Dancer, fitness instructor and businesswoman - Nkateko 'Takkies' Dinwiddy does it all.
Speaking to TRUELOVE, Takkies tells us about her business reaching its tenth milestone, her move to the United Kingdom (UK) and more.
A not so bright welcome for one of Mzansi’s fitness queens as she touches down in South Africa. Right after landing in SA, Takkies was met with loadshedding. But that did not dim her energy as she speaks to us.
She shares that dancing came naturally to her because she mimicked dance moves while watching music videos. Her mom put her up for ballet dance classes at the time, which Takkies vehemently declined. At the age of nine, her mother enrolled her in a dance studio after Takkies came across a hip hop class.
Years later, in a fusion of dance and fitness, Takkies created a business that empowers people through movement. However, the establishment of Rockingnheels itself came after the loss of her beloved father in 2011, citing she lost her passion for anything.
“When I lost my dad, I lost my passion for anything. I even didn’t dance much and did things that didn't make sense in my life. In that time of mourning, I've found my love for dance again and decided to start a dance class. I didn't want it to be an ordinary class, I wanted it to be a class with meaning and empower other people because [at] the time I was in I needed a pickup,” the mom of two recalls.
Takkies says, “I then realised if I'm going to do a dance fitness class then as an instructor I need to be fit”. Subsequently signing up to a boxing gym, she had the surprise of her life as she had to endure things she’s never done before, although she loved the power she got from it.
Her fitness journey kickstarted simultaneously when she started Rockingnheels.
With such a distinct name, Takkies, encapsulating her love for dance, Nkateko tells us how she got her nickname from her history teacher because she would always carry her takkies when it was time to prepare for her hip hop class.
“I started with Woolworths sneakers, I didn't have gym gear and I was wearing shorts and a top - I would maybe tie up sometimes - I had no fitness gear. As I started to build my fitness, it obviously was working with my dance life, so the two were incorporated.”
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When she started the dance classes, she didn’t think it would grow into a business but a lot of research took place to keep abreast with it.
“But it just happened amazingly and through all of that I had to do my research and learn a bit of marketing and business plan, I had to learn things along the way because it quickly grew into a business and I wasn't ready for that.”
As her career was still peaking, she uprooted from South Africa and started a new life with her family in England and describes the move as "tough".
Although her move to the UK was not as glitz and glam, Takkies lost brand deals and found herself “knocking on doors” as she navigated through her new norm. Only Shield and Puma stayed through her move.
“When I left [South Africa] in 2019, my career was at its highest point. I was the Puma ambassador - still am - and was doing lots of brand deals; and the time I was moving it was really a difficult decision for me to make but when you have a family you have to think for the family but what made the decision easier was that my business was is online and I could literally work anywhere if I work my networks.
“But the only tough part was trying to navigate my career in a new country. The move was tough. Leaving family and everything I've worked for behind was tough, however, I have a team [in SA] that's been keeping Rockingnheels alive,” Takkies says.
She says she had to start from the ground up.
“But when I got to the UK it was hard. I had to start from humble beginnings and was knocking on doors. I started my research again now with the UK market and what brands align with what I do. Also, when I was moving, I was pregnant with Suri, so I was looking for baby brands and they loved what I gave off on my page then I had a few agencies reach out to me. The first few brands that I did that were non-paid created awareness for me with other brands and agencies.”
