Frans Nel

Background

About Frans Nel

Frans Nel is a South African storyteller, connector, and truth-seeker with a heart for healing and a pen that doesn’t flinch. Born in 1963 in Primrose, Germiston, into an Afrikaans household rooted in the complexities of apartheid-era South Africa, Frans has spent his life confronting the shadows of his past to build bridges in the present. With nearly followers on LinkedIn, Frans is best known for his weekly #MyFridayStory series—an unfiltered, heartfelt collection of stories that blend vulnerability, spirituality, and hard-earned wisdom. His writing is plain, piercing, and profoundly personal. Whether reflecting on grief, faith, mental health, or race relations, Frans pulls no punches and offers no easy answers—but always returns to love, humility, and redemption. Frans served in the South African army with two holes in his heart—literally and figuratively. Diagnosed later in life with bipolar disorder, he has faced down darkness with fierce introspection and a relentless commitment to growth. He’s a father, a divorcee, a corporate veteran, and a quiet revolutionary committed to reconciliation—across cultures, classes, and even family lines. He’s working on his debut book, temporarily titled #FixFrans, a soul-baring memoir that explores how a man born into privilege and prejudice can come to terms with the damage he’s inherited, caused, and now seeks to undo. It's a story of personal reckoning, spiritual awakening, and radical responsibility—one he hopes will spark dialogue and healing in a fractured South Africa. At his core, Frans stands for integrity over intention, curiosity over comfort, and the courageous act of saying: “I was wrong.”