There are people who speak about resilience, and then there are people who live it so completely that their very existence becomes an argument against limitation. Tebogo Aubrey Poopedi, known to the world as Mr TAP, is firmly in the second category. As the newest brand ambassador for Lebone Marang and Summer, he is not simply a face attached to a mission. He is a living, breathing extension of everything we believe in.

Who is Mr TAP?

Mr TAP is a motivational speaker, author, broadcaster, MC, voice-over artist, musician, disability rights advocate, and the founder of Skills Village Radio, an award-winning radio station in South Africa built by and for persons with disabilities.

Based in Dobsonville, Soweto, with a national footprint, Skills Village Radio is not just a media platform. It is a declaration that the voices of people with disabilities deserve to be heard, amplified, and celebrated.

He is the author of the motivational autobiography How I Lost My Sight and Gained My Vision, a deeply personal account of how losing his physical sight led him to discover something far more powerful: a sense of purpose, leadership, and impact that no circumstance could take away. The book is not just a story. It is a blueprint for anyone navigating adversity and searching for the courage to move forward anyway.

Beyond the stage and the studio, Mr TAP is also an avid cyclist and long-distance runner currently training for his debut at the iconic Comrades Marathon in 2027. He trains alongside his wife and greatest supporter, Tshegofatso, a detail that speaks volumes about the man behind the microphone.

For Mr TAP, resilience is not performed. It is practised daily, in partnership with the people he loves. He lives by a motto that has become inseparable from his identity: “Vision greater than the visible.”

A Journey Defined by Purpose

When Mr TAP lost his sight, he could have retreated. Instead, he rebuilt. He stepped into radio, into writing, into public speaking, into entrepreneurship, and into advocacy with the kind of intentionality that only comes from someone who has genuinely reckoned with what matters.

Every platform he has built, every stage he has stood on, and every conversation he has sparked has carried a single consistent message: ability is not determined by what you can see. It is determined by what you choose to do.

That message has resonated across schools, universities, corporate boardrooms, and community spaces. It has reached young people who did not believe their circumstances could change, and professionals who had forgotten why their work mattered. Mr TAP meets people where they are and leaves them somewhere better.

Why Mr TAP and Why Now

At Lebone Marang and Summer, our work is built on a simple but urgent truth: South Africa’s youth have extraordinary potential, and what stands between that potential and real opportunity is access, belief, and the right support. We exist to close that gap through skills training, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and a genuine commitment to inclusion.

Mr TAP does not just understand that mission. He embodies it.

His credibility is lived, not constructed. He has navigated the very barriers that many of our participants face, including doubt, disadvantage, and systems that were not designed with him in mind, and he has not only overcome them but turned them into platforms for others. That is the kind of voice that changes things.

His reach across media, education, and community spaces means that the values we champion do not stay within our walls. Through him, they travel further and land harder.

Where His Values Meet Ours

Empowerment is at the heart of what we do, and there is no more powerful example of self-determined empowerment than a blind man who built a radio station, wrote a book, runs marathons, and now trains for the Comrades. Mr TAP does not wait for permission to take up space. He creates space, and then he invites others in.

Inclusion is not a box we tick at Lebone Marang and Summer. It is a design principle. Mr TAP’s entire life and career is a case study in what becomes possible when inclusion is taken seriously, when disability is not treated as a limitation but as a different kind of intelligence and a different kind of strength.

Leadership, for us, means showing others what is possible. Mr TAP has been doing that for years, on air, in print, on stage, and on the road. He is the kind of leader who does not ask you to admire him from a distance. He asks you to run with him.

Impact, the measure we care about most, is already written into his story. Through Skills Village Radio alone, he has shifted the conversation about disability in South Africa. Through his book and speaking engagements, he has shifted the way individuals see themselves. That is the kind of impact that outlasts a campaign.

Recognised Beyond Borders

Mr TAP’s nomination for the Icons of Africa Award is not a surprise to those who know his work. It is a recognition long overdue. The award celebrates Africans whose contributions extend beyond their immediate communities and whose influence is shaping the continent’s story. Mr TAP belongs in that conversation, and we are proud to be walking alongside him as that recognition grows.

A Partnership Built on Shared Vision

This is not a sponsorship arrangement. It is a partnership between two forces that believe the same things: that young people deserve more than inspiration, they deserve infrastructure; that disability is not a disqualifier but a different kind of qualification; and that Africa’s next generation of leaders will come from places and backgrounds that the world has too often overlooked.

Together, Lebone Marang and Summer, and Mr TAP will show what is possible when vision, in every sense of the word, leads the way.

“Vision greater than the visible.” We could not have said it better ourselves.

As part of his growing impact and partnership with LMS, Mr TAP continues to engage audiences through key events and platforms:

Catch Mr TAP Live: Upcoming Events

Charity Golf Day: Vision for Brighter Futures

A charity golf day in partnership with the Rita Teka Foundation and Rose Coloured Lens, raising funds and collecting donated glasses for those in need.

Join Mr TAP on the fairway, where he will be engaging attendees as part of the day’s programme. Register via the details on the flyer above.

Icons of Africa Awards 2026

Mr TAP is a nominee at the Icons of Africa Awards 2026, taking place on 30 May 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The awards celebrate Africans whose work is shaping the continent’s future.

We could not be prouder to see him in that room. Find out more at www.iconsofafricaawards.co.za.