EDUCATOR
Next to my fulltime position as a creative I am also frequently teaching at three different institutes, Miami Ad School Berlin & Europe, Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam and the Piet Zwart Institute. And sometimes spend my free time coaching and mentoring talent whenever and wherever I can.
Mentor/CD on “Love the work more” by Toan & Qyunh — Bronze Lion
Mentor/CD on “Unburnable Books” by Jaoquin and John — ADC
Mentor/CD on “Ink Brothers” by Chen, Manuela, Florestan, Gabriela & Joāo — D&AD Pencil
Mentor/CD on “theErased.otf” by Wouter & Erik — D&AD Pencil
Mentor/CD on “The Emoji Forecast” by Leon, Juan and Reinier — Webby
In front of a classroom one is forced to transform experience into bite sized chunks of information that is easy to digest and applicable. I spend several years working with a wide variety of international talent. The most recent experience was at the Willem de Kooning Academie Rotterdam in 2022, supporting & teaching 1st grade Ad students. We are currently working together on briefing for a real client.
Rotterdam 2022. Teaching Advertising and Beyond at the Willem de Kooning Academie
Inspiration
At the age of 11 I was invited by Dr. Thecla Rondhuis and IKON TV crew to feature in a Dutch tv program called “Ik dacht bij mezelf“, consisting of 5 episodes where each episode I would discuss philosophical questions along with 10 other school children. This experience left an everlasting impact and would form the basis of how I would later work as a creative. Even though I wasn’t aware of it at the time.
The experience made me think different about everything I thought “was”, suddenly I discovered this powerful tool as a young kid – how great it was knowing that there is a ‘place’ where everything you think is worth exploring, without being told you’re wrong. And go by the idea that any mistake is merely a part of process. It’ll stay a mistake depending on where you’d stop thinking.
But what inspires me the most are people, real stories, actual events and true insights gathered throughout life. I derive a lot of inspiration from how someone deals with ‘obstacles’ or finds their ‘Eureka’ moment(s), and when. And I am a strong believer that no information is useless, everything inspires.