It’s a pleasure to welcome Ziyaad Samsodien back onto the blog. After a year and a half of being Duck Duck Goose’s Visual Communication Lead and most decorated Store Manager, Ziyaad left the store in December of 2023 to pursue his career as a freelance graphic designer, under the name of Flying Duck Design. While sightings of the man have been far rarer since, Ziyaad has maintained his status as Bree Street’s sweetheart, certainly in our eyes. I reunited with him at the shop for a bagel and a chat about his newest project, The Streets Will Never Forget, a zine about football and the culture around it.
What I especially appreciate about the zine, as well as the rest of Ziyaad’s work, is that he always finds a way to tip his hat to the community that surrounds him. Aside from the jobs that he has done for the likes of international brands such as adidas, oMA and FC Barcelona and Spotify Africa, Ziyaad continues to pay homage to his home soil through his work for Engen, and more recently, for Wanda Lephoto. That same nature shines through in The Streets Will Never Forget. Although the publication focuses on how the beautiful game is played globally, the reflections on football are located within South African fandom. Ziyaad’s illustrations accompany five articles by South African football fans about teams and players from the rest of the world, as well as a feature on a cult Capetonian university Sunday League team, Suede FC. Although the football contexts contrast each other drastically, football culture and fandom transcend geographical boundaries. The love of the game binds them together.
This is the theme that underlines The Streets Will Never Forget. By Ziyaad’s definition, players that the streets will never forget are “players who defined an era, with skill and artistry which transcend the football pitch and echo through playgrounds, classrooms and workplaces.” No matter who you are or where you’re from, you can always rely on your niche favourite team or player in a conversation with another fan. Through this zine, Ziyaad has opened a new platform for local fans to geek out about their favourites in football. I spoke to him about his motivations behind it and his own relationship with the game.
J: Welcome back to the Duck Duck Goose Blog!
Z: Thanks! This is how I know I’m doing good work, I’m back on the blog.
J: How does it feel being out of the Duck Duck Goose family now?
Z: The way I put it when I left was that it was the best breakup ever. It’s like, we can just be friends, no hard feelings. It’s cool to be on the outside but still have a close relationship with everyone at the store. It’s been fun. I’ve learnt that I work much better working independently, and by freelancing, I can do whatever I want to whenever I want to. It’s like I’ve got a new sense and understanding of free will. It’s still something I’m busy figuring out, but I’m learning to love it. I’m getting into the routine of working at nighttime, putting in late shifts, but enjoying my afternoons, picking up with friends. I wouldn’t downplay that it is hard work and stressful at times, but it’s been good for me so far.
J: Since you’ve gone freelance, you’ve continued to push out a lot of the same things that you became known for while you were still a part of our team: great event posters, illustrated content for brands, and your own characters. You’ve also ventured into making prints of your work and selling them on your beautiful website. And now, you’ve made a zine! Why did you decide to make a zine now? What differentiates this medium from your other work, do you think?
Z: The big reason behind me doing a zine is that I’ve always had an obsession with tangible things. Like, seeing an artwork on a screen is a very different thing from holding it in your hands. I felt it when we did the Maak ‘n Plan T-Shirt at Good Good Good, for example. Ever since I did my first zine, The Wiseguy’s Guide to Being a Made Man, and having been able to hold a whole host of my own illustrations in my hands at once, I’ve been hooked to the idea of print. It also speaks to my ability to create more than just drawings. At the end of the day, I am an illustrator, but I also have this affinity for making physical things, like when I did the Adidas Superstar project. I love working with my hands. We’re losing touch with physical art and print. People like to say that magazines are dying. I think collecting and celebrating magazines is a lost art. One day our phones are gonna be gone and we’re gonna go back to wanting something real and physical.
Also, I just see it as a walking portfolio. If anyone wants to see my work, here’s a zine. You don’t have to go onto my Instagram, you don’t have to go onto my website. You can hold my work in your hands.
J: There’s also something more personal and sentimental about being handed or given a zine, compared to looking at a post on Instagram.
Z: Exactly, I could send you a post on Instagram and you could open it and look at it for two to five seconds and say “cool”, but when someone hands you something physical you’re going to be like “holy shit”. You’re going to feel the paper, which is also very important for me, you’re gonna notice the details and the feel and the texture and your association with the art will change.
J: Yeah, and you’ve certainly made something that’s hard to pick up for two seconds before putting it down again. Besides the ton of illustrations that you’ve poured into this zine, how challenging has this process been for you? I do also want to ask you about the illustrations themselves. They’re probably the most dynamic pictures that you have drawn. How much have your skills developed through this project?
Z: It definitely taught me a lot, and more than just the illustration-side of things. This zine was a big step up from the last one. It’s the first one to include written articles, which has levelled it up as a publication. Obviously, if you want nice articles, you’re gonna have to pay people for them. That was a big one, realising that it’s more than just me in this, and that I have to respect others and their work. So the budget was a bit higher. The marketing for this one was also better than the last one. I wanted to do an event. I ended up streaming the Champions League Final at the Labia. That was also a big challenge for me, booking out the Labia without any sponsors. I had to put down money and I couldn’t sell the tickets because the stream wasn’t my property. I had to take the loss, but I knew that one never really makes profit on one’s first project. You take a loss, but eventually it evens out along the way. I wanted to be able to say that I did this thing and I can take the book and the event to brands next time and get backing for the next one.
J: That’s something that Jake Lipman touched on in my interview with him, the idea of building a story around a product where the storybuilding costs money and the return on investment won’t necessarily be evident immediately. You have to be a bit brave to believe in it.
Z: It took me like a week and a half to come to the decision of making the payments that I had to. I did some work for a client and when that cash came in I thought “why not?”. I also just thought, fuck it, if I have my homies at my event that’s all that matters to me, really. Obviously it can’t always be the end goal, but they’re the ones that will be with me through the whole journey, so it’s cool. Hopefully, for the next screening event, maybe a World Cup Final one day, we can scale it up, do a bigger theatre. Hopefully I can still do it independently then.
J: And the illustrations themselves? How do you feel they improved your skills?
Z: It was a bit of a challenge I set out for myself. I was like, let me see how far I can push myself. There have been a few different versions of all the illustrations in the zine. Two months before the zine came out, I thought I had the illustrations dusted. And then, after I sat down with some homies who asked me how I can push myself even further, I started adding a bit more detail and shading. So, it took me about 4 months in total, from concept to execution. I also tried out a different style that I had been thinking of. I started drawing the eyes on the face, which is something I didn’t really do before. With the next one, maybe I’ll try another style that pushes me even more.
J: Do you have a favourite illustration in there?
Z: Tough one. I actually only looked at the zine properly for the first time the other day, because I had to get the zines from the printer and package them all in a day before the event. Anyway, probably the Cissé one, Pappis Cissé and Demba Ba. And the Henry one. Those two are probably my favourites. Drawing the fans in the background made me really stoked. The Cantona one is also like that. That was the first time I did that kind of style.
J: Besides the zine, everything that comes with it is incredible. In each zine pack, you also get two mini zines, stickers and playing cards, which are probably my favourite. What made you want to go so hard with the extras and the packaging?
Z: I knew I wanted to create something whole, like more than just a zine. I felt like that’s where I missed out in the last zine, which came with nothing else and just in clear packaging. That’s all I could do with my budget at the time. But now, having a bit more knowledge and budget, and from learning a lot at Duck Duck Goose, really, being inspired by Shaun Hill’s Bat Butt’s zine packs and all the extras they came with, I knew I wanted to create more of a package that you could justify buying at the price I’m selling them for. I also just have more time now, being freelance, so I could put more time and effort into this thing. I’ve always wanted to make playing cards, and this was just the perfect opportunity.
J: What do you hope people do with the cards?
Z: Hopefully they hold onto them for now and buy Volume 2 so they can start trading them. By the time there are like five or six volumes, people can have full-on collections and they can trade with their homies. It can be like, “oh shit, I’ve got Volume 1 cards, you’ve got Volume 3, let’s swap out.”
J: I love how you’ve optimised the potential for interaction with this zine. Besides the masses of illustrations and extras in there, there are also five articles excluding the introduction, and four articles from people other than yourself. Why was it so important for you to add other voices to the zine?
Z: For me, it was about community-building and collaboration. I feel like those are things that I’ve leaned on for the past while. Like, why just do it by myself when I can get other people on board? It’s also just way more interesting when it’s not just one voice being heard. The articles added a different perspective. Most of the pages are my illustrations. The articles give a nice break to that. I’m inspired by Four Four Two Magazine and Match of The Day, and there’s a whole host of different writers in those magazines. I have a collection at home and I spent time going through all of them to see what they did. That inspired the zine as a whole.
J: Having four different guys writing articles about different subjects in football says a lot about how the game can impact different people. I wanna know how you met the other two guys besides myself and Daniel. But more importantly, can you remember how you ended up talking about football with all the guys who wrote for Streets Will Never Forget?
Z: Well, I met Dumi [Mparutsa] at Corner Store. I had no idea he was a baller until I started playing for Suede FC. You’re going to have to read Nabeel [Allie]’s article to know what Suede was. Anyway, Dumi was playing for Suede too and Nabeel was the vice captain under your brother.
J: Haha, yeah, I forgot about that.
Z: Yeah, Rèné [du Toit] was the captain. But Dumi was a baller. Full-on Ngolo Kante, Yaya Toure in the middle of the park. Solid CDM. You, I met through the Corner Store too. I remember thinking “who is the 12-year-old?”
J: Hahaha.
Z: Anyway, I remember seeing you in your… was it a West Ham jersey?
J: Villa jersey. 1994.
Z: Ah, yes. You’ve also got that Newcastle kit right?
J: No, that’s an Al Ahli kit, but it looks like Newcastle a little.
Z: Anyway, I remember the Villa jersey and that’s how I knew you were into football. You were trying to rebrand as Phillipe Coutinho. And Daniel I met at A Store when I still worked there. Him and Paige came to do a window installation. Met him again a few years later at Pauline’s and he offered me a job at Duck Duck Goose.
J: How did you decide that these should be the guys to write in your zine?
Z: They’re all homies. They can all write, which was one of the main deciding factors, haha. It was like, okay, who’s writers, and then, who knows anything about football. At first, I only had you and Dumi. I wanted one more and got Nabeel. He’s a full-time writer and was quite busy. And Daniel actually put himself forward. He gave quite a fun perspective, being a proud glory supporter. Glory supporters don’t usually say that they are glory supporters.
J: You gave me a loose prompt. Did you do the same for Dumi and Nabeel?
Z: Yeah, I asked Nabeel to write about Suede. It’s a great story and also just a nice shared memory between me and Nabeel and a bunch of other people. I think there were about 40 people in that group chat.
J: Does the group chat still exist?
Z: I’m not sure. Can’t say how many people are still left on there.
J: Hanging on to the memory.
Z: Daniel came up with his own topic. And Dumi and I have had lots of conversations about players. He’s gone between being a football fan and non-football fan a lot in his life.
J: Chelsea fan behaviour.
Z: But he speaks very fondly of the era when he was big into Chelsea. When I asked him who his favourite player is, or the player that impacted him the most, he said Eden Hazard, so I asked him to write about Hazard. For you, I thought that not a lot of people can speak on what it’s like being a Spurs fan. For my article, I just wanted to preface everything with telling people what my relationship to the game is.
J: It’s a good way to start the zine. You know that it’s coming from someone who cares.
Z: Yeah, my relationship with the game has been up and down, but we’re back. I love football.
J: Whose article did you resonate with most besides your own?
Z: I don’t know, maybe yours. Just because of that thing of being led into supporting a team because of someone else. We also grew up in a similar era of football. Like, you talk about my first memory of Gareth Bale in your article, Spurs vs Inter Milan.
J: When he skinned Maicon on the wing like that.
Z: Bro, Gareth Bale at left-back.
J: Gareth Bale number 3. I wanted to ask you more about Suede. You played goalkeeper for the team didn’t you?
Z: Yeah, that happened by accident. So, I joined mid-season as most of the other people did too.
J: January transfer window.
Z: Yeah, pulled up to a game. I didn’t even have boots that game. I used TK’s boots. Tiisetso [Moreki]! Nabeel was the keeper, and he got injured. Evil ankle injury, someone stamped on him or something. I came along and I thought, fuck it, I wanna play! Put on TK’s boots, got into goal. I think it was my second or third time ever playing in goal and can I just say I made the most amazing save.
J: I think I’ve heard this story before!
Z: It was a one-on-one situation. The guy tried to finesse the ball around me. I dived to my right, got a hand to the ball, and all I could hear were just cheers. Everyone was going crazy. It was a game-saving save. We would have lost 2-1 if it wasn’t for that save. And that’s how I cemented my position as GK for the rest of the season. I also scored a goal that season. A penalty in the last game.
J: Hahahaha! That’s insane. Were you still goalkeeper when this happened.
Z: I was. We won the penalty in our last game. We were 7-0 down, and I just told the guys “get out the way.” I can safely say that I saved one and scored one that whole season. I nearly saved a penalty that season too. Got a hand to it but couldn’t stop it. It hit the bar and went it.
J: How did you get scouted?
Z: Someone sent me a WhatsApp asking if I wanted to play tonight. That’s why I didn’t even have boots. I rocked up in trainers for that game. That’s how it all started.
J: And how did it end for Suede?
Z: We played one season, lost that last game by quite a margin, and team morale was in the pits. It was cool being able to say that we did that. We didn’t get back together for a second season. UCT actually discontinued our league, the third division.
J: Damn. It was a UCT league right?
Z: Yeah, it was an internal league for the university. Each division had about 10-12 teams. All just independently put together. To play for Suede, you were just added to a group chat. I think Rèné and Nabeel were the only actual UCT students, and Curt.
J: I don’t even know who that is.
Z: Well, yeah, Curt. There were lots of homies from the Corner Store era playing. I met lots of new people, like Solwazi. I would only learn later that he was a part of this Bree Street conglomerate.
J: Did you not have to be a UCT student to play?
Z: I think you did. But because we were in such a low division, no one really gave a fuck. The other teams gave proper fucks, though. Some had full kits. There was one team that played in leotards. 11 men in very tight uniforms. It was weird.
J: The distraction tactic. It’s a good football gimmick, like Forest Green Rovers. I was there for that game. Anyway, moving on. My favourite illustration in the zine is probably the Simphiwe Tshabalala one. It would have been the Thierry Henry drawing if it wasn’t for Thierry Henry. The Tshabalala moment is one that every single South African football fan will remember forever. Do you remember where you were when that ball hit the back of the net?
Z: I do. I was at home. I was in Grade 6, 14 years ago. Best holiday of my life, and that kickstarted it. I don’t think we had DSTV at the time so we were watching on SABC. Obviously, for me, this was the biggest moment for South Africa ever. Watching the opening ceremony and then getting to watch the match was crazy, and seeing that goal, it was like, holy fucking shit. It was huge! It wasn’t just some pap goal. If it wasn’t for the Giovanni van Bronckhorst long-distance screamer in the semi-finals, Tshabalala would have one goal of the tournament. But that was a moment. Bafana is always talked down upon, but in that moment we were the best team ever. Racism ended for 10 minutes.
J: Do you think it was a bit unfortunate that you became a Barcelona fan as a kid when everyone else became a United, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea supporter?
Z: I’m always trying to be different, soooo. Nah, I thought I was cool because of it. But that’s also why I started supporting Arsenal. I was feeling left out of the whole Premier League discussion. Before that, it was cool. I was supporting the best player ever, we were walking all over Madrid at the time. Now it’s the opposite. In another 10 years I think we’ll be back. I had one homie at school at the time who also supported Barca who I would bond with over El Classico, so it was cool.
J: It’s easier to bond with people when you support a more niche side.
Z: Yeah, because you find like three people that you can relate to on that level. I feel like that’s much better than supporting Liverpool.
J: The UCL Final screening at The Labia was so sick, man. It could have been any game and it would have been amazing. Especially because the homies pulled up and everyone just wanted to watch the game and talk shit.
Z: Yeah, that’s the cool thing about football. You can kinda leave all the bullshit to the side and just talk about the game. You don’t have to talk about clothes or what the streets are saying. You can just talk about the game. Watching games with homies makes the viewing experience even better. The event also spoke to the motive behind the zine around community-building. It’s one special thing that everyone in that room shares. Like, we all love football. That’s why we’re here, not for appearance or to look cool. I think the events are one of the more special things about this project because of that. It also just speaks to football in general. I’ve gotten so close with people through playing fives every Sunday. It’s become a tradition. It’s gotten to the point where I’m booking the games now, I’ve got the balls to do that.
J: Talk to me about this “booking” phenomenon. I can’t play fives because of this chronic knee injury I’ve got, so I don’t know what it’s like to be the one who’s booking. Why is it such a pressurising scenario to be in?
Z: I think people get anxious that no one shows up for their game, or you’re missing two players and you have to make a plan. Like, this Sunday we got into a situation where we were looking for a 10th player at 17:30 and we were playing at 19:00. It’s also the taking of the money at the end of the game. You have to count up 600 bucks and make sure it’s all there. And if anyone’s short, it’s on you. It’s a headache counting up 10s and 20s while people are talking to you at the same time, people are shouting at you, saying “Yoh, it must be lekker to count money!” and then all of a sudden you’re thinking “Where was I?”
J: That’s what you get when you’re the one that runs the football zine.
Z: Yeah, but you do kinda feel like that guy. Like, I booked this game, so I have to put in a 10/10 performance. Otherwise, it’s a waste of effort.
J: What’s next for The Streets Will Never Forget?
Z: At the moment, I’m gonna give it some time before I pick it up again. I’ll definitely do a Volume 2, either this year or sometime in the middle of next year. Hopefully we can do a screening event if there’s another final to watch. Maybe we’ll do another UCL Final next year, and then do the World Cup Final for Volume 3 in 2026. But it’s definitely something that I’d like to build on annually or bi-annually. Whatever feels right. And try to level it up with each volume, through the style of illustration I take on, or the amount and quality of writing I put in it. But I’ll do some cool stuff in between as well. I know this zine isn’t the only zine I’m gonna do. I’ll probably do something else before the end of the year, if not another Streets Will Never Forget.
You can shop The Streets Will Never Forget Volume 1 on our web shop now.