It's barely a year old, records out of a Westlake café-studio, and it has already interviewed the founder of the Cape Epic. Here's the upbeat case for Cape Town's Active Hobo as South Africa's most bingeable cycling podcast.
Part café, part studio, all heart
Some podcasts are built in glossy studios. The Active Hobo was built around a café table in Westlake, Cape Town — and you can hear it. Since launching in late 2025, host David Jenkins has turned a simple idea into one of the country's most prolific cycling-and-adventure shows: pull up a chair, press record, and let South Africa's most interesting movers tell their stories long-form.
The show describes itself as “a community of storytellers on a mission to make meaning… part café, part studio, all heart.” In practice that means episodes that wander from WorldTour tactics to why a founder sold his couch to chase a dream — always warm, always curious, and unmistakably local.
The numbers behind the mic
Who's holding the mic?
David Jenkins (@davlewjenkins) is the voice, the interviewer and the engine room. Based in Cape Town, he hosts with the easy curiosity of someone who genuinely wants to know how you got here — which is exactly why guests open up. And he'll put himself in the story too: the “Road to Gravel Burn” series follows his own build-up to one of SA's brutal new gravel races.
A guest list that reads like SA cycling's contact book
For a show this young, the roster is remarkable. In just a few months the Active Hobo has sat down with:
- Kevin Vermaak — founder of the Absa Cape Epic, on the years of financial pressure and risk behind building a world-famous race.
- Shannon Valstar — race director of the Absa Cape Epic, on leading one of cycling's most iconic events.
- René Haselbacher — the ex-Tour de France sprinter turned Cape Town kit-maker (RH77) and Double Century winner.
- Ryan Gibbons — South Africa's WorldTour sprinter, on life at the sharp end of the sport.
- Marc Pritzen, Jason Boulle, Stephan Aucamp and Bertus van Zyl — the racers, dreamers and organisers shaping SA cycling.
- …plus adventurers like Sandra Sischka, who cycled from Portugal to Cape Town, and founders like REVIVE's Mark Myerson.
Watch a few episodes — right here
Click play to watch inline, or use the arrows to flick through some of the show's best cycling conversations. Full episodes live on the Active Hobo YouTube channel.
“The Active Hobo is a community of storytellers on a mission to make meaning. We're rooted in Westlake, Cape Town — part café, part studio, all heart.”
Why it's a genuine contender for SA's best
- Extraordinary output — 80+ episodes in ~8 months keeps the feed fresh
- A-list SA cycling guests, from the Cape Epic's founder to WorldTour pros
- Long-form and unhurried — room for the real story to breathe
- Video-first on YouTube, so you can watch or just listen
- Proudly, unmistakably South African
- Still young, with a small (if perfect) review count so far
- Casts a wide net beyond cycling — not every episode is bikes
- Episode totals vary slightly by platform; no single official count published
Where to listen & follow
Visit the café-studio
The whole thing runs out of The Active Hobo café in Westlake — part coffee shop, part podcast studio, and a start line for some of Cape Town's run and cycle clubs. Pull in for a flat white and you might just walk in on a recording.
The Active Hobo
Coffee shop · café & podcast studio
6 Stibitz St, Westlake, Cape Town, 7945
Opens 7am
Frequently asked questions
When did the Active Hobo Podcast start? +
It launched in late 2025 and has published more than 80 episodes since (per Rephonic, mid-2026).
Who hosts the Active Hobo Podcast? +
David Jenkins (@davlewjenkins), recording from a café-studio in Westlake, Cape Town.
Where can I listen? +
Free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart and Podbean, and on YouTube at @activehobo.
Where is the Active Hobo café? +
6 Stibitz Street, Westlake, Cape Town — a coffee shop and podcast studio that also hosts local run and cycle clubs.
Who has been interviewed? +
Guests include Cape Epic founder Kevin Vermaak, race director Shannon Valstar, ex-Tour de France sprinter René Haselbacher and WorldTour pro Ryan Gibbons, among many others.
Is the Active Hobo the best cycling podcast in South Africa in 2026? “Best” is personal — but if your yardstick is genuine local stories, big-name guests and a feed that never goes quiet, it is firmly in the conversation and climbing fast. For a show barely out of its first year, that is some going.
Do this: open Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube, search Active Hobo, and hit subscribe — then tell David which SA cycling story he should chase next.