About Me
Yeah, I know. It’s crazy to divulge personal information on public spaces in these times of cybercrime with ransomware and scammers lurking in the darknet, just waiting to pounce on innocent do-gooders such as myself. But what the F – life’s too short to worry about that. Anyway, there’s no point in having a creative portfolio that only showcases work with no info about the creator. You wanna know about me, right? Right, so here we go:
Background
In case you missed this website’s homepage (which is unlikely, seeing as that’s where you probably landed), my name is Desmond Langkilde (yes, the surname is Danish, but I’m not – a Dane, I mean. Or a Great Dane, although I do like the dog breed). I was born in Durban, South Africa on 18 March 1959, so I’m part of The Rainbow Nation (even though that rainbow has disappeared, along with the pot of gold). After having survived childhood as the youngest in a brood of five, I semi-started my career as a freelance cartoonist working for the Pretoria News. Then qualified as a compositor in the print industry. Progressed to the graphic design/advertising industry. Expanded into the marketing industry (financial services). Specialized as a communications expert in the tourism industry. Developed a travel news website and magazine in the media industry. Became a web design, social media, and UX application expert. Dabbled in the non-profit industry (an NPO in the founding stage of development, currently curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic). And ended up as a tourism consultant, travel writer, and motoring journalist by default.
Attributes
My experience gleaned from over nearly 5 decades of working in such diverse industries has resulted in three core leadership attributes: I believe in the value of decentralized networks and teamwork, undertaken in a spirit of mutual trust and ethical behavior; I believe in delegating responsibility with accountability and strict financial controls; and I respect the dignity of the individual, support academic advancement and do not discriminate on the grounds of race, sex or religion. If that reads like an extended elevator pitch from some self-improvement sales course, it isn’t. It took years to figure it out. You can use it in your own CV if you want (just leave out the decentralized networks bit, especially if you’re submitting your CV to a bank :-).
Interests
I’m interested in all kinds of things. Especially the Internet of Things. And the Metaverse thing. And…
OK, let’s talk about passion: I’m most passionate about Africa; the continents’ history, people, cultures, land fauna and flora, and marine biodiversity. For relaxation, I enjoy traveling, reading, writing, and illustration. To keep fit, I enjoy walking, hiking, jogging, cycling, swimming, and resistance exercising. I have competed in numerous running marathons and mountain biking events. I recently walked my Siberian Husky, Jaxx, on a fundraising event from Plettenberg Bay to Cape Town and plan to continue the journey from Cape Town to Namibia soon. I’m also a qualified Open Water Scuba Dive Master and Instructor with Mixed Gas (Nitrox) and Level 3 First-Aid qualifications. Oh yes, I’m also interested in you. Especially if you have work to send my way (after all, that’s why I’ve set up this website; to brand-it-now!).
Family
I am happily married to Beverley (nee Van Niekerk), my wife of over 25 years. I have an independent 25-year-old son (Chase), two daughters (Bo and Kay), a daughter-in-law (Candice) – all in their early 40s – and a 12-year-old granddaughter (Ava), and two adopted dogs (Bengi & Jaxx).
Education
My formative years of schooling left a lot to be desired (especially by my parents). I managed to scrape through Rynfield Primary School, limped through Benoni High School (and a brief stint at Willowmore High School, also in Benoni), and completed my adolescent sentence by attending Capital College in Pretoria where I kind of matriculated (I failed English, which is ironic considering that I write for a living today). Post-school, I managed to complete a few diploma certificate courses (mostly out of a need for information, rather than aspirations to secure a 9-5 job). These include; IMM(SA) – Marketing Management, SBMC – Business Management, FAIS – Short Term Insurance, NPC III – Print Media, and Advanced Catering & Chef Training, compliments of the SANDF/SACC.
Trials & Tribulations
Like everyone who has managed to survive over six decades on planet Earth, life has taken some interesting, often exciting, but more often disappointing and heart-wrenching turns along the road known as experience. Right now, as I sit writing this, my sister Patricia is lying in a room down the hall, fighting a losing battle against brain cancer tumors that are slowly devouring her life. Last year (2021), my wife and I lost our home and possessions, for the second time in our tumultuous relationship. Beverley and Benji are currently living with Candice in Randburg, while Jaxx and I are temporarily being hosted by my niece, Dawn at her house in Alberton, Johannesburg, while we both care for my sister; her mother Patricia. Does reading this make you feel sorry for me? Do I feel sorry for myself? No, I don’t. But I do regret, and often resent the pain and suffering that life has inflicted upon those I love. As for me: c’est la vie
– that’s life!
Update (November 2022)
I wrote the above in February 2022. Since then, my beloved sister, Patricia, passed away peacefully at the Stepping Stone Hospice in Alberton on the 5th of March. My niece, Dawn, subsequently sold the house, which left me homeless (again).
Thankfully, my brother Stanley offered a room at his farm in Rietkol, Delmas, where Jaxx (my 8-year-old Siberian Husky) and I could live and work for our keep (not that Jaxx does any work – he promptly killed 3 chickens in the first week of our arrival).
Anyway, Jaxx gets on well with Stan’s dog pack (2 huskies, a greyhound, and a pint sized mix breed with a beautiful disposition).
Jaxx has finally realised that killing chickens is not a good habit, even for the closest relative to Siberian Wolves. While Jaxx spends most of his day sleeping, I keep busy by managing the farm’s free range egg business, doing maintenance work, collecting Pecan Nuts, and even growing herbs & veggies!
In between that, I do occasional graphic design and writing assignments working remotely on my iMac. I could handle more assignments though. Always open to new work, so if you like what you see on this site, contact me and let’s Brand-It-Now!
Update (October 2025)
It’s been four years since losing everything as a result of the so called “COVID19” plandemic and arriving as homeless refugees in Gauteng seeking shelter with family. Bev and I are still separated (by about 80km – the distance from Rietkol, Delmas to Olivedale, Randburg), although we do manage to get together for special occasions, like birthdays and anniversaries. Our son, Chase, has since moved from Melkbosstrand to live (occasionally) with his mom and step-sister in Randburg where he waits tables at a nearby upmarket restaurant while earning pittance. My daughters have both emigrated. Kay and Dylan have settled in the Philippines while Bo, Ava and Ryan have become Pommies by settling in London.
As for me, I aint emigrating nowhere. Africa’s home and after all my years of travel I have found no better place to be.
So, what have I been up to over the past four years?
Well, I tried a stint at ghostwriting in 2021 (wrote 2 books; a beginners guide to cryptocurrency and a beginners guide to food foraging – in North America of all places). Both books cannot appear in my portfolio as ghostwriters have to transfer copyright to the purchaser. I gave that up as being too time consuming and revenue restricting to warrant the effort.
Using the knowledge gained from writing the cryptocurrency book, I started an NFT (Non Fungible Token) project in 2022 called NFTurdy (you can read about that project by clicking the link).
An older project (founded in 2018), Walk4Africa.org, is still alive and kicking. I spent time on a re-launch strategy in 2022/23 while slowly developing the birth of EventsInAfrica (E4A) – a marketplace for outdoor events in Africa.
E4A took a back seat in the last quarter of 2023 when I took on consultancy work Naturecrazi Safaris and Tours (NST) – an Africa in-bound tour operator.
During 2024, I helped my brother with marketing collateral and website development for his SizzApp agency – an advanced GPS & GSM vehicle tracking devise for bikes, cars, golf carts, and jet-skies. In between NST consulting work, I illustrated and published a revised edition of Vusa the Lion Guardian on behalf of Southern Africa Conservation Trust (SACT).
Early 2025 I came across a Cape Town Foreshore building to let. After contacting the estate agent, I threw a huge amount of effort into compiling a prospectus aimed at turning this ideally positioned building into Africa’s first cube-designed Digital Nomad Hotel. Sadly, the agent found a tenant before investors could be secured. I wrote a Walk Through blog post to describe the guest experience.
Mid-year saw the launch of Vusa The Vulture Guardian – a comic book distributed free of charge to rural schools bordering protect conservation areas that aims to educate children about the plight of Africa’s endangered vulture species. This year has also seen Naturecrazi secure its first safari bookings with revenues of R470,000 to date.
And that brings me to the present (October 2025) and the first tentative steps of launching Ecotourism Africa (ecotourism.africa), which, as its name implies, is a dedicated media portal for news, views, and reviews about credible sustainable travel products and services in Africa. Want to know more about this project? Then Contact Me.