely lost on the audience. Also, Riaan said he understood you were quite knowledgeable about the fandom, which tells me that you volunteered this. Riaan's question therefore, on how the furry fandom was founded, would have been quite predictable, and you should have prepared for it: some simple homework could have saved a lot of face in that interview. Ivic and Nixie: a big part of the narrative that was put forward was that the fandom is about coming up with characters, and so it was only natural that your interviewers were going to ask what the stories behind your fursonas were. That was an opportunity to inspire the audience with fascinating backstories but instead, you answered that, "I made this character to market my business," and, "I like to think my character fell into a vat of green jelly." Riaan's response of, "oh..." did little to hide how completely underwhelmed he was after you had set his expectations so high with all the talk of character creation. Lastly, Ivic, at the end of the interview, when you were asked where you could find furries, I was shocked when you mentioned nearly every platform except ZAFur, especially seeing as you are a forum admin. How are listeners supposed to find those 'telegram' and discord' channels when you didn't provide names for them, and you need to be invited by another fur to most of them? The forum is a great gateway for furs to access those other platforms, and it is the home of the convention: our flagship event. Next time, please mention it when you're providing a list of platforms: it deserves at least that.

Anyway, it takes more words to criticize than it does to praise, so don't weigh the two against each other by the length of the paragraphs. I really was grinning ear-to-ear whilst listening to the interview.

Well done again, and let's hope for more coverage like this in the future! Cheers! :D
Hahaha! :lol:
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#4

Post by Baz »

Fantastic guys! That was so awesome! :)
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#5

Post by Dragonwolf »

Ryall wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 10:39 pm

Dragonwolf, nobody outside of the fandom gets the 'OwO' reference, and by silently presenting yourself in that suite, you distracted from the actual fursuiters as well as the interview itself with a joke that was completely lost on the audience. Also, Riaan said he understood you were quite knowledgeable about the fandom, which tells me that you volunteered this. Riaan's question therefore, on how the furry fandom was founded, would have been quite predictable, and you should have prepared for it: some simple homework could have saved a lot of face in that interview.
I get where you are coming from and how it presented itself on the radio, but I literally didn't know I was going to be on the air until the last 5 minutes, after Ivic and Tempest had already finished.

In the radio world, from what I experienced for a short time, Rian uses a lot of 'poetic licence' per se. He makes things up on the fly really quickly. So when he said I knew everything about the Furverse (Heh), I was like... WOT! o.o I hadn't even spoken to any of the presenters, organizers or producers. I was literally going to be in there to watch until they pulled me in, onto a mic. I was hella not prepared.

Why I had my suit? I was driving Niexie there, and was told to bring OwO with for photos, just in case.

But I agree, I should have been quicker on my feet, I was just hesitant to go too in depth with where furries come from. I didn't want to go into the whole Mythology, and mixing Animal and Human characteristics, because that just leads to doors about gods having coitus with animals and that is how we get the half and halfs. So I was very hesitant with answering that question. I was glad Ivic jumped in to help pull the thoughts together and we could work it out.

NEXT TIME! If there is one, I shall definitely brush up on that, especially if I have at least 30 minutes warning that I'll be on the radio.
"We should stop being envious of others and start being more accepting of ourselves."

Did I get that right?... The mic was off? What do you mean it was OFF!
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#6

Post by Ryall »

Haha, I didn't know you were roped in last second like that, fair enough! Good save then.

The wiki article I linked gives a short history withoufht mentioning 'animal-human hybrids.' There is also a furry wikia page which gives more detail on our history. Maybe everyone should prep for such questions just in case.
Hahaha! :lol:
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#7

Post by Dragonwolf »

Thank you :3

I for one, will definitely go over that article so that I can give more accurate information! And so that we can limit the number of people that are going to google furries xD (Never google Furries xD )
"We should stop being envious of others and start being more accepting of ourselves."

Did I get that right?... The mic was off? What do you mean it was OFF!
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#8

Post by YoteFox »

Ryall wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 10:39 pm Hey all, I listened to the radio interview and saw some of the stream, and I have to say, well done!

Your fursuits were magnificent; you were relaxed and amiable; you handled the fetish question well; and all in all you were good ambassadors for the fandom! I was also impressed with how you were able to showcase your many talents - from fursuit making to youtube content creation - and diverse backgrounds - chef, accounting student, lecturer etc.. I will be curious to see if we get any new members as a result of this exposure. Bravo! Excellent work too on securing this interview, and thank you to everyone who went! You really have done this fandom a service!

With that said, please allow me to provide some constructive critique so that if ever we get the lime-light again, we can do even better! Yote, when they ask you, "what do you do in your fursuit," please don't respond, "I sit at home and do nothing:" you don't want to bore the audience to death, and you don't want to leave it to their imaginations as to what you really do in that suite either. Try and show some excitement, and share something interesting with them. I don't feel this was too bad though as you did open up later in Afrikaans and you spoke about the 'braais' and the 'kuier' which I think would have resonated with a lot of people.
Thanks Ryall! Despite our calm appearances we were extremely scared and nervous and we didn't know what to expect... That first comment of Tempest being a badass and them constantly laughing made me think of that fox news broadcast where the presenters went into a laughing fit about furries.

Yes, yes I know my first response wasn't the most exciting response in the world and boy does it haunt me to no end. But the moment was really big and the second Rian asked me I went completely blank, I tried to be witty like I started with the contrary to popular belief statement but then I ended up mismatching words and just went with a safe response. What I wanted to say was that: I am too domesticated to chase chickens, I prefer Nandos Drive Through... But yeah I wanted to facepalm myself after answering :(

Yeah I was most comfortable in Afrikaans though, mother language and all. But I think other than that first boring answer it went pretty well and I feel we left a really good impression ^.^
I mean Rian said himself he's getting into it.

I have to commend myself atleast for handling the "Is it a sexual thing" question like a pro. When I was asked I had to think real quick what I was gonna say, because me and Ivic actually discussed this on the way there. My immediate response was no it isn't, because fursuiting really isn't a sexual thing. I stared at my head for a moment and said from the heart it's a way of expressing myself and I didn't lie.

Thank you Ryall! We appreciate the constructive feedback a lot!
I don't think any of us were really prepared for this. I have to also commend Rian and crew for really giving us a fair chance to explain what we are about and they took us seriously. They had a legit interest in us and I'm glad I didn't go at this alone.
Boy I am sure as heck geared up for any media coming our way now!
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#9

Post by Ryall »

Pleasure! You all did a great job of hiding that you were nervous. I think a lot of listeners would think you all sounded confident!

Don't let that little answer haunt you: it's water under the bridge and the positives far outweighed the negatives, and I am being very critical. I am sure you will be prepared for that question next time!

Rian was a really cool host and as Rakuen said, you all did us proud! I am very keen to see what comes after all of this.
Hahaha! :lol:
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#10

Post by Rakuen Growlithe »

Did I miss that much with the second interview? The audio isn't exactly brilliant and it was short so I wasn't paying as much attention. I mostly focussed on Yote and Tempest. (And apparently I still understand Afrikaans!) I remember there being one or two bits where the answers weren't perfect but I don't recall any sort of disaster and I can totally understand the nerves thing. When I give talks (which I'm apparently pretty good at) I am barely aware of anything before or after that exact second. It does depend on the crowd of course but I understand being nervous, especially without having rehearsed.

Also, that Wikipedia history section is not particularly great. It doesn't do a very good job of covering all the major bases and its pre-furry coverage is really pathetic, leaving out some of the major influences.
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#11

Post by Ivic_Wulfe »

the entire thing was quite an adventure...it was something out of this world. The entire time kinda sitting there going, we need to mention a whole bunch of things...and I panicked XD
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#12

Post by Rakuen Growlithe »

At least all your stuff gets into it. I worked with a friend's girlfriend because she needed to make a video project and went with a furry documentary. We recorded like 2 hours of discussion for something like 4 or 5 minutes. She also found a fursuiter later, so I didn't even get all of that time! But it did get broadcast on a community TV channel so... I've been on TV. ^^
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Re: Za Furries on Jacaranda??? With Rian??

#13

Post by Ryall »

Rakuen Growlithe wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:13 pm Also, that Wikipedia history section is not particularly great. It doesn't do a very good job of covering all the major bases and its pre-furry coverage is really pathetic, leaving out some of the major influences.
Aye, it's not. The furry wikia one is probably more detailed, but as a starting point, it's better than, "I don't know."
Hahaha! :lol:
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