My story Engels | Professionele Websit

Through my story, I want to be completely transparent about who I am and where I come from. Many people prefer to present themselves as better than they actually are. They hide behind diplomas, titles, and paperwork — theories that often hold very little value in the raw reality of life and professional high-performance sports.

Ask yourself, for example, where those spontaneous injury epidemics at football clubs come from. If you understand where the real physical load and mental pressure lie, you see the pattern immediately. Even at a top club like Real Madrid, they haven't fully mastered that specific part of player guidance. The solution? Resistance training via complementary sports — both on and off the field. But anyway, I am digressing.

I am a 46-year-old man. My expertise was not built in lecture halls but formed by the practice of life itself. I tell you this in all honesty: I never dared to dream that I would be in a position where I can advise and guide others at this level. It has cost me the majority of my life to reach this point with myself.

To start with, I hold only a single diploma: a part-time certificate from the LTS (electrotechnology) in Wijk & Aalburg. At 16, I began working as a groundworker at C.J.M. van Gaal. During that period, I followed practical courses, such as Working in Civil Engineering. At 18, I was hired by a crane company (Van Beisterveld) to sort waste for Snelbak in Amsterdam. Six months later, I was headhunted by another crane company to perform the exact same role for the Van Vliet Group in Nieuwegein. A year or two later, I moved to SIB Brabant to do the same work.

I left after three years following a disagreement with management. I have always felt an extreme sense of responsibility toward my employers, and that straightforwardness can sometimes lead to complications. Next, I started as an independent consultant in road construction under the name Van Hees Consultancy. I focused on trading recycled aggregate for highways: from building demolition to processing and trading the granulate. I worked with major players like Heijmans and BAM, to give you an idea of the level I operated at. Eventually, I was cheated by a demolition contractor with whom I had a deal. The contracts were on his desk, but a signature never followed. My client then bypassed me to close the deal directly. I was betrayed from two sides. I have always been of good faith, and that moment was one of the most painful of my life; it was a deal that would have made me financially independent. Ultimately, I had to stop as a consultant; I simply couldn't take it anymore. Afterwards, I ran a pub called Café Jacky's, obtaining my SVH Social Hygiene Diploma for it. I did this with love for three years. However, in the final year, I was threatened with a gun. A few months later, my mother and I took revenge, leading to us both being detained for a week. The family situation was deteriorating, and I reached a breaking point. Near the end of my time as a publican, I attempted to take my own life. It was only because the police arrived in time that I survived. Meanwhile, I was seeing a psychologist by court order. I worked with Mieke for six months. During our final session, she said: "I have treated you twice a week for six months; you are a kind, smart, transparent young man, but I still don't know who you are."

Later, my parents sent me to a criminologist psychologist in Antwerp. I had to take a written test that was supposed to take half a day. There were no wrong answers. I finished in 30 minutes. When asked to explain myself, I told him that since I couldn't fail, I was simply finished. I left and never heard about it again. My parents never explained the reason, and I was still so confused I didn't realize the gravity of the situation.
Afterwards, I spent years in the call center industry, notably for the Mandemakers Group. I enjoyed the work. I called potential customers to book appointments. It wasn't cold calling; they had reached out via the website or requested brochures. These weren't easy conversations, but my deep empathy allowed me to book appointments through sincerity and honesty.

I left the call center when I discovered a product I saw immediate trade potential in. I drove straight to the inventor. To keep it brief: I was on track to make that product a national success. Deals with major supermarkets were ready. I sat with a European representative and the inventor. The deal was simple: I would buy the product at a fixed price and add my margin. When the inventor heard the volumes involved, he kicked me under the table, looked at me, and demanded an extra €0.25 per unit. I walked outside with the representative for a cigarette. He wanted the deal so badly he offered to pay the extra quarter himself. But that’s not how I work. I pulled the plug. I had already arranged a production hall and line for free—companies helped because they believed in the trade. But the inventor's greed, after I had increased his output from 10k units a year to 150k a month, broke my trust. I walked away.

Then I applied for a job I thought I’d never get: an internal sales role at Zoontjens. I ended up performing market analyses, calling architects and developers to get our products into specifications. After two rounds of budget cuts, I unfortunately lost my job.

Since then, I haven't had a permanent job. I focused entirely on YouTube, which was financially successful for me. With just 300 subscribers, I sold 15% of my channel for €1,500 per month. Things went well for six months until a disagreement with the investor led him to withdraw. During that period, I hit rock bottom again and considered suicide. My saving grace was simply falling asleep. The next morning, I was so ashamed that the thought never returned. Hard years followed, but my apartment was paid off, which kept me afloat. Eventually, my best friend Bart saved me by letting me move in. I still wanted to succeed at streaming. A friend suggested Fortnite in 2018. I was terrible at the game, but by wearing sunglasses and focusing more on the chat than the play, I gained an audience. Youth can sense when they meet a broken soul who is still trying to make something of life.

The chat grew busier every week, so I transitioned to playing squads with viewers. I lacked skill, but my community was elite. Thanks to them, we achieved wins I could never have reached alone—I averaged one kill a day. I streamed at least 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. In 3 months, I grew from 300 to 7.5k followers. I was the fastest-growing community stream in the Netherlands and was even invited to stream with Power Unlimited.

In 2019, my mother passed away. My stepfather had already died in 2017. I had been estranged since 2016 until an aunt reached out saying my mother needed help. I eventually discovered through my nephew that she had died, leaving me with a tax debt of half a million euros.

That was the start of what I thought was impossible. The tax assessment became a four-year legal battle. I was fully vindicated, and the amount owed was significantly reduced—an amount I had already paid off over the years.
In March 2020, I started investing without any prior knowledge. To be precise, the second week of March. My stepfather lost almost his entire fortune on Wall Street in 2007/08. But for me, this was the only way to quickly generate the large sums needed for the tax debt. Anyone who bought during that specific week looked like a genius a year later. My first year yielded €177k in profit, purely on intuition. In the years since, I have immersed myself in investing. Today, I can confidently say I truly understand it. I still learn new things daily, like building this website. The day you stop learning is the day you die.

The truth is harsh but clear: my mother had me when she was only sixteen. She deliberately became pregnant by my biological father to prevent him from leaving. What do you know at that age? Regardless, I was born and my father vanished after three months. My grandfather then took me in. Together with my grandmother, he raised me as if I were his own son. Grandpa was a milkman, an alderman, and a deputy mayor in the fortified town of Heusden. He treated me as an adult from day one. From the age of six, I helped him every evening unloading his delivery truck. Nowadays, that might be called child labor, but even then I understood that nothing in life is free. It was the least I could do for my grandfather in exchange for a home. I desperately wanted to keep that stability—I remember that all too well.

Around that same age, my grandfather taught me the card game 'Pesten'. We didn't play for fun, but for money: five cents for every card left in hand was the price. I played against everyone in the family and won almost every time. Along with my five-guilder allowance, the money I earned from cards was a welcome bonus. I had one of those old-fashioned cash boxes where I kept everything. As a child, I literally saved money; that’s how I saw it and that’s how it was. Grandpa taught me life lessons in many ways, and he always stood behind me one hundred percent. I felt safe and received old-fashioned love. Because of him, I also fell in love with football. For years, it was my escape from the reality I lived in. I just had the misfortune that my knees were not built for elite sports, so I never made it to professional football. You can't have everything.

Around my twelfth year, my mother met Ad van Hees in a bar in Turnhout, and they lived happily ever after. That was the story surrounding our family at the time. “The truth will out,” as the saying goes, perfectly described that situation. The story was a lie. Ad had met my mother in a brothel. My mother was a prostitute, and in hindsight, I even met her pimp as a child. During her time with Ad, she also snorted nearly two hundred thousand euros worth of cocaine. I sincerely thought my mother just had a frequent cold, not paying attention to her behavior.

Before he met my mother, Ad already had a severe alcohol problem. He and his ex-wife would finish a bottle of Rémy Martin on a night out. My mother was in a rehab clinic in Eindhoven when I was thirteen or fourteen. The first time I ever wore a suit was when I visited my mother once in that clinic. My grandfather felt it was important that my mother see me in a suit.
The relationship between the two was barely a year old, and this was only the beginning of the misery. My mother and Ad were also jealous of each other regarding me. If I did something with Ad, my mother was unhappy, and vice versa. I was born to glue a broken relationship that was unfixable, only to continue functioning as that glue later on.

I was not the type of person my parents could handle. I have always been smarter, deeper, more refined, more sensitive, and more honest than them. If I lied, I lied because the truth would get me into trouble regardless. It was never right, because I am too authentic. I did not attend either of their funerals, as it was apparently not appreciated.

In all honesty, if I could do my life over, I wouldn't change a thing. The first 39 years were not easy, but they shaped me into the man I am today. I have overcome everything life threw at me: accepting, learning, processing, finding a place for it, and moving on. Grandpa always said: "It's not bad if you have to cry, but you must keep walking, because life is quicksand." Chin up, chest out, and keep going—that was the advice. The best advice I ever received.

Starting in 2025, I began searching for a new challenge alongside my investments. Football is close to my heart, and I know I can play a significant role. With Van Hees Strategic Advisory, I approach the football world in a consultative capacity. I can add value at every level of the football establishment—whether it involves guiding players or restructuring and advising a football organization.

The digitalization of football organizations remains under-addressed. Regarding social media and blockchain technology, only a few clubs are truly up-to-date, such as PSG and Manchester City; even FIFA applied blockchain technology during the last World Cup.

My preference is working with player guidance, as there is immense progress to be made there. For clubs, there are still countless opportunities to strengthen the relationship between player and club, making players less inclined to seek a transfer. Players are receiving better guidance during their time at the club, but this can be expanded, optionally. Footballers have a lot of free time, as they are usually finished with their duties by two or three o'clock. Part of that free time is spent on recovery, but plenty remains. You probably know what a pro earns, and you also know that most players have no clue about money or how to manage it. This is where I see opportunities for clubs to improve their relationship with a player. Clubs would do well to guide and educate players in this area. Currently, a B.V. or N.V. (limited company) is a healthy foundation for every player to work from, but how many players actually know that?

Basic knowledge of how to handle money helps a young player with substantial capital. Every player in the Eredivisie could be financially independent after their career. If a player understands the basics of economics and money, they will also have a much calmer life. The social environment of players changes automatically toward people who only want the best for them, because the player in question does not allow themselves to be used as a cash cow because they have financial knowledge.

I also believe it is vital for players to have a sounding board outside the club and their immediate social circle. At least, that option should always be there. Everyone needs a 'stranger' from time to time simply to vent. Someone who is there for those guys without (pre)judgment, with whom they feel completely safe and where shame plays no role. Initially, a sounding board is nothing more than a phone number with a person like me behind it. If a bond develops during these conversations, there are even possibilities for real-time one-on-one sessions. I most prefer working with players who have a "scar." As you will likely understand.

Pleased to meet you, my name is Jack van Hees