Meet Matthijs Rijsdijk

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthijs Rijsdijk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Matthijs, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I found my purpose in the form of my artistic work.

I’m a pop singer and I perform under the name of Roi Soleil (Sun King).
Claiming to be this golden king, is a direct reaction to my darker puberty in which I felt insecure, unseen and far from being a king. Now as an adult, I know I have a lot of love and joy to give as a person and through my work. I found my purpose in letting everybody know that they are also made of gold and that everybody is royalty.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

As ‘Roi Soleil’ (Sun King) I make ‘Frenglish pop with a dash of queer glitter’.
It’s popmusic where French and English meet each other in a golden coat of queer joy.

Most special to me is meeting an audience and sharing my work in the form of live concerts. It’s where I get to share my stories and meet people. I know I have a lot to offer in a live performance and that I’m able to inspire, touch and entertain people. At the same time, it’s genuinely the most fun thing I have encountered in this life. It’s something we do as children already: asking our parents or siblings to watch us. Performing to me is an extended reality of that childish behavior.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities or skills that were most impactful in my journey would be:
– Believe in myself
– Share and spread love as you will get that back
– Determination

I honestly find it hard to explain how you can grow in these skills. It’s a combination of ‘the journey of life’, being surrounded by people who love you and work hard baby

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

One of the challenges I am always facing is ‘patience’ haha.
I am very inpatient when it comes to my career and my success. I have seen through the years now that growth and success are subjective and hard to measure. And me being inpatient is a problem, since it makes me unhappy in the present at times.

Lately this has been better, because I am better at celebrating the goals I achieve. And I regularly look back and realize how good things are going.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Stefan Mandersloot

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