There are five of them: Gil Oved, Dawn Nathan-Jones, Romeo Kumalo, Marnus Broodryk and Vinny Lingham. These are the names of the five investors on Shark Tank SA, also known as the Sharks. However, they’re hardly the first non-fish beings to be called fish. We take a look at five other figures and groups who have, in some form or another, gone by the name of Shark.
- Shark Tank
Shark Tank SA is based on the American show of the same name – minus the SA, of course. Like its American counterpart, SA has five Sharks in its tank; but who are the Sharks in the U.S. tank? That would be Canadian businessmen Kevin O'Leary and Robert Herjavec, American businesswoman Barbara Corcoran, and American entrepreneurs Daymond Johnand and Kevin Harrington. The latter only appeared in the first season, while the rest of the Sharks have appeared in all eight seasons. Businessman Mark Cuban and entrepreneur Lori Greiner have also taken on the title of Sharks. From the second season they started introducing the idea of guest sharks, which have included figures such as comedian Jeff Foxworthy and actor Ashton Kutcher.
- The Sharks
Going back to local – because that’s always lekker – we have the Durban-based rugby team, The Sharks. Considering they’re situated right next to the ocean and draw their players from KZN, we think the title is pretty apt.
- The Sharknado of Presidents
You couldn’t have missed the latest edition of Jimmy Kimmel’s mean tweets – everyone’s talking about it. Featuring U.S. president Barack Obama reading nasty Tweets about himself, one of the most hysterical is undoubtedly when he is called “the Sharknado of presidents”. In case you missed that too, Sharknado is a B-grade horror film franchise about sharks, and comparing Obama to Sharknado is less than complimentary. Check it out below.
Jimmy Kimmel himself has a Shark connection. He’s not a Shark nor been invited to the show as a guest Shark, but he has tried to sell an idea or two in the U.S. tank. Watch him present his madcap inventions below.
- Musical Sharks
Yes, sharks have even made it onto Broadway. The musical West Side Story, which debuted on Broadway in 1957, follows the rivalry between two street gangs: an American gang called The Jets and a Puerto Rican gang called, you guessed it, The Sharks.
- Card Sharks
Shark Tank is not the first show to have “shark” in its title. Way back in the ‘70s an American game show called Card Sharks debuted on TV. Based on a card game called Acey Deucey, the Sharks in this show referred to the players.
Want to know more about the South African Sharks? Read about them here and watch them every Sunday in Shark Tank SA at 18:00 on M-Net.