Offering opportunities

One of the most exciting moments of my life was the moment I asked then nine-year-old Julian, Bibian's son, if I could marry his mother. From that moment, Bibian and I went through an awful lot together: from seven times world champion and three gold medals at the Paralympic Games where I was her coach, to eight major surgeries and more than seventy radiation treatments.

Together we decided to keep enjoying life despite everything, because worrying never solved anything.

When Bibian quit top sports and started to focus entirely on the Mentelity Foundation, I quit as an entrepreneur to dedicate myself fully to her foundation. In the role of director, I am committed to making her dream a reality: equal opportunities for people with physical challenges.

Society's current perception needs to change. People need to learn to look at the possibilities instead of the limitations. If you ask Bibian what is on her bucket list, she has two answers: Seeing her son turn eighteen and witnessing yet another time when the modular prosthesis JUMP will become the new standard. Meanwhile, Bibian's dreams have also become my dreams.

If you think about it, it is actually a strange contradiction: everyone is encouraged to be unique in our society, but if someone deviates from what is seen as standard, we as a society find it strange again. With the Mentelity Foundation, we want people to become the best version of themselves and give them the opportunities to develop fully. Without, for example, the obstacle of a bad prosthesis or lack of opportunity for sports. Our message is: do what you want most in this life, then you will become the best version of yourself. And if you are the best version of yourself, you will automatically also be the best friend, the best father, the best director.

"We want to use the Mentelity Foundation to help people become the best version of themselves and give them opportunities to develop to their full potential."

Edwin Spee
Managing Director