GQEBERHA – A Gqeberha brand and business strategist has put the Eastern Cape on the national creative map after being selected as one of five creators for the 2026 Ster-Kinekor SK Squad.
Delon le Roux is the sole Eastern Cape representative on the national panel, having been selected from entries across the country following a competitive final held in Johannesburg on 4 September.
The finalists pitched their content concepts to a four-member judging panel during a Shark Tank-style event streamed live on TikTok, with each finalist given five minutes to present a content concept and two minutes to defend it under questioning.
The five creators named to the squad are Le Roux, Ayanda More, Matthew Louw, Keenan Collison and Priya Bandu.
National recognition
The appointment carries a 12-month contract with Ster-Kinekor Theatres, alongside creator training and access to exclusive screenings and content experiences.
Finalists were asked to choose one film from a shortlist of five and build the content campaign they would run if contracted to cover it.
Le Roux chose The Devil Wears Prada 2, a film about a magazine losing its authority to social media, and built his pitch around a series filmed in a Ster-Kinekor foyer in which members of the public are asked who decided what they are wearing and watching.
A pitch shaped by experience
“I pitched a film about print media losing its power to the algorithm,” said Le Roux.
“I previously wrote for a Cape Town-based women’s magazine back when magazines still decided what mattered, and I now work in the industry that replaced them. My lived experience was the one strategic advantage nobody else in the room could copy.”
Le Roux, a former model who now holds an Executive MBA and runs a strategic brand and business consultancy, THE G.O.A.T GROUP, has worked across South Africa and South Korea over a career spanning close to 20 years.
He directed the inaugural Eastern Cape Fashion Week, a provincial first, and has done brand work for the National Arts Festival, SANParks, Ford, OMODA, Woolworths and MAC.
Most recently, he produced the BIG ON STYLE fashion showcase in partnership with Baywest Centre management and Marketing Manager Lindsay Davies and Show Choreographer Gail Brown.
Putting Gqeberha on the map
“Gqeberha is usually the place national campaigns are marketed to, rather than made from,” said Le Roux.
“For the next 12 months, that changes, and I do not take it lightly. The Eastern Cape has a seat at a table it has been left off for years. I’m so grateful for the opportunity, and I look forward to what the year ahead holds.”
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