Raised in South Africa, he escaped the military and became a slate roofer in his 20's in Australia. His roofing boss told him to try acting and comedy. He did so and never looked back. Cokey has lived in Australia, the US and the UK.
After '94 he then proceeded training as an actor through Trinity College, London and was chosen as one of only thirty people in South Africa to study under improv-luminary Augusto Boal.
After a try out at a club Cokey established himself as one of South Africa’s edgier stand-up acts. Appearing at a wide variety of clubs and 8 international comedy festivals he gathered a cult following. This led to 3 national one-man tours for which Cokey received critical acclaim at The South African National Arts Festival.
As his stand-up progressed so too did Cokey’s television career. After a number of appearances on local soaps and sitcoms he went on to host ‘Big City,’ a magazine style, primetime show for which Cokey won a best presenting award(Avanti Award- SA's equivalent of an Emmy). He also picked up award nominations for co-writing and starring in the country’s cult late nite hit comedy sketch program: “the Pure Monate Show,” including ‘Best Ensemble Cast’ and ‘Best Writing in a Comedy Series’