Joyful Journeys with Angel Campey
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What do you call a Golden Retriever who shares a home with four cats, loves swampy puddles, and may or may not be planning his TED Talk? Miles!
Angel Campey’s gloriously goofy, mud-loving golden retriever. (lol)
(I know, I know… I’m no comedian. But I do enjoy the company of those who are in this profession.)
I’ve found that comedians are often some of the most intelligent and insightful people you’ll ever meet. They don’t just see the world for what it is, they notice what it could be, then flip it on its head with a sharp line or unexpected twist. Sometimes they’re bluntly honest. Sometimes they wrap the truth in humour. But at their core, they’re observers and that’s where the magic lies.
Meeting Angel Campey
Meeting Angel Campey, in particular, was a real treat for me. She’s the first female comedian I’ve interviewed and her humour comes from a much deeper place of understanding her environment. She’s very intentional about the way she speaks and listens carefully to gauge her feedback. She is warm, easy to talk to, and the epitome of what this issue is about, JOY!
As fate would have it, our cover shoot and interview came together at the last minute on one of the coldest days Cape Town could throw at us. But if Angel minded, she never showed it. She arrived with her trademark smile, asked for nothing more than a hot cup of coffee, and gifted us a morning of laughter, warmth, and effortlessly engaging conversation.
And that brings me to why she’s here, gracing the cover of our 10th birthday issue.
As Pet Prints celebrates 10 years of wagging tails, rescue heroes and pet lovers who wear their hearts on their sleeves, it feels only fitting that we share our birthday issue with a woman whose very career revolves around spreading joy. Angel is best known as the bubbly, quick-witted voice behind The Joy Ride on Smile FM, but there’s far more to her than meets the ear. She’s a writer, award-winning comedian, animal advocate, and perhaps most importantly, a deeply grounded soul who shares her home (and heart) with a loving fur family.
We spent a morning chatting about everything from comedy and cat poop (yes, really) to mindfulness, Miles, and finding laughter even in the hard stuff. As we celebrate a decade of stories that matter, Angel reminds us that joy isn’t a luxury, it’s a choice, a perspective, and sometimes, a slightly muddy Golden Retriever curled up at your feet.
From stand-up to Smile Drive
Long before Angel was getting South Africans to laugh through traffic, she was just a young woman with a Twitter account and a very persuasive flatmate. In 2011, comedian and actor Siv Ngesi saw her knack for clever, observational humour and dared her to get on stage. “I didn’t even tell anyone I was doing it,” she laughs. “I thought I’d bomb and just never talk about it again.” Instead, she walked away from her very first stand-up set with a standing ovation—and a career that would take her to comedy clubs around the world.
From Montreal’s Just for Laughs to shows in Lagos and New York, Angel honed her unique voice: whip-smart, self-aware, and always laced with humour that made people feel seen. Her comedy is refreshingly honest, often drawing from her own life and the quirks of being South African. That authenticity followed her into writing, earning her awards and accolades for her work on satirical shows like ZA news and Point of Order.
Then came radio—a new platform, but the same mission: spread joy. After co-hosting Smile Drive, Angel now heads up The Joy Ride, Cape Town’s only female-led drive time show. “Joy is my favourite word,” she tells us. And it shows. Whether she’s bantering with listeners or talking about real-life challenges, Angel has that rare ability to keep things light without making them shallow. “There’s always something funny. Even in load shedding. Even in heartbreak. That’s how we get through it.”
Joy with muddy paws
When you hear Angel talk about joy, you quickly realise that it’s not just her radio persona, it’s a daily intention. And much of that joy comes in four-legged form. Her Golden Retriever, Miles, who joined us for our shoot and interview, might just be the most photogenic pooch we’ve ever met. But he’s also her shadow, her comfort, and occasionally, her very stinky sidekick. “His idea of a perfect day? Mud puddles, swampy water and then a snooze on clean linen.”
Angel’s pet family is a full house—four cats (Charlie, Winter, Bruce and Bruno) plus Miles. When she met her partner, he came with cats, and the household became a joyful, blended fur family. “Miles tolerates them. They adore him. It works”, she jokes.
Her love for animals isn’t confined to cuddles and walks. Angel actively supports Cape of Good Hope SPCA and Paws-A-While, regularly MCing Her love for animals isn’t confined to cuddles and walks. Angel actively supports Cape of Good Hope SPCA and Paws-A-While, regularly MCing
Keeping it real
What grounds someone who spends her days getting others to smile? For Angel, it’s soil. “Gardening. Honestly, I talk to my plants,” she admits. “When I get too in my head, I need to get my hands in the dirt. Sunlight and soil fixes a lot.”
There’s no rigid morning routine—Angel admits to being more aspirational than accomplished on that front. “Every night I say, ‘I’ll stretch in the morning’. I never do,” she laughs. “But I do check in with people. It helps to remember that everyone is going through something. Staying present with others keeps things in perspective.”
That blend of humility and hilarity makes her instantly relatable. During our shoot, she joked about Miles giving a TED Talk on tolerating cats and finding cat poop (“like it’s truffle oil to him!”).
But in the next breath, she’s talking about privilege and the responsibility of having a public platform. It’s the realist kind of conversations that can jump from one topic to the next without it feeling like you’ve overstepped or dismissed the person’s point of view.
As we reflect on ten years of Pet Prints, our chat with Angel feels like a mirror to our mission. Joy isn’t always loud or perfect. Sometimes it’s messy and ordinary—but it’s always worth celebrating.
When I asked Angel what she’d tell her 10-year-old self, Angel doesn’t hesitate: “You’re a little weirdo, and that’s your superpower. Just keep going.” It’s the kind of advice we could all stand to hear, especially in a world that often tries to box us in.
Looking ahead, Angel is excited about building her first home (renovations are already underway), expanding her garden, and continuing to find ways to make people smile, whether it’s through radio, comedy or animal advocacy.
A golden reminder
As we wrapped up our chat, Miles—now sprawled on set like the doggy celeb he is, gave one last stretch and yawn. It was the perfect punctuation mark to a morning full of warmth, laughter, and insight. Much like the show she hosts or the life she leads, Angel’s presence leaves you a little lighter, a little more joyful, and a lot more inspired.
Angel Campey is living proof that joy is not a frivolous thing. It’s powerful. It connects, it heals, and it makes room for more good vibes in the world. As Pet Prints enters our next decade, we are reminded that joy can be cultivated in the simplest of ways: a muddy paw print on a clean floor, a rescued kitten purring on your chest, a Golden Retriever who thinks he’s a star.
Thank you, Angel, for reminding us to find the sparkle. And thank you to our readers, who have carried our stories for a decade. Here’s to ten more years of heart, humour, and a whole lot of fur.
Angel Unleashed: A quick-fire Q&A
We couldn’t resist throwing some fun questions Angel’s way. Here are her lightning-fast answers:
What’s Miles’s weirdest habit?
“When he slides off the bed like a little frog sausage so he can scratch his belly.”
One thing that instantly lifts your mood?
“A good song. Especially some old school soul—Marvin Gaye does the trick.”
If Miles had a theme song, what would it be?
“Definitely Crazy Frog. He’s got big happy energy and not much going on upstairs.”
Describe joy in one word.
“Dogs.”
Three songs your playlist couldn’t do without?
“Something classical (makes me feel fancy), Marvin Gaye, and something funky to cook to.”
Miles’s perfect day?
“Water. All of it. Swamps, beaches, puddles. Then snacks and a big snooze.”
Finish this sentence: Joy to me is…
“A cosy fireplace and a glass of red wine.”
