Comedian Chris Mapane has opened up about his journey to stardom, revealing that he used to work as a miner - which is where he started telling jokes - before pursuing a career in comedy.
Speaking to Move, Chris - who studied Industrial Engineering at Wits after matric - said that he would often tell jokes during his practicals down in the mine to "ease shock" and lighten up the mood in "volatile situations" underground.
"I realised that it was a tense situation down there, so I started telling jokes while we were busy digging for gold. My intention was to ease the shock not only for myself, but for the other miners, as we felt that should the mine collapse, we would all die," he told the local publication.
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It was underground where Chris realised that he could make a career from telling jokes, which were often well received by fellow miners.
"This is where I realised that I have a talent for telling jokes, as I would make people laugh, even though we were in a volatile situation underground."
Speaking to Sowetan in 2013, Chris revealed that when he first tried comedy in 2006, he was homeless in Johannesburg, and would therefore sleep at the places he performed or at Wits computer labs.
"When I started I used to sleep at venues I performed at. I only accepted a gig if I knew I was going to be given a lift to the venue.
"I mainly slept at the Wits university computer labs during this sad part of my life but I had to be out by 7am," he recalled.
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