He blasted across a nation’s consciousness by winning South Africa’s first ever Idols competition. A successful musical career followed but, behind the scenes, stuff was going on that led him to rock bottom. So how did he get to Idols in the first place, what happened after he did, and how on earth did HEINZ WINCKLER end up as lead pastor of a church? He told CHELSEA BURNELL
‘I was in a fog of selfishness and brokenness’, says Heinz Winckler, now in a completely different space | Photos: Gallo and Ronelle de Villiers
Heinz (48) was born and raised in Stellenbosch, the eldest of the three children of a writer mom and a financial advisor dad. He attended Paul Roos Gymnasium, then started studying law at Stellenbosch university before winning Idols in 2002. Married to energetic entrepreneur Aletté and the father of three boys and a girl, he’s also lead pastor at LoveKey church in the Western Cape’s Somerset West, and hosts a podcast called In HeinzSight BoldCast
MY MOM ENCOURAGED US to do piano and music from the age of seven. I honestly didn’t enjoy it much because the way I was taught was quite intimidating. It felt like a chore, not a joy.
I loved sport far more than music, and it was only when I was 11 that a singing teacher sort of discovered I could sing. She encouraged me to sing in school plays and I figured, ‘Maybe I’ve got something.’ At Stellenbosch University I auditioned for a church band but didn’t make it. I started singing at my res and a guy from the church band heard me and told them to give me another chance. This time I made it.
RIDICULOUSLY CUTE: HEINZ’S DAUGHTER STEALS THE SHOW
Heinz’s daughter Alannah in the sweetest kitchen karaoke, guided by his wife, Aletté (that gentle hand on mom’s mouth, what a classic 😂)
At Stellenbosch, I started getting this weirdly strong sense that I was supposed to make music for a living. Three weeks later, I heard about this thing called Idols, the first of its kind in South Africa. Growing up, I’d watched the UK version with my family and when Will Young won the UK contest and confetti showered on him, I had this out-of-body sense that it was me standing there. I was, like, ‘What? That’s crazy.’
Looking back, I believe it was a sign, but at the time I thought it was crazy to even think that. Earlier that year, a pastor I’d never met before had approached me and given me a prophetic word for the first time in my life. He said, ‘I believe God says there are great opportunities coming your way, and you must grab hold of them with everything that you are.’
I entered Idols online and my dad drove me to a hotel in Cape Town’s Sea Point, where I stood in line with 2,500 other people. What most people don’t know is that you’ve got two rounds before you see the main judges, during which they sort you into A, B and C. A is good, B is average and C is either funny or horribly bad. They only put the As and the C s through, and the Bs go home. And I made the first round!
‘some people didn’t want that to happen’
As the contest progressed, I felt mostly out of my depth and unsure. By the end, when it seemed that I stood a good chance of winning, some people didn’t want that to happen because how would it look if the first Rainbow Nation winner was an Afrikaner? There were all these articles written. That my parents had a voting syndicate at their house, and horrible things about me that weren’t true. So it was quite hectic. And I was like, ‘I just want to sing songs, man.’
It was an overwhelming thought to sing live to the whole nation. I made mistakes, fluffed things, forgot lyrics. Sometimes I felt I’d be out that night for sure. But at the same time, I kept having the sense I was supposed to be there. And every time I got on stage, the lights went on and I sang, it was exhilarating. The moment they announced I had won was completely overwhelming. I felt shock, awe and wonder. And the wonderful first prize of a little yellow Toyota MR2 flashed before my eyes!
I quit my studies to pursue music full-time as I didn’t see a way to do both. I enjoyed making music for people, meeting fans, taking a photo with them and hearing their stories. At the same time, you have people who don’t understand or respect personal boundaries and I would have women grabbing me where I didn’t want to be grabbed!
I was super naïve about the music industry, which is cut-throat. I just wanted to make music and didn’t understand the business. I foolishly believed people when they said, ‘Come and sing. I’ll pay you when you get here,’ and wrote off about R100,000 in the first year from people not paying me for shows.
‘God completely changed my life’
God and I began a relationship at a Christian Union camp when I was 16. Growing up in a typical Afrikaans home, I knew the facts about Jesus and thought I was a Christian, but that night I had a supernatural encounter that was so different it changed my life forever. A camp leader encouraged us to imagine walking in a forest to a wall that God was behind, and to ask God what the wall was between Him and us. I saw all these little gremlin things laughing at me and I just knew it was sin standing between God and me. I told God I was really sorry and asked Him to forgive me. In an instant the wall turned to dust. I experienced myself running into his arms and literally audibly heard Him say, ‘I love you, my son.’ In that moment, I knew God was real, and not just that, but that He knows, sees, accepts and loves me. And that completely changed my life.
However, around the time of Idols I wasn’t really living the way I knew I should, and I didn’t want to tell anyone about it. I was getting lots of attention and definitely enjoying the wave of fame a little bit too much. I’d met my now-wife Aletté and there was lots of chemistry from the word go, but I was compromising myself with other women, struggling with pornography, arrogantly giving her mixed signals, and I kind of went off the rails.
Aletté Winckler: ‘There was lots of chemistry from the word go but I was arrogantly giving her mixed signals,’ says Heinz of their early relationship
Even though a pastor at my church was mentoring me, I got to the point of overwhelm one day. I emailed my pastors and church friends, saying, ‘I’m a useless Christian, a hypocrite. I’m wasting your time, I’m wasting God’s time. I’m doing all these things I shouldn’t be doing and I still call myself Christian. I quit.’ I listed everything I’d done, and spent the rest of the weekend at home feeling sorry for myself.
On the Monday, every one of those men mailed me back to say that God loved me, they loved me, and this wasn’t the end of my story.
The grace of God coming through these guys into my life completely blew me away. I felt I’d found God and my life had changed all over again. When I came out of that fog of selfishness and brokenness, I told Aletté the whole story and said, ‘I really believe you’re my wife’. And the thing is she had felt in her heart from the start that I was her husband. Wow, she knew in her heart!
We married in 2006 and life with Aletté has been very exciting. She’s up for adventure and we have a lot in common and love to do things together. Having four kids is hard work, obviously, but we love it.
From ‘I do’ to a sunrise coffee, Heinz and Aletté have journeyed through two decades together. Having four children is hard work, he says, but ‘Life with Aletté has been very exciting. She’s up for adventure.’
In 2015, I felt called to make a drastic shift from the commercial music industry to the Christian music scene, which led to my first Christian album, The Roar. I started travelling to various churches and ministries to share my songs and my story. When I visited Hope Church in George, a pastor said to me, ‘So, when are you planting a church?’ This seemed totally crazy. I didn’t have a theology degree or anything like that but I prayed about it and got a strong sense, which I now believe was from the Holy Spirit. I stepped out in faith and, in 2020, started LoveKey Church with 35 people in a coffee shop. Supported by my wife and family, a board of directors and a team of deacons, I teach the Bible, lead the worship and build the church.
Above, Heinz started LoveKey Church in a coffee shop in 2020. Today it meets in a school hall. Below (left to right), Simeon, Reuben, Allanah and Lian join their parents at the church’s fourth birthday bash
It’s been the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life, a massive journey of faith. We’ve had disunity at times, which is really hard, but I feel called to keep going, no matter what. I had no idea I’d like teaching and preaching so much but I absolutely love it, almost as much as I love singing and leading worship. While hard, it’s also been the most rewarding time of my life, and I’m excited to see the future.
Today, I can’t imagine my life without God. Having a relationship with my creator and being sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit is what drives me.
‘the void will persist’
If anyone reading this isn’t sure about the existence and relevance of God and Jesus, I would like them to know this: I believe that sense of emptiness you can have, and that longing for something more, point to a higher power which is God Almighty who created heaven and earth. I believe that God knows me and loves me and is interested in my life, and that the same is true for every person on this planet.
I believe that void will persist, no matter what you try and fill it with: experiences, money, relationships, drugs, alcohol, even family. Because nothing, nothing, nothing brings the satisfaction that can be found in a personal relationship with the loving God who created you.” ♦
HEINZ: I HAVE EXPERIENCED GOD
IF YOU LIKED THIS STORY, TRY THESE THREE:
