From Tanzania to the world stage: The rise of unicyclist Junior Talent

The atmosphere is always electric. The crowd screams in excitement as Emmanuel Mbonde performs a daring stunt on his unicycle, and the agility and flawless balance dazzle the spectators. His skills have taken him worldwide, from Spain and Italy to China; he has been to more countries than spent months performing bike stunts for audiences.

In 2018, he was crowned the winner of the Tanzania One competition, earning him the title of ‘Tanzania One’ BMX bicycle and unicycle rider in Africa.

A native of Songea, Emmanuel had an interest in riding from an early age; as a young boy in Mwanza, he would sing, dance, and play with bikes, so one of the teachers was amazed by his talents at such a young age and started calling him junior talent.

His passion for singing impressed CCM political campaign organisers, and in 2010, they had him perform at their rallies.

“The late Captain Komba took me to sing alongside him during the campaigns; I have just finished standard seven, waiting to join secondary school,” he said.

After the election dust settled and campaigns unwinded, Mr Komba promised to take him to study art in Bagamoyo after he completed his secondary school.

True to his word, Junior Talent joined Bagamoyo School of Arts after completing form four and taking his diploma in arts. Still, his expectations were different from the reality he found. He initially thought he would study music but had to take various art lessons, from painting to dancing.

“It was just too many subjects that I was not interested in,” he remembers. But everyone around the college urged him to pursue his talent in bike stunts that he always showcased on campus. He decided to take bike stunts seriously and feverishly trained to perfect his craft.

Coincidentally, a few months later, a bicycle competition was held at the institute; a group from Kenya was looking for unicyclists and bike stunt performers to go to China.

“They were looking for five people to represent East Africa,” he said.

Emmanuel was selected to be among the five winners, and for the first time, his talent would begin taking him across the ocean.

He stayed in China for three weeks, and upon returning, he got signed by a circus company, and his travels across the world began; his first was to Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt; he would later embark on a European tour, where he spent a year performing in Israel.

“I returned home after the tour and was presented with a new tour. I had to choose between Spain, Israel, or the US, and I decided to come to America,” he said. In January 2020, he landed in the US and found a new home.

Now a resident of Iowa in the midwestern United States, Junior Talent is not basking on his success; he is relentless in proving that he can achieve more than he has accomplished. First and foremost, he had to break away from the camp set up by the circus company that brought him to the US.

He sought independence and figured out a life of his own; the safety and comfort of being under company management meant that he paid no housing, electricity, or any other bills, but the comfort was a stagnant experience, and he wanted room for growth.

“I was being paid 400 dollars a week under the contract I had, but after I ventured out on my own, I renegotiated, and they bumped my pay to more than 1000 US dollars per week because the company no longer signed me,” he explained.

Constantly moving to different cities for shows hindered Emmanuel’s stable life; he couldn’t settle down with a girlfriend or even get a driving license because he couldn’t have a permanent address.

Now he has settled with a family; he loves returning home to African food cooked for him, a small reminder of the home he misses. He is gearing up to improve his craft and just bought a new miniature bicycle worth more than 1000 US dollars.

The bike belongs to Sergey Dashevsky, who holds a Guinness record for the smallest rideable bicycle in the world; it is so tiny it can fit in the palm of a hand; it’s so rare that he had someone in Russia buy and send it to him. He will incorporate it into his art as he prepares for his upcoming shows.

Emmanuel prides himself on his versatility; unlike his peers, he can perform stunts on a bike and equally perform on a unicycle with the same ability.

“I perform on different types of unicycles; there is the one-wheel bike, another one has three whiles all on top of each other, and a bent bike, so when I am at a show, I showcase all these varieties for the audience,” he elaborated.

He has a substantial following on social media, and he is using that to help other young people with talent, so he launched his online channel’ Vipaji TV’, an avenue to help expose youth from the streets with incredible skills, giving them a platform to showcase their ability.

“But people wanted more comedy content, so I had to look for ways to gain viewers,” he said.

He devised a plan for comedic content, and that’s when he started filming Americans trying to speak and sing in Kiswahili. The Kiswahili challenge garnered him thousands of followers. He also used the platform to promote Tanzanian tourism and Tanzanian music.

He would make the Americans sing bongo flava songs, and the results were hilarious. Tanzanians loved watching such videos; it helped introduce Tanzanian music to a relatively unaware audience he encountered; this delighted the Bongo Flava musicians whose songs were posted, from Harmonise, Ali Kiba to Diamond; they all appreciated his efforts and showed him love whenever he would go to Tanzania for a visit.

Junior Talent is a firm believer in perfecting one’s talent and ensuring you are the best of the best in whatever you do. As many young people ask him to help them get to America, he believes that discipline in your craft can take you anywhere in the world, but talent alone is not enough if one doesn’t work hard.

“If someone comes to Tanzania and asks for the best musicians, they would pick Diamond Platnumz, Ali Kiba, or Harmonise; similarly, in whatever you do, make sure they will mention your name when they call for the best in your field,” he advised.

He also warned youth against alcohol and drugs, as that is the easiest way to derail your talent and life: “My peers once pressured me to take hard liquor before my first big show to make me more confident, they told me, but I decided against it, and I have never regretted that decision.” He said.

Emmanuel’s success in his sport is attributed to the well-organised society of unicyclists and bike stunts in Tanzania. They have a structured association and training facilities that he fully utilised to his advantage. He has his eyes set on winning the ‘British Got Talent’ competition. He would also like to open an institution down the line where he will teach young upcoming unicyclists and those who dream of working in a circus.