Send Us A Message or Ask Us A Question?

DeAngelo on Spirituality, People-Pleasing, and Becoming a Triple-Threat Performer

Host Savia Rocks opens season seven of the Us People Podcast with reflections on legacy, peeling away cultural conditioning and trauma, and using hardship to create something beautiful, then interviews South African performer DeAngelo, a theater actor, singer, and dancer. 

DeAngelo shares being raised in Northwest Mafikeng and later in Gauteng, guided by a spiritual great-grandmother and church life in the Zion Christian Church, and describes separating religion from spirituality after witnessing contradictions in practiced Christianity. He defines himself as ambitious, loving, and anxious, discusses therapy, childhood-rooted people-pleasing and lack of boundaries, and learning that professionalism doesn’t require being liked. 

He explains how his father pushed him toward passion, how he discovered singing through university productions and choirs with vocal training, and how judgment made him diminish himself; his life song is Sia’s “Bird Set Free.” He names best advice as choosing passion, living without regret, and being a vessel for others’ stories, recalls finding peace through a hymn, mentions losing a friend on New Year’s Eve, and shares where to find him: performing in the Zulu musical “Inala” at the House of St. Sisters, plus social handles @DeAngelo_RSA.

00:00 Legacy And Trauma
01:10 Meet DeAngelo
02:55 Growing Up In Church
05:17 Spirituality Over Religion
06:57 Family Lessons And Positivity
10:14 Mirror Identity And Purpose
13:02 People Pleasing And Boundaries
19:54 Owning Your Ambition
23:51 Why Performing Matters
26:17 Finding His Voice
30:48 Learning Leads Fast
31:56 Audition And Training
33:17 Triple Threat Identity
37:41 Life Without Judgment
41:25 Soundtrack Of Freedom
43:06 Desert Island Choices
48:36 Advice And Purpose
52:00 Finding Peace And Gratitude
57:27 Where To Find DeAngelo
59:08 Final Thanks And Outro
01:01:26 Closing Song Lyrics

Instagram: @deangelo_rsa

Tiktok: @deangelo_rsa

Twitter: @deangelo_rsa

Thank you so much DeAngelo for questioning everything you see and know about life - Savia Rocks

Support the show