CCLinspire Feature on Miss Mandi aka 'The Throwdown Queen"

Mandi Sarro popularly known as Miss Mandi the 'Throwdown Queen'

In Africa being a young female with ambition can often be hard when it often feels like its a man world but despite being all three Miss Mandi who has drive for days has managed to cut through those hurdles and is slowly becoming a household name. She is the Throwdown Queen who entertains us on radio, inspires our cooking creatively on Youtube and is always surprising us with how her passion has led her to ever evolving experiences.Writing about her was not only a pleasure but inevitable...Be inspired and motivated!!!

You first came into the scene as the cool radio host who speaks her mind. Your most recent new title is the "Throwdown Queen" for through your love for cooking you teach us different ways on how we can change it up in the kitchen but beyond that, who is Miss Mandi? i mean the girl behind the scenes.

A creative introvert-ish who likes laughing loudly with thought provoking conversation, being introduced to new perspectives, reading, travel and hates forced friendships.

In a world that is constantly evolving, how do you ensure that you stay relevant?

Social media really helps one stay relevant especially since it's always evolving.

You moved back from Canada, six years ago now and a lot of amazing moments have happened to you. When you moved, did you have a plan set or at least a vision of things you wanted to achieve? if so, have some of your visions come to pass and would you care to share some?

It was 5 years ago. When I moved back, I just wanted to be on radio that was really it. It wasn't until I started working at my first station in Nairobi that I realized how social media would help me propel to the next level. One vision that I wanted was to get on radio, the rest has been a mix of being driven like going to plenty of auditions, luck, connections with people in the right places and knowing how to navigate in the opportunities I have "stumbled" upon.

Can you narrow down what moments have defined you and in what way have they defined you?

My first radio show - 'The Morning After'. When I was first hired by the station, I was supposed to host the mid morning show then one day I was called in and was told I would be hosting the breakfast show. Hosting this show got me some popularity and I ran with it. Hosting the breakfast show defined that I can be thrown into the deep end and swim with the sharks. Honestly that one moment has set the momentum.

Miss Mandi Throwdown has now become a phenomenon in the Nairobi scene at least, this year. T}o name but a few you have visited places like Dakar because of it, your recipes are now being printed in The Standard Newspaper every Sunday, would you ever consider having a cookbook or at least a book on food and travel?

Until I finally commit to jotting down a cook book, I look at my youtube channel as my visual cook book but I like your suggestion, I might do that. 

What made you kick start your YouTube Channel earlier this year? and what else can we expect to see?

I really enjoy creating visual content because I am a visual learner so that was really the motivation, to visually teach others while learning. My audience should expect more vlogs with different angles and new segments on how they can view food.

For a young female succeeding at breaking through, what have been the challenges you have had that have also doubled up as your driving force to keep at it?

Being told "no" has been my BIGGEST challenge. Imagine going to auditions and being told no? Or pitching an idea and being told no? That no has motivated to create new avenues for myself to express my creative juices

What advice would you give to someone who is considering following in your footsteps?

Buckle up to put in the work. You will learn so much from failing so don't worry about failing. Network your butt off. Research about the field. Keep reinventing yourself. Collaborate with people. Focus on the work never the money. Creating dope things will lead to the money trickling in. Experiment often. Find your voice and constantly work on amplifying it as opposed to copying what others do. 

In life it is not what you drive that is important but what drives you and Miss Mandi is the perfect example of what can happen if you let passion take the wheel, the experiences and opportunities will be endless. It is important to also nurture your talent because often that one thing might lead you to live the life you have always imagined. 

"Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz, American football player & coach 

Get acquainted with all that Miss Mandi does in the following ways:

Blog Website: www.mandisarro.com

YouTube: Mandi Sarro

Instagram: @missmandii @missmandithrowdown

Twitter: @missmandii

December CCLinspire has the pleasure of sharing the story of Kangai Mwiti the recent winner of the Africa YouTube Creator Awards for her Make Up Channel.

Thanks for reading and may this be the matchstick that lights up the fire in you.

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