Member Spotlight: Dana "Scotty" Jongolo

Photographer extraordinaire, social media guru, and most importantly devoted father and partner, Scotty brings life and joy into the lives of those with whom he connects. His exploits in Viking land are almost as impressive as the love and passion he has for his backyard here in Zed, where he can often be found celebrating super high frame rates in Apex Legends, or creating rich tunes which touch one’s soul.

"There's something about nature...it's..uh, it's calming. Listening to the wind, leaves rustling or watching the sunrise, thats very calming for me."

Although Scotty is an incredibly talented creator by nature with multiple artistic outlets, he is also a hard worker who understands the grind required to become great at his craft. He runs a fantastic podcast series that explores the stories of other creatives in Zambia, and his tunes can be heard on SoundCloud.

To answer our rapid fire questions, Scotty had to tap into his creative side…which was easy cause he is an all round creative!

How long have you been a member of the Nerd Otaku community?

Hard to say honestly. Back when the Facebook group had about 12 members I think.

Cool cool, so would you say the Nerd Otaku which comprised a small circle of friends with a Facebook group is totally different from the Nerd Otaku of today?

I think NerdOtaku has more-so expanded as a community but still keeps it core concept as much as it was from the time I joined it. Perhaps more stuff has been included that didn’t really exist for us back then like Cosplay, Movie night, Boardgames etc…. At it’s core, NerdOtaku is still what I joined and has not veered at all. It’s not different just larger and more inclusive I would say.

Awesome! Now lets focus on you, how would you describe your day job to someone from the 15th century?

Hahaha, assuming they don’t behead me on the spot it would probably go a little something like this… “So you see, I sit in front of a screen with a surface that emits light and colors and flashes images at hundreds of frames per second. On it I can watch things that are recorded with a contraption that fits in your pocket, purely the stuff of sorcery I tell you.”

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

My week is mixed between parenting, doing work, doing date-night with my partner in many crimes and a bit of a game session to end the week. I’m not as busy as one might think but at the same time, not exactly free. It’s an anything could happen week. The consultants life I would say.

What takes a lot of time but is totally worth it?

Self-growth. I think takes the most time. For the most part, I guess we need to figure ourselves out. I was lucky enough to find something I wanted to do being behind the camera. To this day, I still discover so much more of myself doing what I do and it’s always a learning process.

You can have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what is it? (It cannot be money or time, or something that you can exchange for other stuff)

Darn it, I was going to go with money. For me it would be luck. I feel an unlimited supply to luck would give me a better chance of getting the things I couldn’t have before because I was unlucky in the first place.

What is one ability that you believe everybody should possess?

Glad you asked. See lately I feel like people never get along. School shootings, war, bad-politics you name it. So if there was one thing I wished every single person had was the ability to get along regardless of our differences.

Top family tradition?

Coffee in the back of the yard with Cinnamon buns every Saturday just before noon.

Describe your ideal meal if we treated you to a 5-star Michelin restaurant?

Hmmmmm, I would say Smoked Salmon, stir-fry, fried rice and a fine bottle of French white wine. Gotta dream right.

Would you rather be compelled to high five everyone you meet or be compelled to give wedgies to anyone in a green shirt?

I’m all about good vibes. Definitely High 5 every single person I meet. You never know who needs it.

What is the weirdest creative work you have ever produced?

FloatingRabbit Music · Neon Bitches (Melodic Dubstep Demo)

I think that would be Dubstep. It was such an unpopular genre in Zambia back then but when I made it, It wasn’t received very well LOL.

What’s the first thing you pack during an out of the country flight?

My camera

Best multiplayer first person shooter game of all time? Why?

Hard one to answer. Some would say COD, Some HALO and some APEX Legends, but as a personal preference I think I really did enjoy Team Fortress. Fantastic community, not as toxic as most and it was more fun than stressful. I think it was the way the characters were designed and the games’ style.

What piece of technology released in the last five years has impressed you the most?

Machine learning. I shan’t say more. I’m just glad I got to exist to see this technology take form and dream to see what it will become and how it will impact us….in a good way.

Would you rather live in a small apartment in the city, with free uncapped internet, or live in a large mansion in the countryside and pay for expensive data.

IF there WAS a scenario where I can live in that small cottage in the woods? Hmm, I would probably live in a mansion on the countryside simply because I really miss the silence of nature when I’m in the city. It IS so noise polluted, I cherish tranquility more than anything so if I had to pay extra to enjoy that on the countryside, then I would.

If you could live inside a video game, what game would it be and what character would you choose?

Star Citizen. The expansiveness of that game and the technology of space travel fascinates me. I wouldn’t want any other game to live in. As for the character… well, any of the Human Race ones would do. Being Human is all I’ve ever known so I’ll take that.