Discover Rockstar Lifestyle Barcelona: life’s just better over here

Barcelona is one of the biggest sport minded cities in the world and therefore Floris & John have decided to introduce Rockstar Lifestyle in Spain. Do you want to know more about what Rockstar Lifestyle enhances? Celine has interviewed the biggest Rockstars in Barcelona City!

Who are Floris & John?
Floris: My name is Floris Baas. I’m a 26yr old Dutch guy born and raised in Dordrecht, also called ‘Little Venice’ of Holland. I’ve spent my study years in Amsterdam and finished my Bachelor of Business Administration over there. I topped it off by finishing my Master of Business Administration in Barcelona. What a great decision that was. When I arrived in Barcelona in November 2014 my only purpose was to finish my MBA as soon as possible. My love for Barcelona changed when the city heated up in March and I started to experience how life really was over here. In the past 9years I travelled a lot, lived in South-America, Canada and China, but Barcelona is different. This city just has it all! I think most of you have been here, so everybody knows what I am talking about: sun, sea, beach, food, drinks, culture and another very important aspect is that Barcelona is one of the biggest sport minded cities of the world! Shortly said: life’s just better over here 😉

John: John: I’m John Vowell. I’m 28 and I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. I’ve lived and worked in Washington, DC for the last 6 years and I moved to Barcelona about a year ago. When I’m not coaching bootcamps, I’m trying to find a way to get out of the house and enjoy nature. Most of my childhood was spent outside in the forest so that’s where I’m really happy. To be honest, the real reason I like to stay in shape is so I can climb more rocks and hike more trails!

You are going to start Rockstar Lifestyle in Barcelona, Cool! How did you get in touch with this?
Floris: I participated in the program myself a bit more than a year ago. The Rockstar guys taught me more about training and nutrition in 4 months than I taught myself in the last 8 years. When I decided to do my MBA in Barcelona, I actually had some doubts about going because I wanted to do more with Rockstar Lifestyle in Amsterdam. Even though I went, I still stayed in touch with the trainers. They provided me with workout schedules and food programs I could test.

I think it was somewhere in April when Gijs, the CEO of Rockstar Lifestyle, gave me a Skype call. With a big smile on his face he asked me if I thought Rockstar Lifestyle could be successful in Barcelona and if I was willing to stay there and set up the business. I think it is great to be this involved in the first part of the international expansion of Rockstar Lifestyle.

John: Floris knew he needed a partner to make the business work properly. He and I met through the MBA program and we began training and skating together. I think we became friends quickly because we recognized that we had similar views about life and big ideas for the future. So, when the opportunity came up, he asked me to join him on this adventure! At the time, I had plans of my own that included a summer trekking through Iceland and starting a business in Peru, but after about 5 minutes of conversation, Floris convinced me that staying in Barcelona and starting Rockstar Lifestyle was the only thing to do. All I could do was say ‘Hell yea, man!’.

 

Can you shortly tell us the philosophy of Rockstar Lifestyle?
Rockstar Lifestyle is an on-and offline training institute, guiding motivated people to become physically and mentally better, faster and stronger. We want to help our athletes to become the best version of themselves by enabling them to reach their full potential.

We do so by training, educating and empowering our clients through carefully designed strength and conditioning programs, personalized nutrition programs, 24/7 on- and offline training / coaching, hosting tailor-made sports events and also interacting with our clients via various workshops, presentations and social get-togethers. At Rockstar Lifestyle we believe that living a life full of energy, self-confidence and resilience goes hand in hand with physical mental, social and spiritual development

Our definition of a Rockstar is:

He or she who turns his/her back to mediocrity and challenges the status quo. One who makes his/her own decisions and stands behind those decisions in word and deed. One who sees failures as the building blocks towards success. One with a unique definition of success*

*HE WHO LIVES A LIFE FULL OF ENERGY, SELF CONFIDENCE AND SHOWS RESILIENCE

What experiences as a client do you bring along with setting up Rockstar Lifestyle in Barcelona?
Floris: The programming is similar as when I completed the program last year. Little adjustments are being made, because also the trainers learn of each and every bootcamp/training. The intensity and quality of the training speaks for it self. It get’s results. When the vibe is getting intense during the training sessions, I can relate to the Rockstars. That’s a huge help as a coach, because exactly on those moments I know to give the group as much positive energy and motivation as needed. John and I are participating in the initial program as well. We have given up alcohol for the 6-week period, are following our own personal nutrition plan through the Rockstar App and we’re completing the same workouts as the training groups (with some more kg’s 😉 ).

Also I know there are a million questions when it comes to nutrition. Changing your food habits can be really difficult. That is why we provide our Rockstars with 24/7 online & offline coaching. Rockstars should be able to ask us any kind of question during the day and we will answer them asap. The credo of Rockstar is ‘motivation through education’. Educating people and telling people what to do are two completely different things. We want everybody to understand what we are doing but most importantly why and how we are doing it.

Amsterdam knows a hip and healthy (bootcamp) culture, is this also the case in Barcelona?
Definitely. People in Barcelona are active. Every park is full of people running, training, and working out. We just want to make sure those people have access to the best information and training possible. Like in Amsterdam we see a lot of large groups of 20+ people running and jumping around in parks, guided by 1 trainer. We are very confident that we can provide a better service to the fitness community in Barcelona.

Amsterdam has been a trendsetting city when it comes to healthy living. There are options for healthy meals on every street corner. The difference is especially clear when compared to the ‘tapas’ culture of Barcelona. The food in Barcelona is amazing and it’s definitely possible to have a healthy, affordable meal. The growing number of local organic markets and the fresh seafood from the Mediterranean gives Barcelona massive potential as a health-conscious city.

What is the biggest difference between Amsterdam and Barcelona?
The guys who started in Amsterdam clearly had the advantage of already having their own huge network of friends and family. They all lived there for more than 10 years and Amsterdam is ‘home’. Even though Rockstar is doing an awesome job in Amsterdam, it’s unknown in Barcelona. Except for the Dutch expats and students that are living or visiting the city. Clearly we both have built up quite a network during our year in Barcelona, but it’s not even close to our networks back home. Meaning that if we are talking about brand awareness we are starting from scratch in Barcelona (which also is a super cool challenge), but our luck in this part is that we have the full support of Amsterdam. We can use their expertise, marketing, technology and programming.

 

What is you goal for the first year?
Things are happening so quickly that it’s hard to imagine where this will be in a year. We’re currently in our first bootcamp and the word is already spreading. People are already asking us how they can apply for the next bootcamp. Ultimately, our goal is to find like-minded, positive, motivated people and bring them together. Everything is happening step by step, because we are learning a lot every single day.

In Amsterdam they just opened their very own ‘Rockstar Institute’, a members-only institute, where Rockstars can enjoy high quality training and coaching within a fully equipped gym. The Rockstar Chef prepares healthy meals in the restaurant and the institute offers a stage for inspirational speakers. We will have to see if something like that would fit into a city like Barcelona. People are now really enjoying our outside workouts, but it would be awesome to create a ‘headquarters’ in Barcelona.

What is the reason that you are selective in choosing your clients? Do you have to be topfit to be able to participate?
The selection process is already something that distinguishes a company like Rockstar of other bootcamps. Motivation is key for us! We want to be sure that all our clients have the right mind set to participate in the Rockstar Bootcamp. By letting them write a letter of motivation, it´s easy for us to pick out the motivated persons.

The bootcamp means making certain sacrifices. Our Rockstars are required to train for 6 consecutive weeks, 3 times a week, carefully track their macro nutrients, (Protein, fat, carbs) and give up alcohol for 6-weeks. This program isn’t just an easy way to a get ready for beach season. We require dedication, motivation, and open-mindedness.

You do not have to be in top shape to become a Rockstar. The strength and conditioning program, developed by Johan Versluijs in Amsterdam, can be tailored perfectly to any fitness level. Before every bootcamp we do a screening test to ensure that everybody can complete the bootcamp without injuries.

 

The Rockstar Program is very intensive during 6 weeks. How do you stay in shape afterwards?
Every Rockstar must complete the 6-week rockstar bootcamp, no matter what your level of fitness is. The bootcamp is for teaching our Rockstars the essentials about training and nutrition. After completion of the bootcamp, Rockstars can take their fitness to the Next Level. Where we will continue to introduce more advanced training techniques and give more presentations on nutrition. So the journey doesn´t stop after 6 weeks, it´s just the beginning!

Very cool that Rockstar Lifestyle comes to Barcelona, a great experience for you guys. Would you also recommend students to start at a little company or let them choose for a corporate traineeship?
That’s a tough question. We’re definitely followers of the ‘run before you can walk’ model. There’s always more of a risk involved when you’re starting your own project. Young students can benefit greatly from working under someone with more experience. The experience that John got during his time working in Washington, DC has been extremely valuable to his professional development.
When we both started our MBA in Barcelona, neither of us had any idea that we would start a company like Rockstar Lifestyle in Barcelona. Question for the students might be: do you want a 9 to 5 job with a secure pay or are you willing to ride a bad ass rollercoaster and see what´s really possible? We chose the rollercoaster.

Rockstar Lifestyle Barcelona is a success if Messi also participates in a few years? (statement)
We think the Organisation of FC Barcelona will quickly take note of what we’re doing at Rockstar and they’ll definitely want to get involved. So, we’re waiting on a letter of motivation from Lionel. We know he is a man of few words that is why Rockstar is a very nice challenge for him. We will give him the possibility to open up. If Messi joins, then clearly Cristiano Ronaldo also wants to join so we will also have to start Rockstar Lifestyle in Madrid. In the long-term every big metropolitan city will embrace Rockstar Lifestyle.