I grew up in the Netherlands, on the water.

Sailing on a lake where curiosity mattered more than results. That early environment created something lasting. A connection with movement, weather, and the discipline of reading conditions rather than fighting them.

Offshore and ocean racing came later. Long distance sailing leaves little room for error or ego. You learn that performance depends on trust, clear roles, and calm decisions when conditions change quickly.

In 2003 my team won our class in the Transatlantic yacht race Cape to Rio, finishing second overall in 20 days. Three years later we returned with a yacht I had built myself, won the race overall in 16 days and broke the course record for yachts under 40ft. That record still stands today.

From racing, developing and building yachts became a natural step. Sailing teaches you what works. Building teaches you why. Materials, reliability and craftsmanship stopped being theory and became realities tested at sea.

Working with advanced materials raised a different set of questions. Performance alone was no longer enough. The ecological damage hidden behind many composites, including landfill waste and glass fibre pollution across sectors such as wind energy and marine, could no longer be ignored.

That concern eventually led to the development of DANU™, a patented recyclable composite technology designed to replace waste with value through circular material thinking.

Everything that followed grew from that sequence. Practice, adaptation, and decisions made in real conditions.