He is an entrepreneur, sports fanatic and a member of MASTERS League. Remge Vink has conquered the East of the Netherlands with his gyms FeelGoodClubs AeroFitt and Anytime Fitness. How did Remge build this empire, what makes his clubs unique and how does he look back on the past year?Text: Larissa Schaule Jullens
Image: Marc Evenhauz Photography
Remge Vink was only 21 years old when he decided to become an entrepreneur. Sports, especially professional volleyball was an important part of his life. "Volleyball was really my world, I grew up with that. I realized - as I matured a bit - that unlike soccer, I couldn't earn much with volleyball. I focused on studying and as a side job I taught as a volleyball coach. One day the alderman came to me and he asked me the question: why don't you start your own fitness center here in the village? At that moment I knew immediately: this is it. Everything I wanted came together: people, sports, and the social aspect."
"I come from a warm and loving family, but not an entrepreneurial family. I didn't have the means to start something for myself. Together with the bank from my village we sat down about financing, and that was quite a challenge. Unfortunately, after a year of hard work on a business plan and market research, I got the answer that the financing could not go through. Yes, there was one way the financing could still materialize: if my parents' house would serve as collateral. My parents are hard workers and we were certainly not well off, so this proposal was almost impossible to swallow. When I decided to share it with my parents anyway, the response I got was: that's no problem, son, we'll do it then, right? From here the adventure began, and I knew for sure that I would do everything I could to make this work."
After years of working very hard on his dream, Remge now has eight gyms in the eastern part of the Netherlands to his name. Five FeelGoodClubs AeroFitt branches and three Anytime Fitness branches. The whole Covid crisis hit both Remge and his businesses hard. "Right before corona, in March 2020 I had opened three new clubs. Fortunately, I've been able to build up a buffer over all these years, so I'm staying afloat. I am a very positive person, and with me the glass is always half full instead of half empty. Through livestreams, corona-challenges, a dedicated drive true where you can get yourself measured, personal training and online nutritional advice, we still try to keep our members moving. And yes, I too have had days in the past year when I thought, how to go on. But it will not happen to me that a healthy company goes down because of this crisis. Above all, let's try to learn from it and come out stronger. It was an expensive lesson, but after Covid we are healthier and more innovative than ever."
Membership in the MASTERS League is a special privilege. This year there is room for a selected number of members and we are treating registration on a first come, first served basis. The exclusive business club is part of MASTERS HQ and brings with it pleasant and special privileges that will make networking one of your favorite activities. Do you think you fit within the profile of a MASTERS Member? Mail for your application to Mical Joseph and maybe you can call yourself a MASTERS Member in 2021!
© 2024 MASTERS EXPO. All rights reserved.
