Joel is a 19 year old artist specialising in metalwork. Born in the UK but raised in France, he has family links in Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond. Educated at home has given his family the freedom to travel and introduced him to different cultures and the privilege of learning from them and serving them
It also gave him the opportunity to pursue his passion and qualified as a blacksmith at the age of 16. His family moved back to the UK, where he is currently based in Oxfordshire.
Joel spent a year with a Christian missions organisation. This took him to the favelas in Rio, Amazonian tribes, studying the Word in locations like Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and then travelling to learn from and encourage people in Myanmar and Ghana.
Writing spoken word poems started as part of an assignment to share the Gospel in a creative way.
It soon became clear that this soon became his chosen form of expressing His love for Christ, a key scripture in John 13:15 NIV confirms Joel’s call “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
These, some of the final words spoken by Jesus to His closet friends before His crucifixion have served as the cornerstone on which Joel is building his life. This example set by Christ is the root of everything Joel does, acknowledging that every gift God has given him is not for himself but is to be used to reflect Christ to all those he encounters.
Joel was blessed to see an example of this through the life of his mother, born in South Africa during the apartheid regime, her family faced so many challenges. However, she was taught to see it as opportunities to grow and part of her childhood was spent in a metal shack. It is however, with gratitude that Joel’s mother recalls the precious life forming lessons that she learnt.
This led Joel in this example that led him to choose the name metalshak, it serves as a constant reminder that we are called to imitate Christ, no matter how dark our surroundings or situations are. Jesus’ life is the light.
1King Music 