You choose some routes consciously, others choose you. When I started my boxing journey, I was mainly looking for a new challenge. A way to redefine my own boundaries. But it soon became clear that this was much more than sport. It became a mirror. A catalyst. A rediscovery of what doing business really requires of you.
Boxing exposes everything. You can't hide anything in the ring. Not your doubts, not your tiredness, not your mindset. And exactly that honesty forced me to look again at how I do business, lead and grow. Because those who are in the ring never fight alone.
Entrepreneurship is often seen as a solo trip. But just like in boxing, the people around you determine your course. During this process, I got that into focus more clearly than ever.
The savings partners, who challenge you without breaking you. Who hit just that little bit harder when you're too comfortable. That disrupt your timing so that you learn to anticipate. In business, there are also people who challenge you: colleagues who dare to be critical, customers who set expectations, partners who force you to think further.
And then there are the coaches. In sports and entrepreneurship. Coaches see what you don't see yourself yet. They push you on errors, but at the same time give you the confidence that you can also correct that mistake. They make adjustments without taking over. Their input is worth gold.
My coaches refreshed me literally and figuratively during this process: technical details, breathing, rhythm, focus. But they did something else: they taught me that progress is not in brute force, but in conscious choices. An insight that flows directly into leading a team, a company and a vision.
Every training session takes time. Lots of time. And energy. Sometimes more than I had available at the time. It was shifting, combining, reorganizing — just like doing business that sometimes unexpectedly requires of you.
There were days when everything went smoothly. The combinations came naturally, the pace was right, the body cooperated. And there were days where everything felt tough. Where the bag seemed implacable, my legs were stained and my head didn't find the right direction for a while.
Those moments are essential. In the ring as well as in entrepreneurship. Because growth doesn't happen in comfort. Growth occurs when, in the middle of a dip, you realize that giving up is not an option. When you accept that bag-and-as moments are not an end point, but an intermediate station.
Boxing is just as much mental as it is physical. You are constantly thinking ahead, feeling, reading movements, anticipating. It requires presence and concentration. And that's exactly what I recognized so strongly about doing business.
The mental dips were sometimes unexpected. Doubt. Frustration. A training that went less well. The thought that maybe it was all a bit much. But the same thing happened over and over again: one good session, one motivational word from a coach, one unexpected breakthrough — and the energy returned.
It works the same way in business. The strongest entrepreneurs are not those who never fall, but those who keep getting up. They understand that every round starts again the moment the bell rings.
The special thing about this process is how it grew into something much bigger than me. At the Hope benefit, we spent almost 63,000 euro together for a good cause. An amount that shows the power of collective effort.
What started as a personal challenge became a movement. An event where sport, entrepreneurship, solidarity and perseverance came together. And that's exactly what affects me the most: that the energy you invest in something can translate into real, tangible impact.
The evening of the benefit felt like a highlight. Not because of the ring itself, but because of the people who were there. Their support. Their enthusiasm. Their faith in the mission. It was the perfect proof that when you dare to jump, people jump with you.
This boxing program has taught me a lot. About strength. About vulnerability. About discipline. But mostly about people. About the importance of having a team that supports you, an environment that challenges you, an audience that motivates you and a goal that is bigger than you.
This is what entrepreneurship means to me: keep moving, keep learning, keep investing in yourself and others. Knowing that each round brings you a little closer to growth, success and meaningful change.
And this journey... that tastes like more.
What is often not visible to the outside world is the physical path you take before you ever set foot in the ring. The first training sessions immediately confronted me with the reality: boxing requires a different type of fitness, a different level of explosiveness and, above all, a different form of body tension than what you build up in daily life.
The progress came with small steps. Better impact technique. Faster hand coordination. A firmer core. More endurance. Breathing that no longer worked but began to contribute. My body changed, not just outwardly, but functionally. I felt stronger, sharper and more balanced.
And here, too, I discovered a parallel with entrepreneurship. You often only see the “match”: the result, the company, the successes. But rarely the training sessions behind it. The hours that no one sees. The physically and mentally tough days. The sacrifices. Entrepreneurship requires the same form of invisible work: building foundations that others won't see the results of until later.
Combat preparation, like preparing for a business challenge, is about consistency. Not one big effort, but a hundred small efforts that together make a difference. This physical transformation ultimately became a confirmation: growth never happens by chance. You're creating it over and over again every day.
Pictures: Vinny Rogmans
Links: https://antwerpbusinessboxing.be/ - https://hopebenefiet.be/
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