This year’s Chery competition was more than just a test of skill — it was a debut moment for the brand in South Africa, their first-ever national technician challenge, rolled out across three pressure-filled rounds. From a wide pool of entries nationwide, Paul advanced through a rigorous online test into the Top 20, then outperformed again under supervision to make the Top 4, and finally, on the 17th and 18th of June in Johannesburg, he stepped into the final round: a practical challenge diagnosing and repairing complex faults on Chery vehicles, under tight time constraints, with eyes watching and standards sky-high, and he didn’t just show up, he won.

He won because he’s been training for this his entire career.
Since 2014, Paul has worked at Garden City Motors Shelly Beach, and from the very beginning, he’s been the kind of technician who sees each day as a chance to sharpen his edge, someone who takes the job personally, not just for the title or the paycheck, but for the pride of mastering the machine, understanding the problem, and solving it under pressure. His loyalty to the craft, to his team, and to his own personal growth has never gone unnoticed by those around him – but now the country knows it too.

“I’ve always pushed myself to do better, to be better,” he says. “My wife Zelmone and my son Logan are my biggest inspirations. Everything I do – I do with them in mind. They’re the reason I reach.”

And now, as Chery’s Technician of the Year, Paul will represent South Africa in China this November at the first-ever Global Chery Technician Competition. It’s a brand-new international stage — the very first of its kind — and while exact details are still under wraps, Paul will be one of the first to stand on it, carrying not just his skillset, but the spirit of South African excellence with him.

But that’s not his only global moment this year.

Because in March 2024, Paul also took home the Mitsubishi South Africa title, after a brutal round of theory and practical assessments — completed, no less, while recovering from an appendix operation. He’ll be heading to Japan in December 2025 for the global Mitsubishi finals, making him the only known South African technician to win back-to-back titles across different manufacturers and represent his country on two continents in the same year.

That’s not luck. That’s legacy in motion.

And through it all — the early mornings, the late nights, the diagnostics, the deadlines, the stress and the spotlight — Paul remains grounded in the very thing that got him here: his quiet drive to do the work well, to stay humble, and to keep honouring the opportunities he’s been given by Garden City Motors, the NMI Group, and his unwavering support system at home.

He doesn’t do it for the noise. But he deserves the noise now.

Because when one of our own walks into a room of the best in the world — and belongs there — we should all be watching.