From Naboomspruit to Norway — Scrap Art & Viking Axes with Martiens Bekker .- Ep 71
The Relocated South African | Emigration storiesPlay episode
Show notes
Martiens Bekker is a sculptor, blacksmith and multi-medium artist from Naboomspruit.
He served in the SA Police Force, studied forestry, and built a career making scrap metal sculptures and film props for Warner Brothers and DreamWorks.
In 2009 he moved to Cornwall, UK, where he ran a coffee shop, served on the Coast Guard rescue team, and sold art — including a piece to the drummer of Queen.
A chance invitation brought the family to rural Norway in 2014, where they've lived ever since. Martiens became a Norwegian citizen in 2024.
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Timestamps
00:44 — Introduction: calling in from the mountains of Telemark, Norway
03:16 — Growing up in Naboomspruit, a family of Springbok athletes, and losing his father at age four
03:68 — Police force, forestry, Israel — finding his path back in South Africa
04:35 — Meeting his wife outside Cape Town and deciding to leave in 2009
05:35 — Life in Cornwall: coffee shop, Coast Guard, exhibitions — and worrying about British youth culture
07:26 — How Norway happened: a sawmill invitation that fell through, and a school principal who convinced them to stay
09:17 — SA → UK (2009) → Norway (2014) — and a visa battle with the Home Office involving a court case
11:41 — Becoming a Norwegian citizen in 2024 and the language test
13:20 — Which move was harder? Why he'd tell South Africans: "Find somewhere they speak English first"
15:07 — What Norway gets right: unlocked doors, great healthcare, open-source tax transparency
17:24 — The scrap metal art: making props for Warner Brothers and DreamWorks from a Cape Town workshop
23:29 — The Falmouth market story: selling a fish made from pick handles to the drummer of Queen
27:49 — Living with narcolepsy, diagnosed after sepsis in 2016
29:30 — Winter income: copper jewelry, firewood for a traditional bakery, and a heritage market in Mjønøy
31:56 — The price of immigration: reuniting with his brother in California after 16 years apart
36:12 — Why they left: giving the boys a better chance — and what that cost in family connections
37:10 — Would he do it again? His son thanked him for getting him out of Cornwall
38:12 — What he lost: his heart is still in South Africa, but his mind can't align with what he sees there now
39:43 — Could he go back? A brother-in-law's farm and a nephew with Angelman syndrome
41:22 — Advice for young South Africans: understand passive income, tax, and build a foundation
43:28 — Final advice: don't set expectations too high — every country has its problems
Quote of the Episode
"The grass is greener on the other side — you know why? Because there's more sht there."* — Martiens Bekker
Links & Resources
Martiens Bekker — Instagram: search MJ Bekker or Martiens BekkerBBC Autumnwatch -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DowbAXSquqA
More conversations. More destinations. More stories of South Africans navigating life abroad. Explore the full episode library at http://therelocatedsouthafrican.com.
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