Mike Mondo is a radio presenter, TV host, MC, and voice-over artist.
He cohosts the Classic 105 Drive Show alongside Cess Mutungi, from 3 pm to 7 pm on weekdays.
Mike is one of the few radio presenters in Kenya who never attended Journalism school or did a media-related course.
“Everything I know about radio I learned on the job. From how to edit audio to how to present, I learned everything the hard way,” he once said.
Speaking in an exclusive with his fans on YouTube, Mike disclosed that he initially pursued a nursing career.
He attended nursing school from 2002 to 2006 and worked with the Kenya Association for the Prevention of TB in Kilifi.
During his nursing career, he credits himself for delivering 16 babies while working in Kenyatta Hospital, Pumwani District Hospital, Mathare, and Kilifi District Hospital.
“However, I felt that nurses do a lot of work but are very under-appreciated,” he said in the interview.
At Kilifi District Hospital, he was earning a gross monthly salary of ksh 18,000. He worked for a year, but opted not to renew the contract as the pay was too little.
“So, I quit the job, came to Nairobi, and started thinking of what to do to make ends meet. That’s when radio popped up,” said the fine on-air personality.
One day, while eating at a restaurant, he noticed long queues of people waiting to get access to several tents that had been set up.
After eating, he gave the waiter a ksh 1000 note but the waiter couldn’t find change.
So, while the waiter went away to look for change, Mondo, who describes himself as very impulsive, joined the queue although he did not know what was going on.
On inquiry, he was told that the queue was for radio auditions.
“And because I was looking for a job, I decided to give it a shot,” he would later say.
At the end of the queue was veteran radio presenter Chris Okinda, who was conducting the auditions. Mike was told to speak and pretend that he had just completed a show.
“I did, and they were so awed by my voice that they asked me whether I had been on radio before. They took my contact and promised to get back to me,” said Mike.
After waiting for three weeks without a response, he received a call asking him to report to Royal Media offices for voice testing.
He went, did a voice test, and a week later, he was recalled and asked how much money he wanted to start the job.
“I just said the first figure that came to my mind, and they said okay.”
He would be hosting an evening show on Hot 96 between 7-10 p.m.
Being a new voice who was filling in the shoes of a popular presenter, he received so much hate from fans that he thought of quitting after just a month.
“Fans told me that I should quit the job because I was boring,” said Mike, whose voice is synonymous with Classic 105.
However, his boss encouraged him and even offered to keep him company during the show. With time, the hate subsided until he got the hang of things.
After Hot 96, Mike worked at several radio stations before moving to Classic 105, where he has been for over five years.
Many people compare him to Maina – who cohosts the breakfast show Maina and King’ang’i, but Mike says he can never fit in Maina’s shoes.
“Maina is unique. He is irreplaceable. He is among the best presenters we have in Kenya, in the leagues of veterans like Edward Kwach,” Mike once said in an interview.
His dream is to one day host his own breakfast show, after which he will hang his boots as he will have reached the pinnacle of his radio career.
