For more than two decades, Kojo Baffoe has occupied a distinctive place in South Africa’s cultural landscape, moving fluidly between poetry, publishing, radio, writing and storytelling. A former editor of Destiny Man, Blaque and Afropolitan, a published poet, author and broadcaster, his career has been shaped less by a single title than by an enduring curiosity about people, identity, culture and the stories that explain who we become. Today, that curiosity continues through his work as a content strategist, founder of African content agency Zebra Culture, and host of the Listen To Your Footsteps podcast.

Perhaps that is why looking at Baffoe’s life through ten defining moments feels particularly fitting. His own body of work has often returned to questions of identity, fatherhood, belonging, reinvention and the lessons we accumulate along the way. His 2021 book, Listen To Your Footsteps, brought many of those reflections together through essays, poetry and observations on the experiences that have shaped him.

For 10 Moments That Changed My Life, Baffoe goes back even further. From losing his mother in a car accident as a toddler and watching an Olympic dream disappear after a life altering operation, to finding poetry, entering rehab, becoming a husband and father, taking the editor’s chair at Destiny Man, becoming an author and facing a serious health scare in 2025, he reflects on the moments that redirected him, disciplined him and ultimately changed the way he chooses to live.

Kojo Baffoe | Supplied

1. The Accident

A few months after my first birthday, my mother died in a car accident in Uganda, where we were living at the time, alongside my maternal grandmother and an uncle from my father’s side. I survived the accident with physical scars on my forehead having gone into the windscreen. Growing up without my mother has been life defining, especially at such a young age. It didn’t change my life in that there was a before, and after. I imagine my life would have just been different.

2. The Op

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I had dreams of competing in the 100 metres at the Olympics in 1996, going on to build a career as an athlete. During a basketball game in university, a blood vessel in my leg burst and I ended up having an operation to remove a muscle (think it is called the tibialis anterior) which, because of blood loss, was going gangrenous. I was 21 at the time and being a sprinter was a dream that I had held onto since I was 13/14. And just like that, it was gone. I had to wear a prosthetic support for two years and had a second operation where they did muscle transfers to enable to walk better. Plus I grew up in a time when “no pain, no gain” was the mantra. A lesson out of this experience was that ‘powering through pain’ is not always the best approach to life. When I look back on that time and how life has unfolded since, I am grateful that it wasn’t my only option and reckon that there are probably things that I wouldn’t have explored if I had ended up being a ‘professional’ athlete.

3. Rotary Exchange Student

As an 18-year-old, I spent a year in Oldenburg, Germany as an exchange student. I chose Germany as a way to reconnect with my German roots. I had to learn how to navigate new spaces and people, including stepping out of my comfort zone. For most of my childhood, I struggled with having to sleep in spaces that weren’t my bedroom and my bed. As an exchange student, I moved families every four months and found a way of making my room feel like my room, right after I moved in.

4. The Poet

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From a young age, I wrote poetry, mainly for myself. In 1999, I was invited to meet friends at a venue called Jungle Connection in Joburg’s Doornfontein area and found a small community of poets sharing their poems on stage. This was my introduction to performance poetry and I went onto to perform regularly, run shows, book poets for corporate events and publish two collections of poetry. For a couple of years, poetry was what I was submerged in building relationships in SA, Botswana, Eswatini, the UK and the US. It also pushed me to work on the craft of writing poetry and, by extension, writing in general because I didn’t have formal writing education.

5. Rehab

I spent the transition from 1999 to 2000 in rehab for a drug problem. Part of this process was self-reflection and understanding what it was about me, my personality, that had me seeking out ways of numbing. I also had to change the people and spaces I interacted with as well as my lifestyle. I had to become disciplined and recognise my triggers and then ensure that I avoided situations that were potentially triggering. The foundation of how I live my life today was created then.

6. Getting Hitched 

Kojo Baffoe | Supplied

Getting married in 2002 made me a lot more focused because my decisions no longer determined my life alone. It has also taught me a great deal about compromise (in a positive way), how I communicate and how maintaining a relationship is a work-in-progress that needs to be worked at consistently.

7. Becoming Daddy

When my son was born, I felt that I wasn’t as ‘far’ in life as I was supposed to be. I became single-minded with work and ran myself into the ground. Four years later, when my daughter was born, my biggest realisation was that using ‘working for my family’ as an excuse for not being present didn’t make sense, for me. I made the decision to leave my job and restructure my work life to ensure that I could be present for all of their life milestones. It was difficult and came with sacrifice, especially financially, but it has also been fulfilling.

8. Destiny Man Editor

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Having worked in multiple roles in multiple industries over my working life, including as founding editor for Blaque, a men’s magazine, I joined the men’s business and lifestyle magazine, Destiny Man, in 2010. And it was at Destiny Man where my work trajectory to date finally made sense. I am a generalist, curious about many things, which has given me a working knowledge of many different industries which held me in good stead editing the magazine. In addition, because I was writing a great deal, hosting events and interacting with a range of people, it has helped with everything I have done since then, including working in radio and hosting a podcast. My article writing muscle and interviewing skills were enhanced by this experience.

9. Author

Kojo Baffoe | Supplied

In 2021, my book Listen To Your Footsteps was published. I had been trying to write a book for years, feeling like an imposter because, although I worked as a writer, I wasn’t an author. The book is a collection of essays, reflections and some poems on identity, fatherhood, and the like. The act of writing involved looking back over my life on experiences, lessons, ideas and people that have impacted on my life and led me to the person I am today. It put a lot into perspective, for better or for worse. Plus, I learned that I could actually write a book. And my podcast is an extension of the book. The book was my lessons from life and my podcast is conversations with others about the lessons that they have learned from life.

10. Health Scare

Kojo Baffoe | Supplied

In 2025, I ended up in hospital with multiple blood clots in both of my lungs. I underwent multiple tests and recovery has involved a significant change in lifestyle, including how, what and when I eat. I have been very deliberate about this and feel healthier and fitter than I have in years. It has also been a reminder that I am mortal and, therefore, to be grateful for each day.