We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gideon Mzembe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gideon, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was in the midst of pursuing a career as a professional rugby league player. But something was sitting right with me, my overall well wellbeing. I went to watch my brother Pacharo Mzembe in mainstage theatre play. I saw how he moved the audience and how connected the audiences were even after the show in the foyer. I knew there was magic to be experiences there. so I quit football and hit the ground running and enrolled at the New York film academy.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

1993 me along side my family (brother, mum and dad) arrived to Australia same year my sister was born. It was without question that immersing ourselves in the community was our way forward, if we had any chance of progressing in the new found environment. I naturally took to sports. Track and field, soccer and rugby league. Rugby league would ultimately be the driving vehicle in making friends and joining the community. My rugby was fast progressing me forward better than my English. with only two years of being introduced to the game i represented my state and the same year i would receive a full sporting scholarship to Ipswich grammar school. to where i continued my mastering of the game of rugby.

upon completing 5 year scholarship i was expecting to be scouted by clubs. That wasn’t the case. I found myself in a dark place. But with the sacrifices my mother made i knew this was no time to crumble. so i dedicated myself to the grind and train the house down. 6 months later id receive a professional contract. which stated i had 3 years to become full time pro. After 3 years again of grinding i received a tap on the shoulder and told to move on. Again found myself back in the dark place. I was offered another contract from a different club, by this time i was fed up with the having to prove my worth game.

i went to watch my brother preform in a theatre piece and straight away knew i wanted to be part of that journey. I did my time at New York film academy. since then i have featured in commercials, T.V series, multiple award winning national touring plays. I took a moment to celebrate my progress through the confusion.

so i decided to start a brand “ZEMBITION” a lifestyle brand that stands to empower individuals and remind them not to be defined by their circumstances. with the mantra ” you are more than what you have become, you are more than what happens to you. I statement i have repeatedly recited to myself. And so today i remain being mindset coach when im not on set or stage performing.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I used to be the host with the most, all my social media post were about club openings, special drinks etc etc. i remember one day i had put a quote up, as i was feeling some type of way. it had 2 likes and more than 20 comments, everyone making fun of me. little did they know it was me trying to vent. That day i knew that i had to change. so i became a person of consistence in waking up at 3am training, the coaching clients as well as script learning all of which i shared on my Instagram and tik tok. I guess just be the authentic you.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Definitely as i journey through this industry I’m blessed to work with the OGs of the game. The more i learn the more i want to be part of stories that are not talked about. Take people through the worlds of characters they would never meet in everyday walk abouts.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Gideon mzembe, ZEMBITION
• Facebook: Gideon Mzembe
• Linkedin: Gideon Mzembe
• Youtube: Gideon Mzermbe