Mark Pilgrim (born 20 September 1969) is a South African media personality who has hosted numerous radio and television shows, most notably as a DJ on

5FM 5FM is a South African FM radio station that follows a Top 40 music format and is owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), South Africa's public broadcaster. SABC announced the appointment of Mr. JD Mostert as Business Mana ...

94.7 Highveld Stereo 947 (formerly 94.7 Highveld Stereo) is a radio station that broadcasts on the 94.7FM frequency from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. History The station first went on the air on 1 September 1964, as the first SABC regional FM service, '' ...

, 94.5 Kfm, Hot919 and currently Hot102.7fm. On television, he hosted both seasons of Big Brother South Africa, the first season of ''Big Brother Africa'' and the MNET game show ''

Power of 10 A power of 10 is any of the integer exponentiation, powers of the number 10 (number), ten; in other words, ten multiplication, multiplied by itself a certain number of times (when the power is a positive integer). By definition, the number one is ...

''.

Radio career

Mark Pilgrim started his radio career on Voice of Wits campus radio in the 80s. He joined

in 1995. In 2003 he left 5fm and joined

in Johannesburg. In October 2007, Pilgrim hosted a chart show broadcast on 2 radio stations simultaneously (KFM and 94.7). He retired from radio at the end of June 2014, but made a comeback several months later on the all new Hot 91.9FM in Johannesburg, initially just doing a Saturday morning show 9 am – noon, but eventually coming back to radio full time and also doing Monday to Friday 9 am – noon. In 2015, he won an MTN Radio Award for Best Weekend Radio Show in South Africa, and in 2019 won the Liberty Radio Award for the Best Daytime Show in South Africa. In 2021, Mark was inducted into the South African Radio Awards Hall of Fame for his contribution to the radio industry.

Television career

* ''New Moves'' (e-TV: 1999–2000) * '' Big Brother South Africa 1'' (MNET: 2001) * '' Big Brother South Africa 2'' (MNET: 2002) * ''

Big Brother Africa ''Big Brother Africa'' is the African version of the international reality television franchise ''Big Brother'' created by producer John de Mol in 1997. The show was first aired in 2003 for one season on M-Net and broadcast to audiences in 42 ...

'' (DStv: 2003) * ''Retail Therapy'' (MNET: 2002–2005) * ''Face 2 Face'' (SABC2: 2004) * ''Sex Etc.'' (MNET: 2005) * ''Blue Wave'' (CORPORATE: 2004–2018) * ''What's Brewing'' (CORPORATE: 2007–2008) * ''

'' (MNET: 2008)

Other work

He has been a regular DJ at corporate functions and nightclubs around the country. As a voice artist, Pilgrim has spent many hours in post-production studios, narrating radio and TV commercials. Mark has performed as an MC for numerous corporate gala evenings. He is also a motivational speaker, sharing his story on

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an u ...

, how he overcame it and how it pushed him to follow his dreams.

Consumer researcher

Before getting involved in the entertainment industry, Pilgrim completed a B.Com. in Industrial Psychology and Business Economics, and was a quantitative consumer researcher for 9 years. He started at Market Research Africa, and then moved onto Research International and finally Kauffman Levine. He was also the Johannesburg Chairman of the South African Market Research Association (SAMRA).

Personal life

Mark was diagnosed with stage 3

in 1988. It was an aggressive form of cancer and spread to his lungs and kidneys. After 9 months of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

, he was declared to be in remission. Mark is now an ambassador for CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa) and a friend of the Reach for a Dream Foundation. In February 2022 Mark was diagnosed with cancer again. This time, stage 4 lung cancer. He has been on a multi-disciplinary journey over the past few months to defy the odds and regain his health. On 14 July 2008 Pilgrim suffered a sudden and severe

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in his doctor's office. Although he suffered permanent heart damage (10% of his heart has lost its functionality), immediate medical intervention saved his life, and today he lives a full and healthy life. He married Nicole Torres in Mauritius on 7 July 2007 and after almost 13 years together, filed for divorce in 2020. Their first daughter Tayla-Jean was born in April 2010, followed by their second daughter Alyssa in 2012. He completed his

Masters in Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

(MBA) through Edinburgh Business School (Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom) in 2020.

References

External links

94.7 Highveld Stereo's website

94.5 Kfm's website

Mark Pilgrim's website

Hot919's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilgrim, Mark 1969 births South African game show hosts Living people South African television personalities South African radio presenters University of South Africa alumni