“I Was Once A Bricklayer” – NGT Presenter/VJ Andre Blaze Henshaw Reveals His Journey To Stardom, Career, Family & More

Andre Blaze Henshaw, TV/Radio presenter and VJ, recently opens up to Punch Nigeria how he became the host of Nigeria Got Talent show, his humble beginning and his journey to stardom.
See excerpts from the interview below and share your thoughts: 

How was it being the host of the Season 1 and 2 of Nigeria Got Talent show?

It was fun. I am usually not the person that gets blown away by the things I do for a living but NGT is probably one exception. It is always more fun as it builds up. It gets packed with endless adrenalin until at a point, you just pray for it to finish. Towards the end of the show, you pray that someone who you think is worth it would come out tops.

How did you get to be a part of NGT?

I got a call one day. I think it was in 2012. I was asked to attend an audition for a TV show. At this point, I was a full time member of staff of Nigezie. I already knew even before then that I was going to resign from Nigezie. I had spent four years there and I wanted to break out and find out what else I was good at. I wasn’t even in Lagos when I got that call. I told the person that called me I would give her a call when I return to town. I tried calling the number back but I couldn’t get through. I felt I had missed it. I decided to let it go. Thereafter, I resigned from Nigezie. I was in middle of producing a TV show and I got a call from another number. The person reminded me that somebody from their office had earlier called me about the audition and they wanted to find out if I was available. I went for the audition.

Have you always wanted to be a presenter?

No, not even remotely.  I never considered radio or TV. It was never in my career path. But I thought I was going to be a writer. I have always enjoyed writing, so I naturally assumed I would end up being a writer.

So what were you doing before you joined the radio?

I was a bricklayer. I was a mason.

How?

I went through a path in my life when I wasn’t the wisest of the young men. I made a lot of avoidable mistakes. When I came to my senses and decided to live more responsibly, one of the things I had to do

to make a living was bricklaying. I was a mason for a while. I was actually a mason when the call for auditions for Rhythm 93 came up. I didn’t even hear about the auditions.

Who told you about it?

My brother heard about it and made my life a living hell until I attended the audition.

You said you didn’t live responsibly, why was that?

When I was younger, I was very rough around the edges. I gave my mother the worst of time as a child. I am still trying to atone for that.  I got tired of breaking her hearts and I decided I was going to be better. But deciding to be better is one thing and the people believing you is  another thing.  I was the black sheep in my home.

What of your father?

My parents parted ways when I was pretty younger. My father passed away some years ago. He wasn’t around most of the time. My mother is proud of me now and she doesn’t stop telling me that. There is no day she doesn’t tell me.

How do you feel being a father?

Sleepless. It is a sleepless role. It is a perpetual work in progress. You never think you are good enough or you are doing good enough or doing right enough. It is difficult but I am lucky. I have two beautiful daughters. They are very emotive. They let you know how they feel without saying a word. Fatherhood has been one of the biggest lessons in my life. It opened my eyes to a lot of things.

When are you going to marry their mother?

There are areas of my life which are op

en to the public and there are areas which are completely private. This area is blocked off.

So many people don’t know you are related to Kate Henshaw

Kate and I are cousins. The Henshaw family is huge. I and Kate’s brother have known each other probably since I was seven. I knew Kate but she didn’t know me. She knew me by reputation until we met during the season 1 of NGT. Before now, the Henshaw in my name wasn’t utilised as it is now. I was majorly known as Andre Blaze. It was in 2012 that I decided to add my surname to my twitter bio.

Working on TV should have exposed you to female fans, how do you deal with them?

I don’t have female fans. I am not that handsome. I have no problem in that area. But then, I respect my fans. I love them a great deal. It never ceases to amaze me that there are people who have followed my works. They just like what I do. I love all my fans and I don’t have psycho female fans who do weird things. I have been lucky.