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Phemelo Mabuse and Marius Iepure on the Break The Routine set WATCH ON YOUTUBE

25 AUG 2026 · 1 H 35

The Ironman Promise And Goodbye

with PHEMELO MABUSE

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About this episode

In this episode of Break the Routine, Marius Iepure sits down with Phemelo Mabuse: former South African Latin and Ballroom champion, teacher, endurance athlete and renewable energy leader from Pretoria. Phemelo opens up about growing up inside a family-built ballroom pathway under apartheid's shadow, why she chose a quieter path than her sisters Motsi and Oti, and how dance gave her the discipline, structure and resilience to build a high-responsibility life far beyond competition.

They talk about the township childhood, her mother's fight for black dancers in DanceSport, stepping away from the competitive floor, the transition into Ironman and ultra-endurance sport, leadership in the energy industry, and what the dance world must do better to prepare dancers for life.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Intro
  2. 00:36Welcoming Phemelo To The Studio
  3. 02:12Her DanceSport Past In A Few Words
  4. 04:19Brian Watson And Sisters Who Inspire
  5. 06:08Becoming An Adjudicator In South Africa
  6. 08:17Sport As A Foundation For Business
  7. 09:04Discipline And Structure From The Township
  8. 12:32Buying Dance Shoes Over Groceries
  9. 13:41From DanceSport To Endurance As A Parent
  10. 16:04Sport, Purpose And Mental Health For Kids
  11. 18:17Go Mommy Go As Motivation
  12. 20:17Healthy Pushing Versus Too Much
  13. 22:11Stepping Back To Support Her Children
  14. 24:12Putting Family First Over Ambition
  15. 26:33The Young Girl In The Township
  16. 29:03Mama Dudu The Fighter
  17. 31:04The Politics And Race In DanceSport
  18. 33:12The Less Glamorous Truth Of Excellence
  19. 36:24Never Look Like Your Problems
  20. 37:13Champion In Both Ballroom And Latin

Reels from this episode

All Reels on Instagram →

They play on their own, muted. Tap one to hear it, tap again to mute.

How far can a life in dance take you? 38.4k views · Instagram ↗
Marked down because of her skin colour 18.1k views · Instagram ↗
In DanceSport, men and women are equal 5.1k views · Instagram ↗
Choosing family over Ironman 2.6k views · Instagram ↗
We undervalue what sport gives kids 2.6k views · Instagram ↗

Transcript

The full conversation, 654 passages

00:00

Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Break the Routine. We have a very very special guest is uh someone that um was all about discipline, reinvention and the life beyond the dance floor from South Africa, the South African dance titles and television work um to endurance sport and business leadership. She's an inspiration to many and brings a perspective that goes far beyond competition. and I'm excited to explore that journey today with Pomelo Mabus. Oh man, so fun to have you here.

00:39

Thank you so much for having me here.

00:41

How how is uh UK? You like it?

00:45

I like it. I like the weather now unlike December. Um and yeah, so I like it. It's a good time to be in UK at the moment.

00:53

It's a good time. Yeah, especially with all these beautiful events.

00:56

Yeah, of course. I mean I tennis super fan and former one super fan.

01:02

Listen, it was an amazing experience for me.

01:06

Um I think having that opportunity to attend these two functions or events at the same time, good weather both days,

Transcribed automatically from the episode audio, so some names may be misspelled. Tap a time to play that moment.