Rocking the boat in Afrikaans
Rian van Heerden moved from strength to strength in 2022, and he wants to work even harder this year. Read what he has to say about his TV journey so far.
Mention the name Rian van Heerden, and Pretoria residents will know who you are talking about.
He started his career in radio in 1992, right here in Pretoria at TuksFM.
Over the years, he has worked at several stations such as OFM, Punt Geselsradio, 702 and Jacaranda, where he started hosting the night-time show before moving to the Breakfast Show. Most recently, Van Heerden had been hosting the afternoon show, Scenic Drive with Rian, since 2017, before turning on his mic for the last time on June 30, 2022.
Radio might be how most people know Van Heerden, but he has always had an interest in television, well before the smash hits we know today such as Sex in Afrikaans and Housewives van Pretoria.
He did his first show, Skuur, with the SABC in 2002 and that’s where things started growing into the great shows we have today.
Rekord spoke to Van Heerden about his 20-year journey in media and television, and the plans he has for the new year.
Keeping busy
Since Van Heerden first hit the airwaves in 1992, he has continuously entertained South Africans across the country in many ways. He attributes his success to his work ethic and his inability to rest.
Van Heerden said that 2022 was a very busy year with multiple projects his team has been working on for KykNet, taking over a restaurant in Centurion, and completing his radio journey with Jacaranda FM.
“I think it’s a blessing you know,” he said. “We started the company (Provoco, an independent TV production company) a few years ago and we started producing TV shows right away.
“We started with a show called Skelempie for KykNet about unfaithful partners, and it just picked up speed from there.
“We are now finally in a place where we are settled. At times like this, if you want to punish me, you have to force me to take a break for three weeks and sit around doing nothing.
“I love being busy, trying to come up with new ideas and testing and creating concepts; now that’s living, that’s my idea of fun.”
Van Heerden’s life will be no different in 2023 with another project being released on February 19.
“Tarzan from George is currently being edited. A lot of work went into it. We started this project at the end of 2019.
Tarzan from George will be a five-part series following De Wet du Toit from George who has dreamt of being Tarzan since he was given a couple of Tarzan books when he was six years old.
“This show is like a very good wine, it has developed and matured. People are not going to forget DeWet, or his journey, or his dream.”
The inevitable breaks
Van Heerden quickly realised that TV production could leave him with breaks, as the production cycle for a show can have slow periods of a couple of months with very little happening. And times when it feels like everything is happening at once.
Frustrated, Van Heerden decided he would make a plan.
“When I started 2022, I said to myself that we need to find something to do in the quiet times. So to fill those gaps, we took over a restaurant at Doringkloof Mall called Delizioso.
“So this immediately was my something-to-do during the quiet times,” he said.
Van Heerden said that the restaurant was a perfect fit because it wasn’t a change of pace, but rather a different set of challenges and issues.
“It basically runs at the same pace, but it’s completely different and that’s what draws me to it. On the other hand, at the end of the day, they are all forms of entertainment.”
Making waves in Afrikaans
Van Heerden has never been afraid to rock the boat and his TV career success is no exception.
His work on shows such as Sex in Afrikaans and Housewives van Pretoria quickly became smash hits as they pushed the boundaries of Afrikaans entertainment.
“If you compare the entertainment that is coming out in Afrikaans to what was coming out 20 years ago, it’s chalk and cheese,” he said.
“The nice thing about KykNet is that they allow us to push those boundaries, to push people to move forward in their thinking, talking about subjects in Afrikaans that used to be unheard of, things people should be talking about.”
Van Heerden thinks that the success of these types of shows can be attributed to the shows resonating with modern people from diverse areas of life.
“What we have seen from these shows is that people from across language groups are watching it and talking about it.
“If everyone can relate to the story, or at least find it interesting, then the language wins. I think it has done a lot for Afrikaans.”
Van Heerden said that he finds it wonderful to see that the image of the language is changing. More people are finding ways to relate to Afrikaans without preconceptions and misconceptions.
“I am happy I can play a very small role as a part of that,” he said.
Van Heerden pointed out that the numbers speak for themselves.
“Many people understand and speak Afrikaans. Not only in this country, but worldwide. There are Afrikaans speakers all over the world.”
Van Heerden laughs at comments such as those made by Charlize Theron who claimed only 44 people still spoke Afrikaans.
“She isn’t South African, she hasn’t been for decades. We shouldn’t really care what she thinks. We know how many people love and speak the language, so what does it matter what she thinks of us?”
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