Where Is Matenase Wadi Yobisi Now? Man Answers in TikTok Video
- A TikTok video revisiting the story of Denis Olkers, the Pretoria schoolboy who became famous overnight in 2022, went viral on 8 October 2026
- Olkers, known across Mzansi as Matenase Wadi Yobisi, was just 16 when a friend filmed him dancing outside Suiderberg School and posted it online
- The video sparked a wave of nostalgia among South Africans who remembered the moment the clip set the internet on fire
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A Pretoria teenager once danced on a school pavement and accidentally became one of South Africa's most recognisable viral personalities. A TikTok creator going by @okay_swisher brought that story back into the spotlight on 8 October 2026, asking the question Mzansi had quietly been wondering: Where is Matenase Wadi Yobisi now?
Source: TikTok
Back in 2022, Denis Olkers was 16 years old and attending Suiderberg School in Pretoria. His friend Manja filmed him dancing outside near the school, uploaded the clip, and South Africa lost its mind. The video spread so fast that within days, almost everyone in Mzansi knew the young white schoolboy by his now-iconic nickname, Matenase Wadi Yobisi.
Bookings came quickly. Promoters reached out. What started as a spontaneous moment between friends on a school pavement turned into an actual career path almost overnight. Denis was introduced to the late Vusi Ma R5 and the Bacardi scene, a world he had no prior knowledge of. According to the video, he had only known Amapiano before that point. The Bacardi movement welcomed him, taught him the culture and the music, and he began performing alongside them. He even recorded and released his own music.
What makes his story stand out is that he actually tried to convert the attention into something lasting, a move that most teenage viral stars never manage. He shifted from being known purely as a dancing kid to developing himself as an entertainer, and eventually taught himself to DJ. The video by @okay_swisher confirms that Denis is still active in the music scene. He is still DJing and still working, just without the overwhelming wave of attention that came with being a 16-year-old overnight sensation. Watch the full "Where Are They Now?" video that reignited the conversation:
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Mzansi remembers Matenase
South Africans in the comments had plenty to say:
@Outtapocketgent_ said:
"If you don't know Martenase, what do you bring to the table 😓😓"
@Ami_sto🫧 added:
"He is 22 now."
@REL·LE_BOGIL·LE🇿🇦 joked:
"What is SA doing to us, oh God😅"
@Gomolemo Mohlabane🧸 added:
"Saw the other day that his real name is actually Marthinus Van de Hobbs, but you know us black people, we just decided on Matenase Wadiyobisi 🤣"
@Ralexa🇿🇦/🇱🇸 laughed:
"They used to call me Matenase in primary 😂😒"
Other Briefly News stories about viral youngsters
- Thabang, an 18-year-old matric student living on his own in Johannesburg, went viral on TikTok after being spotted at a Fourways traffic light asking for matric dance donations in his school uniform.
- 19-year-old Sqiniseko Mpontshane, a Grade 12 learner from Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal, captivated the country by engineering a solar-powered electric vehicle.
- A viral clip of 4-year-old Zuluboy from the Eastern Cape gained global attention after a popular American content creator posted a glowing reaction video online.
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Source: Briefly News
