By: Natasha Archary
Buckle up for Drive 959 with car enthusiast Glen Lewis whose experienced driving skills behind the mic, will keep you entertained and engaged on weekday afternoons from 15h00 to 18h00.
The veteran radio personality who grew up in Pimville, Soweto had a love for nice cars from a young age.
Glen Lewis tells Kaya 959 that as a young boy he dreamt of owning a Porsche.
“Growing up in a poor family who had nothing, I always had a dream of owning a Porsche one day.
I used to go to school not knowing what I was going to eat some days but that was my dream, and mind you, there were no Porsches in the township when I was a boy.
Now, I had 7 siblings most of whom didn’t go to school. I had the opportunity to go to school, and I remember having to sell apples when I was in matric just to be able to go to school.
Obviously when you have such dreams you ask yourself ‘how are you going to get this car?’
The answer was, ‘I don’t know,’ but it’s a dream I never let go off, and I was determined to one day own a Porsche.”
Glen Lewis opens up about his childhood and the dream he had to one day own a Porsche
The road to owning his dream car would be a long and difficult one
While his peers in the industry, the likes of the late radio legend Bob Mabena and others were spending their hard-earned money on cars, Glen Lewis walked to work until he managed to buy a bicycle.
Glen Lewis first met Mabena in 1988 and the two went on to become close friends whilst working at Radio Bob.
Sacrificing everything for about 3-years, the popular radio personality saved his R2 000 car allowance just so he could buy a top of the range Golf GTI.
While hosting breakfast radio, in Mafikeng, Glen Lewis would cycle to work in the rain, on freezing cold winter mornings or sun because he didn’t want his first car to be a standard one. His sacrifices paid off and his first car had everything, from leather seats to a top notch sound system.
The question is, did the Drive 959 presenter eventually get his dream car?
“Yes I do have a Porsche today, and people may look at my car and think, ‘yeah he’s got money this one,’ but I bought a 2011 model which was written off in an accident by the previous owner.
I bought the car, which is a Porsche Cayenne for R250 000, and spent about R40 000 to fix it.
So, yes I have my dream car, but it took a lot of patience and sacrifice to eventually get it.”
Glen Lewis loves long drives whether locally or abroad
“I love driving. I’ll sacrifice a flight so I can just drive, even if I have gigs abroad in the UK.
I can be in Newcastle or Liverpool and I’ll make sure my accommodation is in London, just so that I can drive.
If I’m going to another part of the world, there’s no way I’m not going to take the opportunity to drive around and see the place first hand.”
Ardent Arsenal supporter
Something you may not know about Glen Lewis is that he has a passion for football and is an ardent Arsenal supporter.
With the title race in the English Premier League being so tight between the top three teams, the Kaya 959 presenter believes Arsenal, or the Gunners, have a 78% chance of winning the league this year.
“There was disappointment last year when we were on the verge of winning because we were leading by 8 points, but Arsenal bottled it in the last few games and Man City went on to win.
I think this year, we are more experienced but, yes the title race is tight because we have two teams (Arsenal and Liverpool) on 71 points and City is on 70.
The weapon that we have this year is that we have a very tight defence and we have not conceded a lot of goals this year.
Also Arsenal’s goal difference is much higher than Liverpool and City. We have 9 goals more than Liverpool and 11 more than City, so we’re in a better position this year.
Arsenal still have some big games against Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham and if we win those and the last remaining games of the season it could make a difference.
Of course, this will depend on whether Liverpool and City drop points or win all their games too, so I think Arsenal has a 78% chance of winning the league this year.”
Glen Lewis believes Arsenal will take home the title this year
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