My Story
You might know me from the fitness industry, or as a motivational coach. But here’s something you may not know about me..
I was supposed to be a chef.
You might know me from the fitness industry, or as a motivational coach. But here’s something you may not know about me..
I was supposed to be a chef.
I grew up in Bruges, Belgium where my family ran a restaurant. It was assumed that I would be a part of the business. So, I had to study to become a chef.
I hated it. However, I was very passionate about dancing, fitness, and the idea of traveling the world.
When I was 19, I lost my mom. She threw her life away for being scared to disappoint others or make changes in her life.
One month later, I was in a small rowing boat in the middle of a lake, laying down and crying. I was thinking about how horrible my future felt. Like my mom, I too was in a life I didn’t feel like was mine.
And then it happened. It took 5 seconds for me to decide that I didn’t have to live this life. I felt reborn. I turned my boat around like I turned my life around and went home.
The hardest part was to tell my dad what I wanted to do with my future. How was I going tell him that 7 years of cooking school will be wasted? That I won’t raise a “normal family.” That I want to become a fitness instructor and go back to school.
And there he was, waiting for me. I could see he had tears in his eyes because he could feel the pain of me losing my mom.
He locked eyes with me and I felt like I had just told him his son is a different person now. I was so scared for his reaction. And then he responded..“𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺!”
And this is how it all started..
The First 10 years of my new life
I’ll be honest, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows in the beginning. I actually got rejected twice for my aerobics certification! But I didn’t let that hold me back. I worked hard to gain more education, build my confidence, and tune out the naysayers.
Eventually, all that hard work paid off and my career exploded! I was fortunate enough to be recognized with some pretty cool awards along the way:
In 1997, I was awarded Instructor of the Year by FFA
..followed by Rookie of the Year in 2000
..the Belgian Fitness Trophy in 2002
..EFAA presenter of the Year in 2003
..Presenter of Excellence in 2004 in the UK
..nominated as one of the top 4 best international presenters in NY!
I even became a Reebok® master trainer (1998-2006) and a NIKE® Elite trainer (2006-2012) for Belgium.
On top of that, I was invited to be a trainer on three national television shows, including “The Biggest Loser” and “Celebrity Fitness”, and had a column in Men’s Health magazine for an entire year!
My dream was already happening and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
When I first heard about the “Latin-inspired program” called Zumba® Fitness, I have to admit that it didn’t appeal to me. Being a tall man from Europe, it didn’t feel right for me.
However, after experiencing the happy vibes and seeing how much my students loved it, I got hooked.
When I first heard about the “Latin-inspired program” called Zumba® Fitness, I have to admit that it didn’t appeal to me. Being a tall man from Europe, it didn’t feel right for me.
However, after experiencing the happy vibes and seeing how much my students loved it, I got hooked.
My JOURNEY IN ZUMBA
Zumba Education Specialist (ZES™) since 2009, serving Scandinavia and Middle East areas.
Featured on several ZIN DVDs and Zumba consumer DVDs during the years, including ZIN Volumes 39, 47, 55, 58, 64, 67, 70, 78, 95, 102
Creator of education programs, such as Pro Skills, Take the Lead and Virtual Pro trainings, Burst and Cue like a Pro e-learnings.
Presenter at ZINCON since 2011, with my own sessions, such as “The King of Pop”, “The Queen of Pop”, “ABBA”, “Motown”, “Emotion Flow” and “Next Rising Presenter“.
Invited for events, trainings and workshops in over 100 countries around the World.
After being in the fitness industry for a while I realized that health is not just physical fitness or nutrition. It’s also the health of your souls, mind!
I can not train people physically if they need to find their balance again mentally. When your soul, mind, heart needs to be healed, there is no way your physical health will improve. It is all connected.
That’s why, in recent years, I have focused more on mental health by being a keynote speaker and coach, helping people find the balance between their mental and physical health
Life COACHING
That’s why I decided to become a life coach. I got certified at Health Coach Institute in the US in 2020. Here’s a little bit about the work I’ve been doing as a life coach:
I co-hosted The Fun Road training and podcast with the amazing Kass Martin
I did 1:1 life coaching sessions to help people work on their mindset and achieve their goals
I taught workshops for groups who wanted to work on confidence and mindset together
I had the pleasure to be a Guest Speaker at Workplace Wellbeing 2022 Conference in Isle of man, which was a fantastic experience
I co-wrote the best-selling book “The Right Mindset” with the wonderful Delphine Steelandt
And most recently, I was the Confidence Coach for the Miss Belgium 2023 candidates, which was an absolute blast!
In January 2023 I launched my brand new online life coaching program, called INVINCIBLE, which is a 10-month program designed to help people learn to live a happier life.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit, I had the idea to create a space where instructors and fitness enthusiasts could come together, learn, connect, and just have fun.
It all started with me teaching a weekly Zumba class on Zoom.
…and growing into an online platform and community, called the Inner Circle
From a Virtual Zumba Class to an International Family
In March 2020, I taught my first virtual Zumba class using Dacast streaming platform. Let me tell you, it was weird not seeing anyone in person, not even through webcams. I wasn’t even sure if anyone would show up. Eventually, I switched to Zoom so I could see my students, and that made all the difference.
Teaching to my regulars every week felt AMAZING, and it reminded me, after many years of teaching only education trainings and presenting in events, of how fulfilling it is to have a weekly class. But I didn’t want to stop at just providing a fun hour of Zumba. I wanted to give my students the best of myself to help them achieve their goals, both as instructors and in life.
So I created a community called the Inner Circle – an online membership platform where I mentor fitness instructors in a fun and supportive way. We dance together every week, have one-on-one coaching sessions and life-coaching webinars. We even hang out together for a full weekend in my hometown, Bruges!
Yes, you read it right! In 2022, I invited my students to spend a whole weekend together in Bruges, and people came from all over the world, as far as Canada and the USA! The connections we made were incredible, and it’s now an event that happens twice a year, called the Inner Circle Weekend.
Today the Inner Circle has grown into a team, and I’m super grateful to work with fantastic colleagues.
But you know what I think it’s the best thing about the Inner Circle? It’s how it has become a community of friends who support each other. This is what makes our community truly special – the perfect environment for anyone looking to grow!
