Member Spotlight: Colin "AmigoFantasma" Mwanamwalye

Audio setup guru, budget PC hunter, and inventor of the gravity-bottom mounted HDD, Colin is a video gaming nerd who can often be found doing aerial acrobatics in Warframe or duking it out as Huskar in Dota 2.

A digital acrobat, Colin works for First National Bank. He loves making music and laughing at the cheapest and endearingly worse movies ever made!

Colin heard of Nerd Otaku in 2014 during our The Meet, a gaming event which was the first of its scale being hosted in Lusaka. Nerd Otaku needed some help with audio for the event, so Colin and his brother jumped at the opportunity to contribute to the stage and sound setup. Their assistance and Nerd Otaku’s focus on creating a space for nerd culture established a bond that exists till this day! DJ’ing on stage, creating lasting friendships, and simply having a blast has resulted in many more memories and we know it will result in many more in the future!

Colin works in banking for team turquoise, specifically in the digital space.

In order to get to know Colin a little better, we prepared a couple of rapid fire questions…

What is the most exciting part of your job?

I’d have to go with facilitation of smart devices to customers. When I make them happy with gadgets, that makes me happy. Sort of like a Tech Santa. Or more of one of Tech Santa’s elves, since I work in the background.

How does an average week look like in the life of Colin?

It’s very routine. The average work life between 08 and 17, or 18, but I’ll try to keep up with cardio workout videos on Youtube, 3 mornings every week, then do some reading and a lot of Youtube research in the evening. Friday nights are for PC gaming or binge-watching Netflix, and my weekend’s dedicated to 99 jobs or rest and family time.

What is one skill you would like to develop or sharpen in 2022?

Retail foreign exchange, trading and investing. This is a very rewarding skill if you can master it and I already love to sit and stare at my computer for as long as I can, so I’d be so at home doing this.

Fruiticulture. I love nature, I love trees, I love to eat healthy and I think if “Live long and prosper” was a person, his name would be Groot. Imagine a world where every one of us planted and nurtured at least 2 or 4 fruit trees in our lifetime, and those trees got to outlive us. We’d end world hunger and proudly leave at least 2 or 4 good things behind.

We said “one skill”…

The zombie apocalypse is coming, who are 3 people (family, friends, or acquaintances) you want on your team?

Damn this question! Y u gif me only 3 slots???

Okay, firstly, Sam Tole. Because I swore an oath to
outlive him, gloat and be the one to put him down when he turned. Come at me bro!

Secondly, Jaybzm, coz memes, bro. Memes. And he makes a fine meat shield! I’m kidding. In dark times, you need a perfect dark mind to share the perfect dark jokes, or else, you’re not going to make it.

For the third slot, this would be the toughest decision I’d ever have to make in my life, so I’ll have to plead the fifth (I love you Miya!) *Sweating profusely…*

You must sing karaoke, what song do you pick?

In the End by Linkin Park

Top family tradition?

Family get-togethers, with lots of food, music and karaoke.

What is your preferred hobby or way to spend a free Saturday afternoon, lets imagine the wife is visiting friends and you have no responsibilities.

I’m not a TV person. I’d pick Youtube over live TV every time. While I’m into anime, medieval fantasy, and “long ago, far away galaxies” lore and of course, post-apocalyptic films, lately Korean horror series on Netflix are stealing all my free time. In the last few 3 months I’ve seen “Squid Game”, “All of us are Dead,” “Sweet Home”, “Hellbound,” and most recently, “Happiness.” All no less than strong 8/10s shows at the very least. I also do DJ EDM in my room, and really wish I could have live streamed a few of my sessions when the pandemic was at its peak.

If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?

Youtube, Metatrader, Telegram

If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

I’d have to go with Dave Chapelle. I’d love to walk in his skin and be all “come at me world,” for a day. He’s a combo of logic, wit, and fearlessness. He’s a smart, candid, unapologetic guy with perfect punchline delivery, and I hope that his lungs are able to carry him for a long time to come.

What topic could you give a 20-minute presentation on without any preparation?

PC gaming in the Zombie apocalypse

What is your favourite retro video game? Why?

My favorite retro game is X-Men 2: Clone Wars, for the Sega Mega Drive. I loved that game. Beat it a few times, and in my mind, I still recite the cheat code at random moments when bored. I really felt like I was controlling the heroes from the animated series, not cheap knock-offs. And I loved the animated series. Mega Man X for the Super NES Comes in close second.

If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or into the future? Why?

I’d probably go into the future and see what it’d turn out like, ONLY IF I had a return ticket. Otherwise, I’m going back in time with whatever spoilers I have right now, to cheat at life. It’s a no-brainer. One of those cheats would be to buy a tonne of Bitcoin right from the start, find somewhere to lay low and wait for the boom.

You have your own late night talk show, who do you invite as your first guest? Why?

Aubrey Plaza. I’d be so obsessed with scrutinizing everything about her during the interview, and the whole time I’d be looking for proof of whether she fakes that weirdness, or it’s legit. It wouldn’t be an interview. It’d be such an evaluation!