The Best of Darren's Decade: Our fave moments

Darren Maule arrived at East Coast Radio in 2001, led the breakfast show and has never stopped since then. 

In between all of it there has been growth, laughter, memorable moments he'll cherish forever, people that have influenced him and those whose lives he has touched. We had to make the celebrations of #DarrensDecade inclusive of all of these. 

Darren's Tip Jar

We recall talking to the amazing make-up artist, Warren. He had been unable to work because people are having less events therefore less make-up and dressing up. 

We had the chance to make things beautiful for Warren Killian, a make-up artist, courtesy of Darren's Tip Jar and Lottoland.co.za. 

Warren had been nominated by Patricia Manickum after he quit his call center job to pursue his passion for make-up last year. It unfortunately didn't go so well as the timing was just bad to dive into entrepreneurship during the Level 5 lockdown in South Africa. 

His work is amazing, you can take a look here; might as well read the rest of his story. 

READ MORE: Fathers get to feel special today, thanks to Darren's Tip Jar

We also had the chance to surprise Juanita, an icing artist with some love from Darren's Tip Jar. 

She is currently unemployed after working at Cakes Divine in Margate. The cake company closed down due to COVID-19 restrictions, which meant that she would be without a source of income. Although she had tried to make ends meet by having people place private orders with her, there are not enough orders being placed to make enough for her and her fur babies. 

Tammy Smalberger and Juanita both shared their joy and appreciation for Darren's Tip Jar. You can hear it here. The team were also so happy to share this with her. 

Watch here: 

READ MORE: "We can't salvage anything because it was lost in the fire," tailor at Isipingo Market

We had the most beautiful final Darren's Tip Jar for Advantage Cruisers owned by Riette Bennett and her husband. They had gone through a tough time because of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and had exhausted all the possible means to try stay afloat as a business. 

Whilst all recipients of Darren's Tip Jar received R5,000; she got a shocking amount. 

Take a listen: 

READ MORE: Is Darren a breakfast radio diva? Let his boss answer that question...

Darren's Decade 10-Part Pod Series

We gathered all the people there were part of Darren's come up in radio, the people closest to him and those he has been an inspirations to. The ones that stood out were these three: 

Mouse ft. Darren Maule 

Darren's daughter is his favourite person in the world. He sings her praises for her intelligent mind, her social skills, wit just like his if not better and most importantly her ability to beat him at a game of chess. 

She interviewed her dad and it was the most heartwarming father-daughter moments on a podcast. We used a lens hardly used anywhere else to experience Darren Maule in his element as a dad. 

Listen here: 

READ MORE: Darren's unofficial son reveals his best moments with 'Papa Dad'

Naveen Singh ft. Darren Maule 

Everyone was so interested and curious about how Darren got this gig that lasted 10 years. That's a long time, right? 

Well, he did it. He got this job and he has only gotten better with each day. 

Naveen Singh, former ECR Programming Manager, shares how he convinced his management that Darren was the man that would change the station for the better. 

Have a listen to how that went: 

READ MORE: A lesson on how to play the long game in radio - with love from Darren to Mike V

Anna Kelly-Maule ft. Darren Maule 

How could we even attempt to not include Darren's wife in all of this. She concluded the series and it was in the most fun and quirky format. They might have done a completely different format to all the other podcasts but it was the most telling of who Darren was, is and his future goals and dreams. 

This light-hearted Q+A gives us an unfiltered look at Darren: 

READ MORE: #ThrowbackThursday: Iconic Darren Maule YT videos

The Roast of Darren Maule 

How do you celebrate a funny man's success? By making fun of him. 

We did just that. We called together all the day-time presenters and said "Have fun" 

If you missed it, catch it here. 

And this sums up the end of a very important and necessary celebration. People always talk about giving people their flowers while they are still alive. We gave Darren more than that and we hope that he is aware of the blessing he is to ECR listeners and his colleagues. 

Thank you for celebrating with us!

Main Image Courtesy: East Coast Radio