Riaan and Michele Garforth-Venter were one of South Africa’s golden celebrity couples. As a television presenter on Top Billing in the ’90s, Michelle showcased the best venues, social events and tourism destinations South Africa had to offer, while Riaan became famous as the DIY-specialist on Die Nutsman.
In 2015, after an ordeal during a house robbery, the couple decided to leave SA and move to Atlanta. Saffa Mag caught up with them in a zoom interview at their studio in the city.
There are no airs and graces about the couple who first set eyes on one another in the corridors of the SABC, later got married and now have an 11-year-old son, Rainn.
Michelle, a seasoned journalist herself, kicks off the interview with an invitation to virtually tour their 1500 square meter Studio 135 ATL which Riaan has built. Set on two levels, it boasts a massive main studio, a smaller custom-built kitchen studio with large workshops and a fabrication area where Riaan and his team can build sets and props for events and exhibitions which sometimes must be trucked across America.
“This studio was a direct result of Covid-19,” explains Michelle.
Before the pandemic, Riaan was employed as a project manager for three housing developments. These were completed in September 2019 after which he launched Riaan’s Designs, which specialised in custom-built projects.
He also worked on various events but as soon as Covid-19 hit, business dried up.
“I had to design and build a container, which had to look exactly like the steel ones, but made from wood. This had to be transported to its Vegas destination, thus making it quite intricate to pull off. On another project I had to construct an escape room which then had to be transported on an 18-wheeler truck!” Riaan explains.
For a few months Riaan directed his attention towards remodelling basements and completed seven projects. It was during this period that he teamed up with three partners to launch Studio 135 ATL. Since its launch in January, various interesting productions for, amongst others, Lego, a rising politician, the rap artist Russ, and a few commercials, have taken life in the studio. The couple is super excited about the opportunities the studio brings.
“If you want to work in this country, the opportunities are certainly available,” says Michelle.
Six years after packing their belongings and moving into the unknown, the Garforth-Venters have found their mojo.
ut it was no easy feat to get here. “It was traumatic to move,” says Michelle. “After the nightmare where we were tied up for four hours in our house, we decided we didn’t want to raise Rainn in South Africa. In my younger days I lived in Los Angeles and knew I didn’t want to stay there. I am also not a New Yorker, so we did our homework and Texas kept popping up when we researched for a more diverse community to live in. We contemplated moving to San Antonio, but a good dentist friend of mine, who lived in Atlanta, suggested we visit him and explore the possibility.”
Michelle says they visited Florida and Orlando but climate extremes in most of the areas eventually became the deciding factor of where to settle. “The first time we landed in Atlanta, it looked like a forest from the air. I loved the parks and landscape, and the weather was moderate enough to adapt to.”
Michelle experienced a deep sense of loss for a long time. “It was a loss for friends and family, of being established, having a career, having a contact base, and having the ability to be a teacher and mentor. I could not share my life and career lessons with a new generation.”
They have made good friends in America, but often miss the connection with lifelong buddies. “I miss people who have known me since high school days,” explains Michelle.
The couple compares the situation to the apartheid era when many black families were separated from their loved ones but had to build a life where they could flourish and receive the education they wanted. The reverse scenario has become a reality for so many white South Africans who have become separated from their families and friends who have made the decision to leave South Africa, mostly due to crime and limited career opportunities.
“We are all part of a broken family reality,” explains Michelle.
Riaan says he has made the US his home and is happy to live in it. “I want to work and live where I can do straight business with limited crime and corruption. At the age of 50 I came to America and within five years I have built a far better future than I would have ever been able to if we remained in South Africa.”
He misses his 95-year-old mother and two daughters, who both still live in SA. Seeing them once a year isn’t ideal, but they have adapted.
Life in America has provided them with many opportunities to live out their passion for travelling. The family has visited the Bahamas, Las Vegas, Colorado, Vancouver, and New York to name a few. During a recent visit to St Croix Island, they fell in love with this holiday destination and recommend that other Saffas in the USA definitely book a trip.
When in South Africa Michelle says her favourite holiday destination is the fever tree and dry forests of Natal. Riaan, a former Capetonian, says he misses the proximity and beauty of the ocean. Cape Town is just one amazing place.
While they lived in South Africa, conservation and green living used to be high on the couple’s agenda and Michelle says nowadays their apartment resembles a tiny zoo with the chinchilla Olly, guinea pig Pip and their four-month-old French bulldog Rosie, adding natural energy to the household.
“Rainn wants to add a snake to our collection, but we haven’t bitten on the idea yet.”
Riaan and Michelle have not lost any of their sparkle from the days when both were contestants of Strictly Come Dancing and familiar faces on various television shows. They have found their second life in Atlanta and are living it to the fullest
Fun facts
• Michelle Garforth-Venter was a television presenter for 25 years, appearing as a Top Billing presenter from 1991 – 2004 and was the host of several environmental shows including Bush Radar, Spirit of Africa, and Wild Ltd.
• She competed in the first season of Strictly Come Dancing and was placed second.
• Michelle has been called South Africa’s TV eco-warrior; conservation journalist; and producer and was also voted Glamour magazine’s ‘Woman of the Year’ in the media category.
• Riaan Garforth-Venter was SA’s most popular handyman, DIY expert, conservationist, and television presenter.
• He spent eight years teaching woodwork and technical drawing at a high school.
• Riaan was one of eight celebrities to dance in Strictly Come Dancing II. He and his partner Hayley Hammond won the competition.
