Rico Verhoeven: 'My life is an express train'

She once competed in the Miss Universe pageant, now she uses her charms to seduce exciting men into an interview for MASTERS. This time, Irene van de Laar aims her arrows at kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.

Rico Verhoeven has been reigning world kickboxing champion since 2013. Rico is the showcase for the sport of kickboxing. Merciless in the ring, exceptionally amiable outside. Meanwhile, he is also developing into a versatile entrepreneur. He recently created a job platform under the name Heelnederlandwerkt.nl. I meet Rico at Superpro Sportcentre in Zevenbergen, the kickboxing center of his coach Dennis Krauweel, where Verhoeven can be found every day.

What role does Dennis play in your life?

"Basically, he is my trainer, but at other times he is also a father figure. He is a friend and also my mentor. He gives advice in difficult situations. We have been working together since 2006 and always come up with a perfect gameplan. Above all, we have a bond of trust. He protects me, but doesn't slow me down. He, like me, is always open to development."

Earlier this year, you launched the vacancy platform Heelnederlandwerkt.nl. How did this initiative come about?

"Many people were affected by the corona crisis and the resulting measures. Many lost their jobs. All those personal stories in emails and DMs on Instagram that I received touched me. It gave me the idea for this site with jobs and training. Of course I can't help everyone individually, but I started talking to companies in my network and from there a snowball effect started."

How does this platform differentiate itself?

"We let companies post job openings free of charge as well as offer short training courses, for example in negotiation, PowerPoint or assertiveness. People can also take personality tests free of charge, find where other interests might lie. Many support measures end soon and we expect the real blow in terms of unemployment to come. We started the site earlier to be one step ahead of the bad times. The ambition is to become and remain one of the top job sites even after the crisis. No, I have no profit motive with it. Partners with whom I work 'donate' their time or services."

What is your target audience?

"The website is aimed at everyone, in all sectors and at all levels of education. It is a concept that may appeal to young people in particular, because we work a lot with social media. I have linked many well-known faces from my network to the platform, from Ronnie Flex to Nicolette Kluijver. With their fame and reach, they are not influencers, but job influencers. With this initiative, I want to make the employment that does exist visible with the power of social media."

"Fighting, kickboxing and the matches are the same for me as chess. Chess is continuous thinking, anticipation. When I do something, I immediately think of step a, b, c and d. I try to think of the consequences of an action. I try to do that in all of life. We are human beings, sometimes we make a choice and then the consequences are different than you expected. You learn from that. That's another lesson and then you move on. It's the same in the ring. Trying to control your emotions, not getting angry. Just thinking: now I'm doing this, now I'm doing that. That's literally what goes through my head in fractions of seconds when I'm in the ring."

To what extent do personal events play a role in the ring?

What is the shelf life for an elite athlete of your caliber?

"I think I could easily go on until about 37. The question is whether I want to. For now, I still like it. The moment it becomes a struggle and I start to dislike it, I better stop. I don't do it for the money, I really enjoy being the very best. And that comes with a price tag. But money has never been my motivation. Sure, it's fun in life, but it's not the basis for what I do. If I can have a nice life and give my kids everything, I'm satisfied."