Sport:

At the age of 4, I started with tennis at TV Duno and played until the age of 18 with a lot of fun and a good players level (also in competition).

In 1986, at the age of 14 I started with Kickboxing at “Kreytz” Arnhem, under the leadership of world renowned trainer and coach “ Fred Royers” . After 9 years of intense training, progression and matches in the ring I changed my dojo (kickboxing/karate club) to The Hague and Leiden at the famous:” Honbu Kamakura Dojo and Jurojin (Leiden), both lead by top trainers Gerard Gordeau and Ino Alberga, where next to kickboxing I started with Kyokushin (full contact) karate. I eventually became 2nd and later 3rd during the Open European Karate Championships. I practiced actively tennis till the age of 19 and Kickboxing till 2007 and have been teaching it ever since.

Career:
My career began in 1998 when I started and finished my first Aerobics Instructor Course; (Aerobic World, The Hague). This was one of the best practical courses the market had to offer back then. The course took about 4-5 months, after this, I did The “Aerobic World” Steps course. At that time, I had learned the basics of the teaching of “Hector Ponce Cortegana”; a high-quality master trainer. After the first 2 profound courses, I started working as an aerobics and steps instructor in a lot of gyms & health clubs in The Hague and surroundings. My goal was and is: To become a top instructor, which means combining fun and effective training. Your body and mind need training but only combined with the fun you will be able to keep it up. 1999 I finished my study at University of European Studies as a Bachelor in International Business. 1999-2001 I studied at the AALO (Netherlands) for Advanced Aerobics - Group Exercise Instructor & Master Step Instructor.

At the end of the ’90s, right after graduation, I became the owner of Lady Sport, an exercise studio and gym only for women only and it grew from 200 up till 700 members before I sold it in 2008. The club became ISO 9001-2000 Certified and one of the first Les Mills BodyPump & BodyCombat gyms in The Netherlands.

I emigrated to Bonaire in 2008 and opened “Health and Fitness Center Bonaire (HFC)”. The gym was a combination of group exercise classes like; “Aerobics, Steps, BodyCombat, BodyPump, BodyBalance, and Spinning. The gym also offered fitness. Juli 2011, HFC became ISO 9001-2000 Certified in September 2011. I sold the gym in November 2011 with 250 members and as the only Les Mills (BodyPump & BodyCombat) center in the Caribbean.

2011-2012 I lived on Curacao and founded “Kamakura Curacao”; a boxing and kickboxing gym.

After having lived and working for 2 years in Curacao, I moved back to Bonaire and started a small business in selling in quality sportswear like Nike and Under Armour and Personal Training. The type of clients varied from the local housewife till the businessman, beginner to athlete, healthy individuals to the ones with metabolic diseases or arthritis. It was a full-time job, together with my group exercises classes at the gym, among which again Bodycombat, Aerobics, Circuit Training, etc.

Because I love my work and to develop my self, as well as applying that knowledge in my classes or Personal Training Sessions, I have been studying ever since and I am now a Multiple Certified and Degreed Coach and Trainer in the field of Health Coaching, Personal Training with Specializations in the field of Medical, Post Rehabilitation and Strength & Conditioning.

Bonaire is a beautiful island and it is great to live there, but Bonaire is also a small island. To make the next step in my career I have to leave the island—although this hurts. It also hurts to leave behind long-term clients/friends. In August 2017 I took the challenging step to go back to Europe, Portugal with the aim of applying and further develop the skills I have learned and developed during the past 20 years.

You can find info about my services (Personal Training & Health - Lifestyle Coaching) and Myself by visiting my  Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ www.natural.lifestyle.essentials.info/