Wouter de Haas (33) from Eersel is the only Brabant participant in Kamp Van Koningsbrugge, which starts again on Monday evening. In the TV program, Wouter follows the grueling commando training with fourteen others. He wanted to test how far he could go, but also how he could learn to express emotions. “At home I learned that men don’t cry. It was always supposed to be fun.”
In daily life, Wouter is a personal trainer and manager of a gym in Eindhoven. Normally he helps men to get fitter and push their limits. Now it was his turn. “I was curious what would be left of me if you had to go so deep. When they almost take away your sleep and your nutrition. Exhausting you so physically. I did get an answer to that.”
“It was extremely tough, especially mentally. There are no words for that. You do assignments in the group and then you have support from each other. Then you have to do things on your own. Continuing to walk without hope with a heavy pack. You encounter yourself.”
The personal trainer learned a lesson for life. “There is so much more to you than you think. Our body has solutions for everything. Also for people who often stop earlier than necessary. Beyond that lies your growth.”
“We didn’t get a hug as soon as we got home.”
Wouter also participated to tackle a piece of his past. He was born and raised in Eersel. “I had a nice childhood. I come from a farming family. I have two brothers and a sister. We were allowed to play outside a lot and we were given dirt bikes and mopeds. Everything was possible.”
“But now I find out that my parents were not emotionally available. We didn’t get hugs as soon as we got home. My parents didn’t say they were proud of me, of what I did. It was quite superficial. If there was something was going on, it wasn’t talked about: if you don’t talk about it, it isn’t there. I only came to realize that later.”
“What are you going to do to yourself?”
“One reason for participating in Kamp Van Koningsbrugge is that I want to share more about what I feel. I want to strengthen the emotional bond with my parents. I want to be able to give my parents a hug. Behind this was the question of why I was always so busy. with being good at sports. I wanted a compliment from my parents: that you are doing well and that you are good enough.”
Ultimately, Wouter received this confirmation even before his participation in the program. “My parents thought it was very intense. “What are you going to do to yourself?” they said. Just before I left for the program, my mother came to see me. She came to tell me she was so proud of me. To everything I do in my life. That I shouldn’t need such a program for that. She has never said it like that before, with those words.”
Wouter is not allowed to say how far he has progressed in the program, although he says it ‘certainly makes sense to watch longer than one episode’.
Kamp Van Koningsbrugge season 4 starts on Monday at 8:35 PM on AVROTROS on NPO 1.
Wouter is walking behind on the right (photo: Roger Neve). Wouter is a personal trainer.
2024-01-29 17:43:32
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