Jacob & Nimi make waking up in the UAE fun!

He may be the youngest person to host a primetime show in the UAE, but 19-year-old New Zealander Jacob Cummings is a veteran as far as radio is concerned. Mature beyond his years and yet always up for a laugh (as we went on to discover), Jacob recently dropped into the Khaleej Times office with his charming co-host Nimi Mehta to talk about their new show Wake Up UAE! With Jacob and Nimi on 104.8 Channel 4 FM ; we asked him how he got started in the business.
"I was probably about 12 and I went to an event in Australia where my favourite radio show was broadcasting a show from. It was the first time I got to meet the presenters. And it was just something about watching them do what they did, not in a studio, just in front of people watching them, going 'that's such an incredible job', I have to do that. And now I am! If I hadn't gone there I don't even know if I'd be in this industry. It's very strange."
In a photoshoot prior to the interview, Jacob displayed some typical teenage behaviour, goofing off with Nimi, cracking jokes, and we had a hard time keeping straight faces, but when asked some in-depth questions about his work and ambitions, it was difficult to believe he was just 19 given the level-headedness, focus and determination that shone through in his answers.

'I feel like a real adult'
So far Jacob has worked with Nova 106.9 FM and Sea FM Sunshine Coast, Australia, all whilst completing high school; he then decided to head to Channel 4 in Dubai. How does he feel to be the youngest host on the radio here, we wonder?
"People have asked me this before and I'm very confused about my age! Sometimes I feel 15, sometimes 50. And because I've been on air now for five years, it doesn't feel like I'm a 19-year-old doing a high responsibility job. I feel like a real adult! Like sometimes I go home and I cook my own dinner and I go 'Oh my gosh - I'm 19, calm down Jacob!' I just cooked a meal and worked this morning."

From swinging a racquet to rocking a mic
UK born and bred Nimi, who constantly indulged in banter with her co-host (which was a delight to see), told us why she went from being a professional tennis player and MTV UK presenter to working in radio.
"I always wanted to be a journalist in some form. Broadcast really stood out to me. I played professional tennis for most of my youth. And then I got to the age of 18, and due to loads of circumstances and an injury in my arm, I basically had to come to a crossroads and decide what I really wanted to do. And I always had a dream of maybe opening a magazine one day and going down the publishing route but broadcasters really jumped out to me, and I dabbled in online TV in the UK. Radio, I just felt like it was more of a challenge than TV and I thought, you know, to just use the instrument of your voice alone. you don't have.
"To look pretty," interrupts Jacob, prompting laughter from Nimi.
"Yes! So not having to use the hands or the facial expressions was just so much more of a challenge which I just really wanted to conquer and I still am just learning every single day," says Nimi.

'I used to hate mornings'
Since their show airs weekdays from 6-10am, we wondered (since we're the type of folk who will grumble our way through the day if we're nudged out of bed at any time before the sun is pretty high up in the sky) what it's like being a morning person?
"I used to hate mornings. I used to avoid them. Get out of bed at about 11. But now I love mornings. And I say thanks to Nimi for that," says Jacob.
"I love mornings. I just always have so that's why doing breakfast is just like a 'obviously' moment," Nimi chips in.
"It's nice to wake up as well and feel like you're going to make someone else's morning and their trip to work nice, hopefully, Inshallah," adds Jacob with a smile.

On their camaraderie & listener interaction
Since they're co-hosts and spend a lot of time with each other on a daily basis, we asked Jacob & Nimi how they got along on and off the air.
"We've been together for over a month now and so far we're still friends (laughs) so that's a good start," says Jacob, to which Nimi adds, "We can still bear each other! We think about it and we're the first faces we see in the morning. First voices we hear in the morning. So it's definitely important that we get on and actually genuinely like each other."
Engaging listeners is also tremendously important to both Jacob and Nimi.
Jacob says, "It's the most important part of our show. Not only can we have fun but we need to make the listeners feel like they're having the fun as well. Otherwise it just sounds like two people on the radio that don't really care about anything else."
Nimi adds, "We try to make it less about us and just more about how people can relate to certain topics and just day to day life things that people call in about. And it's kind of like we're the people next door. The guy next door, which is nice."
And how different is it working here as compared to the UK and Australia?
"It's a good challenge for us as well to find things that are relatable for people in the UAE. Because it's very different here. First of all it's just so multi-cultural. When a caller comes through you have no idea what kind of nationality you're going to talk to. You could have a story that only that nationality can tell you. Someone from India could be telling you something about India, someone from America could be telling you something about America, whereas in Australia it's just mostly Australians so it's really cool to hear so many different people's lives," reveals Jacob.
Nimi admits that in Dubai "you definitely don't feel like you're in a bubble because you're constantly learning."
"Even about our listeners, we're learning every single morning," she believes.
To Jacob it sometimes feels like "we're broadcasting across the world, because there's just so many different people listening."
"It's really cool; I really enjoy it," he says.
Why Jacob & Nimi love Dubai...
Jacob was effusive in his praise for Dubai. "I came to Dubai in June 2017 and it's better than I expected! I'd never visited before I moved here. So I didn't know what to expect but I love it. It's the third country I've lived in. And it's by far my favourite. And this is in comparison to Australia. I often get asked 'you've come from Australia to here - that's crazy!' But I love the buzz of this place - there's just something about it that ignites something inside of me."
Nimi, who has been visiting Dubai since she was younger, adds, "I just feel so familiar here! In terms of as you get older you definitely start to see a place a lot differently, so especially when opportunities arise to come here... you know, you see Dubai as the land of opportunity and the land of dreams and that's exactly why I wanted to come here. I was like, I have to! There's really no question about it, so when the offer did come I don't think I even asked my parents or my sister or my partner."
'Starting young is obviously helpful'
Jacob started working in radio at a very young age and honed his skills whilst completing high school; we asked him whether it was something he would recommend to others.
"There's just so many ways to get into radio. Starting young is obviously helpful but it's not necessary. It just depends where you want to go with life I guess. Everyone has their own goal and you just have to find the best way to go there.
"My last year of school was probably the most difficult year of my life. I was doing five days a week of school obviously, and then both on Saturday and Sunday back in Australia I was doing a four-hour weekend show so with study, school, the weekend show plus I worked part time in a cafe - it was like full on! And in the cafe I was doing like 50-hour weeks as well as eight hours of the radio which didn't even include prep time - plus school time - this meant no time for sleep! But it's all paid off and I don't look back and go 'oh I probably should have had a couple of days off here and there' because if I did, I might not have been here."
When millennials go retro...
We asked Jacob and Nimi if their show consists of only contemporary tracks... or does retro get a mention?
Nimi: We do go back old school.
Jacob: On our show for twenty minutes we do an old school mix of your biggest retro anthems.
Nimi: R&B, Dance.
Jacob: Yeah, it's very good. Nimi keeps saying it takes her back!
Nimi: It does take me back!
Jacob: No one knows where it's taking her but it takes her back! (Laughs) She's always like 'it takes me back'. To where!!!
Nimi: I'll find out one day!
Jacob: We'll get there together!
Tips for millennials!
As a young radio team who represent the voice of the millennial generation, Jacob and Nimi were happy to give us some life tips for millennials.
Jacob: My big one is just set a goal and go for it. If I didn't do that there's no way I'd be here. Focus is so important. Second tip. I was getting towards the end of my school and I was like, I don't wanna be here, this is ridiculous, it's so horrible. You just have to push on because there's so much life after school. You over-think everything when you're in school, especially the last couple of years when exams are really pushed on you, you feel like you're being judged for almost everything you do, but it's all so important to lead to where you want to go. And it's completely up to you where you want to go.
Nimi: I'd also say, it's okay if you don't know where you're going. I was surrounded by people, my peers, who knew what they wanted. They wanted to become doctors, they wanted to go into fashion; at that point I had no idea. I was so scared because I was like, everyone's got it together and I don't. But you will figure it out. It sounds just cheesy and corny but really, it will come to you.
Nimi: I feel like you live in a generation where you see Instagram famous people or social media famous people and you think it happens overnight but one thing I would say is you put in the hard work and you'll get it back. Also just be yourself. We say this to each other all the time, don't we?
Jacob: Yeah.
Nimi: Be yourself. It's okay.
Jacob: Surround yourself with people who better you.
Nimi: I read this article which said you are the average of the five people around you. It's incredibly important if you want to achieve your goals and if you have high standards that you want to meet, that you surround yourself with the right people.
Jacob: I think my last point would be... it can only get better. Just believe in yourself.
enid@khaleejtimes.com