The last 12 months have been a torturous process of re-discovery, a painful groping in the dark for Timothy Kofi Laing.
There was this raging commotion in his soul as his nerve cells, brain cells, soul cells tried to piece together answers to whether he was truly really fulfilling his potential at 42 years.
The verdict? – No.
The last 12 months have been a tortuous process of re-discovery of Multi TV as well; a painful soul-searching – a sort of intense mind reading of the audience to find out the richness of the emotional connection between them.
The verdict? – You need a fresh start.
So from March 1 st , six known channels, Joy TV, Cine Afrik, 4Kids, Joy News, Adom TV and Joy Sports, have now give way to an exciting 3 – Joy Prime, Joy News and Adom TV.
And so a Multimedia convergence has provided a master stroke of a pass to gift a Ghanaian-born UK domiciled host, a great opportunity to make the final lap of his career, the greatest finish ever for Timothy Kofi Laing.
The host for the new morning show Fresh Start embodies the essence of why anybody can make a fresh start and why everyday is a fresh start and why you need to get a Multi TV digibox today – to watch Fresh Start every morning.
Kofi Laing has an infectious enthusiasm. When I met with him, he wore a re-born smile. He was happy and ready, like a super-sub ready to make a game-changing appearance at a drab FIFA World Cup game in Brazil.
At least that was what you would take after interviewing the former Adisadel school prefect for an hour.
Kofi is a man of many parts like a Lego box. He paints. No not like an over-flogged wayside painting of Michael Essien. Naaa.
Kofi produces paintings the likes of which you would find in a UK arts gallery; if you have taste and some free pounds. A gym freak, he will bring his fetish for fitness to Fresh Start – and if you have a pot belly, he could save you the snare of fake medications on display in Ghana’s unregulated market.
He has a 4 th Dan. No idea what that is – until he explained that Bruce Lee has a 2 nd Dan, two ranks higher than him. Things are getting serious.
Kofi Laing studied Economics at the University of East London and rose through the ranks to get a seat in the boardroom of a big UK Retail Company.
“I was the only black person in the boardroom and the youngest”.
Kofi Laing can spot a talent, shape up the mediocre and create superstars in his team without feeling the need to take credit for it.
And after years of success working in a regimented business, the moment of wilderness came when he got to work and could hear his heart pounding the words ‘This is not me. This is not me. This is not me’.
His productivity took a hit as he mulled over his life. Memories of the boy in the Kojo Antwi music video and Key Soap advert he featured in back in the 90’s flooded his mind.
The great compliments of friends, who thought his MCing skill needed more serious attention than it was getting, began to haunt him.
Somebody who could hold audiences spellbound found himself under a spell of identity crisis until a BBC advertisement looking for TV presenters broke through his fogginess – media work is a final piece to solve the jigsaw puzzle.
Some mentors in Ghana encouraged him to pursue this path so like a salmon returns to fresh waters of his birth, Kofi Laing booked a one-way ticket to Ghana.
The single greatest human influence in this decision was Maxine Laing. No, not his sister – his wife.
“She has got a heart of gold”, Kofi’s face lit up when he spoke about her. The sincerity of her contribution to his life was evident in his voice.
Maxine, he told me, is a strong woman – one who bows her knee to no man. These, he says were “traits that were [initially] a threat to me.”
She taught him cooking, cleaning and paying attention to detail – even if he learned all these skills the hard, ego-deflating way.
While Kofi lay frustrated at home, Maxine shouldered responsibilities without complaint and covered him like a good insurance policy.
“I left that country because I have her backing…I cannot understate that woman,” he confessed.
Together they have a 13-year old son, Alex, who plays for Tottenham academy.
Alex is fourth from the left in the middle row
Who knows, he could make up for the Danny Welbeck snub when the Manchester United striker turned down the chance to play for the Red, Gold and Green colours of Ghana.
Kofi met Maxim at a wedding. “She took me to the dance floor” and they have been dancing since he was 26 years old at that wedding.
Readers, don’t try this at your next wedding invitation. It doesn’t happen to everybody.
Kofi Laing will cut his teeth at Ghana’s greatest media company – Multimedia. He will enjoy the complement of a great production team.
The awfully handsome, highly trendy host is set to be Multimedia’s next big revelation after he took one hard, long look at himself and took that life-changing risk to shred his own life’s script to make a Fresh Start at 42 years of age.
How Multimedia could make this connection, miles apart from his London home, is only a testament to Kwasi Twum’s office wall hanging embossed with the words ‘Christ @ Work”.
Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline|Edwin Appiah|[email protected]
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