BACK WITH A BANG

Winning Survivor SA launched Rob Bentele into the career of his dreams and soon we’ll be seeing more of him in his new reality show

- SIYABONGA DZIMBILI

HIS life was turned on its head when he won Survivor SA. He’d always planned to outwit, outplay and outlast the other 21 contestants but he wasn’t ready for the reality of it all happening.

In the first few months after winning the seventh season of the popular reality show Rob Bentele lived out of suitcases as he travelled the country on a schedule laden with appearances, proposals and interviews. Things got so busy the buff millionaire was forced to hire a manager to handle his work-related communication and arrange his various commitments.

“You’re on prime-time television for four months. As you get to the end of the show the producers tell you your life is going to change forever, but no one can prepare you for what happens,” he tells DRUM.

Now that the dust has settled the TV hunk has found his feet. Rob (29) has moved to Johannesburg where he hopes to realise his dream of working in front of the camera. “There is a normal again, I can make time for training and plan things,” he tells us.

Part of his new routine includes acting classes with legendary Camilla Waldman, who played Anne de Villiers on SABC1 soapie Generations. Working in front of the camera is a natural transition for Rob, who started his own videography business in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal.

It helps that he’s easy on the eye too. On Survivor SA he didn’t miss an opportunity to flex his ripped muscles during challenges or bat his intense green eyes, yet he knows just how fickle showbiz can be.

“One can never really know how long they will last in the industry. It could be two years, it could be 10,” he says.