Mel Massyn

Presenter More music Drive Monday to Friday 3pm - 6pm

As a young schoolboy, I would regularly mail song request postcards to my favourite Short Wave music station, LM Radio,  in the then Mozambique. While waiting for weeks on end for my postcards to reach LM Radio, I would play seven singles on our huge old radiogram situated in the lounge, and present a Top 20 countdown to my mom, as she prepared dinner in the kitchen.

The very first time that LM Radio DJ, Harold West read my postcard message and mentioned my name on air, it was probably the sweetest sound I had ever heard.

Fast forward to 1989 and the then Channel 702 started broadcasting from their Eloff Street studios in Joburg, as one of the first independent radio stations to compete with the mighty SABC.   It took twelve auditions and twelve rejection letters from the Station Manager, to finally land a slot as the helicopter traffic reporter on the John and Gary Breakfast show, featuring the legendary John Berks.  5 years and over 1,000 flying hours later in the passenger seat of the 702 Bell Jet ranger chopper, I relocated to Durban to take up a full time position as Sales Manager for Singapore Airlines.

Within a month of being in Durban, I landed a freelance, weekend slot on East Coast Radio with my co - host Jane Linley Thomas.  During our amazing 10 years on air together, we eventually progressed to become part of the Weekday  Breakfast Show.

I then relocated to Cape Town and took a radio hiatus, to concentrate on  growing my Casting Agency business.  Clearly the radio bug is inherent, since on the off chance, I submitted a demo video clip to Air FM and soon afterwards received the acceptance call that every  expectant  DJ  wishes for.     

Every single day that I am on Air FM, is not only a privilege to engage with our listeners, but also a constant work in progress for me, as I am a firm believer that I am only as good as my last show.   I have played in a cover band, Who Knows When, for the last 5 years and it is such a thrill for me to now play many of the same old school tunes on Air FM, as we do at our gigs.

I am blessed to have joined such a vibrant team at grass roots level and really look forward  to being  a role player in many of the exciting developments set to take place at Air FM.