About

Hello! I am Casper, a sports and lifestyle professional from Eindhoven, the Netherlands. I was educated as a sports scientist with a Master's degree as healthy ageing professional at Fontys University of Applied Sciences. In addition, I have been performing as a  track athlete since 2011 and more recently as a trail runner at the national level. I am driven by the desire to help others, to continuously expand my own knowledge and skills and to achieve a sustainable lifestyle.

In my activities as a sports scientist, I prefer to combine the evidence-based approach from my education with my own experience as an athlete. Together with my personal interest in topics such as nutrition, mental and digital health, this combines to a holistic approach to the topic of health. I like to inspire, empower and help other people to achieve a healthier lifestyle, in the broadest sense of the word.

In addition to my activities in the field of sports, I have been happily working as a train driver at Nederlandse Spoorwegen since 2023. You can find out how I arrived at this special career choice in the next section.

Healthy Ageing Professional

I studied Sports Science with a specialization in Sports & Wellness at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Eindhoven. Subsequently I got my Master's degree as a Healthy Ageing Professional here, concluding with a graduation research focused on the causes of sedentary behavior in office workers. A central theme of both studies is the evidence-based approach: the tackling of issues and making of policy decisions based on a scientific evidence. This method has made me adept at critically analyzing both the relevant health issue and the prescribed solution or intervention. Using this method, ineffective interventions can be prevented more often from leading to wasted resources and disappointed clients.

In addition, I strongly adhere to the model of Positive Health: a holistic approach to the theme of health in which, in addition to the physical dimension, attention is paid to aspects like meaning of life, quality of life and mental well-being. I believe that an individual is not merely a machine from which separate aspects, such as the physical, can simply be isolated. Instead, I try to put health issues in a broader perspective, both on an individual and societal level. Poor health almost always encompasses multiple dimensions, and a solution that addresses several of these often proves all the more effective

Sales Assistant

From 2017 to 2022 I worked as a sales assistant at a running specialty store in Eindhoven. This specific store particularly aimed for a high level of personal service and a positive customer experience. Products such as running shoes were fitted here based on a personal running analysis, in which the customer was personally involved and informed in the process as much as possible. As a sales assistant, I experienced how every customer is different, and requires a subtly different approach in order to successfully build rapport. This experience has also given my communication skills a boost. In my opinion, good and patient listening, showing empathy, and honesty with regard to the product are of central importance in contact with the customer. 

Sports Instructor & Running Coach

During and after my studies, I worked as a sports instructor at a corporate fitness center, located at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. Here, I coached Campus employees who ranged from being athletically ambitious to virtually sedentary.  In addition, I have been working as a freelance Personal Trainer and running coach for various clients like running clubs and the local student sports center.  This has given me a broad experience in teaching, ranging from circuit training to mountain biking and from individual training to instructions for large international groups. I prefer to design trainings plans myself, ranging from the long-term goals to the specific exercises and components per individual session leading up to these goals, drawing on my own years of experience as an athlete to ensure success.

Fun and true attention for the individual participant are central to my training method. Physical effort should primarily provide satisfaction, pleasure or both in order to lead to lifelong healthy exercise behavior. Furtermore, attention for the individual helps me to not only prevent injuries and to tailor the training program to suit, but also to make each participant feel seen and appreciated.

Train Driver

After completing my studies, I thought it could be interesting and of value to learn another 'classical' profession. As an avid train traveler, the profession of train driver seemed like an excellent example of this to me. That's why I decided to follow the internal training at NS in 2023, and I have been practicing the job independently since January 2024.

This experience has broadened my perspective by immersing me in a completely different field of work than the kind I was used to. Work as a train driver appeals to very specific qualities, such as stress resistance, filtering relevant stimuli from irrelevant noise, and a high degree of assertiveness in acting and communicating. In addition to having fun, the work has also allowed me to grow personally, making this 'excursion' a very valuable experience in several respects.

Future plans

Just like my career switch to train driver, I think it would be a valuable and educational experience to live and work abroad for a certain period of time. Hereby, the countries around the Alps particularly appeal to me, because of the many opportunities for challenging trail running. I see it as an enrichment to immerse myself in another language and culture, and I am willing to make an investment to get familiar with these: I already started by taking German courses through the Goethe Institute. Occupationally, I would like to be active at the operational or policy level in the sports sector, as a train driver, or perhaps in a combination of these professions.

I dream of eventually living, working and exercising in an ecologically sustainable way, close to nature, with genuine attention for people, animals and the planet.