Amusing your friends by cracking a joke is something we all have done. But could you keep a big crowed entertained for hours? For Uncle Austin, it’s all in a day’s work.

Uncle Austin (photo Timothy Kisambira)

“I nearly left the stage that day. I was just doing my thing, when a student started shouting that I was talking too much and should leave the stage. I felt very bad, but I quickly collected myself and told him to behave. That calmed him down,” Uncle Austin recalls.

Such experiences are, fortunately, very exceptional for the man known as “the king of the party” – he has been the MC at major events such as the recent launch of Turbo King and Shaggy’s show at MTN’s tenth anniversary. His strong voice also makes him a regular in radio adverts, and he has his Wake Up Doors show on Radio 10.

Entertaining people seems to be Austin’s second nature. As a teenager he always found himself at the center of parties, either as DJ or MC. It did not occur to him, however, to turn it into a career, until he met Ronnie Egwang, commonly known as Uncle Mitch, then a presenter with Sanyu radio in Uganda and host of the recent Tusker Project Fame 3.

“I thought he was the best MC, very warm and engaging,” Austin says. “That is when I realized that I wanted to do the same thing and learnt everything I could from him.”

He took his lessons seriously, and it has paid off – today, he is considered one of the best MCs around.

“My secret to being a good MC is creativity,” he explains. “I’m naturally creative and it takes me just a few minutes to study my audience, and I’m able to come up with stuff that will surely put a smile on their faces.”

He adds, though, that even before he gets on stage he has an idea of the audience – he does his research about what kind of gig or function it will be, who will be in attendance, etc. and decides on his dress and jokes accordingly.

But all that is of no avail if you cannot create chemistry once on stage, Austin warns. To achieve that, you have to master the art of conversation. “A good MC is someone who is able to connect with the audience and won’t end up talking to himself instead of those in front of him,” he says.

Yet behind that boisterous person in the studio or on stage hides a quiet and calm man, even though he is constantly funny. Austin doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol – his favorite drink is water, believe it or not.

Even more surprising, this talkative and funny guy is still single and searching. Which is why he spends his free time not only listening to music and playing soccer but also watching movies, more precisely love stories – according to Austin, there is a lot to learn from them.

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