I was born in 1976 into a middle-class family on the outskirts of Brussels, in Watermael Boitsfort. We lived in a posh house in Auderghem, Avenue Charles Schaller.
We never lacked anything. I was often working in the family business after school, but we were spoiled. We had the best clothes, cars, bikes, holidays and house. We went to the best school. French was our first language, then came Dutch, English and Spanish. We were a happy and tight family that had heaps of fun together and did a lot of sport. Both Mum and Dad were very handy athletes. They were great role models that I looked up to. I wanted to be like them, until everything changed dramatically one day. My life was turned inside out when I was twelve.
After years of dramas and emotional suffering in the family cocoon, I decided to move to Australia in October 2002 with no money, no degree and no job, just a couple friends in Geelong. I met the love of my life in 2003 and decided to stay for good.
After a couple of jobs and then running my own importing business, I chose sport coaching full time in 2009. I am very passionate about helping others, and this is why I love coaching so much.
My life collapsed after some poor decisions, but I came back from what was a close confrontation with death while stuck in Belgium during the Covid pandemic.
One day, I hope I can extend my knowledge and experience into some different type of coaching. I think that, like in triathlon coaching, experience is key. I believe you need to have lived it yourself to find solutions and to become skilled in dealing with pain and adversity. It will be different to sport though, built on gratitude, empathy and mindfulness instead of numbers, mechanics and pacing. At the end of the day, engaging with people in need of help, being passionate and caring is what matters most. You can contact me via the Instagram page, feel free to follow my progress too. You can also email me: stephane@gpcsquad.com.au and follow me on Tik Tok: www.stephanevanderbruggen.com