Feature Image credit: Tyrone Bradley, Red Bull Content Pool
What does it take to become a champion in South Africa?
Is it talent? Creativity? Resilience? Community? The ability to perform when the odds are stacked against you?
Or is there something uniquely South African that keeps producing athletes capable of taking on and beating the best in the world?
This Heritage Month, Red Bull sets out to explore exactly that with What We Know, a new four-part documentary series hosted by comedian and broadcaster Eugene Khoza and directed by Greg Lomas and Colwyn Thomas, the team behind Chasing the Sun.
And for anyone who lives for speed, altitude, wheels, waves, adrenaline and competition, there is plenty here to get excited about.
THE QUESTION BEHIND THE CHAMPIONS
South Africa has produced world-class competitors across an extraordinary range of disciplines, often competing against countries with significantly greater resources.
From World Cup-winning rugby teams and international cricket stars to MotoGP podiums, Olympic medals, mountain-bike titles and global surfing success, South African athletes continue to make their presence felt on the international stage.
What We Know asks why.
Khoza travels across the country, bringing together athletes, creatives, coaches, comedians and other personalities to investigate four possible ingredients behind the country’s competitive spirit: creativity, community, the underdog mentality and diversity.
Rather than presenting one predetermined answer, the series allows the people who have experienced the pressure of elite competition to unpack it for themselves.
WHEN CREATIVITY MEETS ADRENALINE
The first episode focuses on creativity, and the lineup immediately takes the conversation beyond conventional sporting territory.
Spinning champion SamSam Thubane, Springbok fullback Damian Willemse, b-girl Courtnaé Paul and skateboarder Boipelo Awuah join Khoza to explore how creativity can become a competitive advantage. They are joined by comedian Jason Goliath, TV personality Lerato Phago and artist Karabo Poppy, adding another dimension to the discussion around how South Africans respond when circumstances demand something different.
Then there is Pat Davidson, a six-time national aerobatic champion who has represented South Africa at the World Aerobatic Championships in Osaka. Davidson’s story brings the concept of creativity directly into the extreme environment of competitive aerobatics.
Before performing routines involving forces of up to nine Gs, Davidson manually plans his manoeuvres, sketching his flight sequence and using a personal shorthand to commit the routine to memory. That preparation once became critical when an engine failure at just 30 feet left him with virtually no time to think.
The preparation had to become instinct.
FROM MOTOGP TO MOUNTAIN BIKING, SURFING AND BEYOND
The first episode is only the beginning.
Across the four-part series, What We Know brings together an eclectic group of South African champions, including Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Proteas stars Kagiso Rabada, Temba Bavuma and Laura Wolvaardt, two-time MotoGP race winner Brad Binder, mountain-bike world champion Greg Minnaar, professional surfer Jordy Smith, ultra-runner Ryan Sandes, 800m runner Prudence Sekgodiso, strongman Rayno Nel, hockey international Thati Zulu and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Themba Zwane.
Brad Binder represents South Africa at the highest level of motorcycle racing.
Greg Minnaar has built a legendary career in mountain biking.
Jordy Smith has carried South African surfing onto the global stage.
Ryan Sandes has taken ultra-distance running into some of the world’s most demanding environments.
And in episode one, Courtnaé Paul, Boipelo Awuah and Pat Davidson bring their own versions of skill, risk, creativity and precision into the conversation. Different disciplines. Different environments. Different definitions of danger. But the same flag.
WHAT MAKES A CHAMPION?
That is where What We Know becomes bigger than a conventional sports documentary. Directors Greg Lomas and Colwyn Thomas look beyond medals and podiums, exploring the people and environments that shaped these competitors including their families, communities and other influences.
The idea is simple: if South African athletes are competing successfully against some of the world’s best despite operating with comparatively fewer resources, perhaps the explanation goes beyond talent, ability and training.
Perhaps the environment itself plays a role. Perhaps adversity creates adaptability. Perhaps community creates belief. Perhaps diversity creates different ways of solving problems. Or perhaps, as the series investigates, the answer is a combination of all of these things.
There is no single hero and no scripted conclusion. Instead, What We Know puts champions from very different worlds together and gives them space to compare what they have learned.
WATCH IT THIS HERITAGE MONTH
What We Know premieres on SABC1 on Thursday, 24 September 2026 at 22:00, on Heritage Day.
The four-part series continues weekly:
Episode 1: 24 September
Episode 2: 1 October
Episode 3: 8 October
Episode 4: 15 October
For South Africa’s action and extreme-sport community, this is an opportunity to see some of the country’s most accomplished competitors outside the usual competition environment and to explore the question behind the medals, machines, mountains, waves and podiums:
What is it about being South African that keeps producing champions?
Extreme Sports Action will be watching.
