When the word "fresh" ("unique, original, vibey and cool) became part of Johannesburg's street slang, its inventors must have had Kabelo Ngakane, presenter of Video Vibes, in mind. This 22-year-old Channel O favourite is as fresh as a squeezed lemon, as zany as a circus clown and as loud as a building site. He's sitting on a basketball on top of a table doing an impersonation of a Californian surfer. His trademark dreads hang down over huge, mischievous eyes. He claims to be the normal one in his family, which makes you wonder just how crazy his three sisters must be. He jumps up, throws the basketball into the air and jumps off the table screaming, "I like to party!" When he lands he looks up and says, "Well, I like to thinks so anyway."

As a youngster, Kabelo spent his time entertaining the inhabitants of the township where he grew up outside of Springs in Gauteng, South Africa. As the only boy in a family of sisters, he learnt a lot about girls at a young age. "I love women," he says. "They're crazy people". Crazy, in Kabelo's book, is a good thing. Kabelo went to school at the prestigious Sacred Heart College and then on to Christian Brothers

College where he completed his schooling. "When I tell people that, they think I went to some kind of a monastery. No way, man. It was a Christian School, but we got up to as much mischief as you would at any school. Maybe more." It was at school that Kabelo's interest in acting and the entertainment industry began. "I used to act in school plays and do stand-up comedy shows and stuff, " he says. "That's when I realised that I could make money out of having fun."

Unlike many of the Channel O presenters, Kabelo started working for Channel O behind the scenes before he got a shot in front of the camera. "I worked in the Channel O office as an office assistant for a year making things happened behind the scenes before I decided to audition for a presenter slot," he says. "In 1999 I decided that I wanted to be a presenter, so I phoned the woman who was in charge of auditions and pretended to be someone else. I didn't want her to know it was me, so I pretended that I was an Arabic dude from Morocco called Yousaf." Here Kabelo does a flawless impersonation of an Arabic accent. "She told me I could come and audition and when I arrived she got a big surprise when she saw it was me," he laughs at the memory. "She thought it was funny and let me audition anyway, and that, my friends, is how I got onto the greatest TV Channel on earth."

"I think Channel O can hold its own with any international channel out there," he says. "The imaging is crazy cool, the videos are a mix of African music and international acts and the social awareness messages are a brilliant way to help Africa. We are doing this for the first time, we're doing it right, and we're doing it for Africa, baby!"

"I have always been inspired by people who make you laugh. Eddie Murphy is my hero, he is working hard for comedy and he is one of the funniest people around. I also have big respect for Michael Jackson. Other than that I don’t really have role models," he says. "I think people should be themselves and not try to emulate others." Kabelo can't sit still while he is talking and he keeps bumping over the microphone and having to jump up and put it back in place. He has way too much energy, but that is what makes him an interesting person. "I'm a passionate dude," he says. "I am very into sport and getting out there and doing active things." His mind races ahead. "Oh yeah, and I'm crazy about food. Man, I love chicken. Oh, and another thing, I'm passionate about love, oh yeah. Love, that's my thing."

For someone with as much energy as he has, it comes as a surprise when he says he has a problem with procrastination. "I put off doing everything until the last minute," he says. "It's a really bad habit that I am trying to break, but I always seem to do it. I suppose I like the pressure of having to deliver on the spot."

"I have to admit that I am not really a music specialist. I'm more into videos, that's my thing, but I do love some of the old stuff, like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. I love Quincy Jones too, and Lauryn Hill is crazy cool. I love African stuff like Salif Keita, Baba Maal, and Brenda Fassie. She's wicked." Kabelo writes his own script for Video Vibes. "I watch a lot of videos and I try to find the cool, interesting parts to point out to the people watching. I also find out as much as I can about the artists so I can tell everyone who they are and where they're coming from. It's just my interpretation. I think people can relate because I'm just a normal dude doing my thing." Some may beg to differ, but Kabelo is definitely one popular presenter.

"It is weird being a role model to people who I have never met, but I like it. I'm not like, 'Hey, watch me, I'm cool'. I'm just doing my thing as an entertainer because that's what I am. I'm just having a good time, watching all them videos and they pay me to do it. Crazy!"

"I spend most of my time with my better half, my girl. We're a team, you know what I'm saying? We work together, and I believe in love. It's deep, man. When we are not together I like to hang with my homies and talk rubbish. We get together and tell jokes and laugh." Kabelo has plans to get involved in the African film industry. "I never know where I will be in a week's time, never mind in ten years from now, but I want to be a big African movie mogul when I'm older. Big money, big Jeeps and a big contribution to the African film industry – that's my plan.

Kabelo is a great one for making a fool of himself for laughs and he's very good at it. "I am different from the other presenters because I look funny." He screws his face up into a monkey expression. "Just look at this face," he says. "How did I get on television?"