Apart from being mother and daughter, Natasha and Dakota Lyon work for the same Table View radio station.
Natasha hosts a show about women empowerment, talking about aspiring businesswomen and community contributions by women, while 15-year-old Dakota hosts a youth show where she and her co-host talk about issues facing teenagers.
Dakota was raised in Edgemead and Natasha grew up in Sea Point. The pair have always been close, but tragedy pulled them even closer together. Glen Lyon, Natasha’s husband, died eight years ago when Dakota was only 6. Mr Lyon worked for Independent Newspapers for 25 years as an advertising production manager – he also DJed for many of the Independent Newspapers functions, including the annual Cape Argus Cycle Tour.
Robin Leach (Natasha’s father who died three years ago) and Mr Lyon shared a great love for people, music, radio, reading and writing. This enthusiasm for the arts was then passed down to Dakota and her mother.
“They both imparted this all on Dakota and me, and left a legacy for us, a torch to carry,” says Natasha.
Dakota has had to grow up without her dad and says that in the beginning it was very difficult even though initially when the news was broken to her she didn’t really understand.
“But my mom and I became very close after that. She’s my best friend and she’s always there for me. She also supports me as I’ve been singing since I was four years old. I always loved to sing. My mom supports that and has become my momager.”
It was her musical talents that led to Dakota being scouted for various projects including being a radio host.
Natasha is also multi talented and did drama and singing throughout her school career, having gone to Maas-Phillips College of Speech and Drama.
“My mother and father got divorced when I was young and it made me become quite introverted,” she says. “But my grandparents enrolled me into Maas-Phillips so that it could help me with my confidence. Having experienced that, I was able to encourage Dakota in everything that she did and I knew it’d give her more confidence and it seems to have worked.”
Dakota will be going into Grade 10 at Edgemead High School next year.
“I do drama at school. I want to eventually release music. But I’d also like to get into the media side of things like radio and TV presenting. I also want to get into acting.”
Natasha says the entertainment industry can be a dog-eat-dog world, but she wants to support her daughter.
“We have a lot of discussions about the decisions she makes and she trusts me, and that’s why she asked me to manage her. She’s doing really well in school, which I’m happy for so she’s handling and managing her time perfectly.”
You can follow the two Lyons on Facebook and Instagram to find out more about their radio shows and Dakota’s gigs. Natasha Lyon is @tazzlyon on Instagram and Dakota is @lyongracedakota11.
