I moved out to live on my own when I was about 17 years old. I always wanted to see what it was like to live in the US so I moved to Atlanta when I turned 18.
I moved back to the Netherlands and decided to get back in college. I’m now studying social work. In my first year I had lots of spare time and decided to hit the gym. After working out for 4 months I did my first figure competition and got 3rd place. Competing for the first time wasn’t that scary for me because I love to be on stage and I love to be in front of the camera. I wasn’t nervous at all, I had lots of fun. I qualified for the Dutch Nationals IFBB and competed there a month later. I got 3rd place again. Now I decided to work hard and try to win the Nationals in the next year. And so I did… I won the Dutch Nationals in April 2006 and was invited to do the World Championships in September.