Who is Mush-Room?

The forest has always been special to me. As a child I walked there with my grandfather, and later I was glued to the TV watching Ray Mears and The Crocodile Hunter.

That outdoor feeling never went away. I have been a ski instructor since I was sixteen, I taught karate for fourteen years, and since 2016 I have worked as a climbing and outdoor instructor. In and outside Europe I made many trips centred on being self-sufficient: camping, making fire, cooking and travelling on foot or by canoe. At various outdoor companies I worked alongside outdoor and survival experts, as an instructor, lead instructor and trainer.

By profession I am a mechanical engineer. I develop scientific and medical research equipment and taught engineering subjects at Maastricht University. It was in that office job that I missed being outdoors every day. With Mush-Room I share that with others, and teach you skills you can really use.

Why Mush-Room? A mushroom quickly makes you think of a fairy-tale house where gnomes live. Of course such a house doesn't exist, but that space in nature is exactly what I go looking for. Not airy-fairy, but concrete: doing it yourself, with your hands and with what the forest gives you.

In my free time I'm on skis, I go trekking and on alpine tours, and I'm a keen ultrarunner. For me, a day ideally ends at a campfire, with a good conversation.

I usually work alone. For larger groups I bring in experienced fellow instructors from my network.

Experience and qualifications

• Climbing and outdoor instructor since 2016, also as lead instructor and trainer
• Qualified ski instructor since the age of sixteen
• Karate 3rd dan, fourteen years as an independent trainer and head youth trainer
• Active climber with years of experience in rope techniques, previously ERCA-certified
• Self-sufficient trips in and outside Europe, on foot and by canoe
• Teaching experience in engineering subjects at Maastricht University