Facing The Music

Francois Van Coke – Songwriter, Lead Vocalist and Founding Member of Sa Punk Rock Bands Van Coke Kartel and Fokofpolisiekar – Has Lived His Life Fast, Loud, and Mostly on the Road; Which Left Him Out of Shape and Unhealthy. Here’s How He Turned His Life Around, and Went From Fat to Fit.

- Kelleigh Korevaar

Francois van Coke is playing to the crowd. There’s no guitar, microphone or amp, just a loaded barbell – and a few people listening to his gravelly, award-winning baritone. But then the mood changes. The people disperse, and it’s just Van Coke and the barbell, his easy-going smile replaced by a focused glare. He grips the bar and 3, 2, 1, lifts with the same confidence and concentration he shows each time he picks up his guitar. He’s here to sweat, not sing; but this is his stage, and he’s here to perform.

As a child, Van Coke was very active; he played rugby, reaching his peak in Standard 5 when he played Craven Week. He continued to play through high school, and even after school, in club rugby. But eventually, his rugby – and with it, his exercise routine – was benched.

It’s a tale as old as time: a man either doesn’t have time, or loses interest – or has two passions, pitted against each other. For Van Coke, it was the latter; and there was simply no competition.

“I think the passion for music took over when I was about 16. I really fell in love with grunge music when Nirvana and Pearl Jam and those bands came out. It made me want to pick up a guitar, and I think that kind of killed my passion for sport a little bit.”

Van Coke started touring when he was 23. On the road with his best mates, it was one continuous party; he was drinking a lot, and eating whatever he could get his hands on. He was young and enjoying a lifestyle he had only dreamed about while strumming away as a 16-year-old. But it was also the early years, and the band didn’t make a lot of money; which meant Van Coke followed the “whatever I could find” diet.