I was born in Amstelveen, the Netherlands (just outside of Amsterdam).

During high school I was part of a group that started a theater group called Magos (Maimonides Goes On Stage). After 3 years of performing in their productions I left the group.

In 1998 I joined Up with People (UWP) .This year of traveling, doing a big show, community service and staying with 67 host families was a life changing experience. It also shifted my interest in theater from on stage to off stage (the technical side).

When I returned from UWP I moved to Spain, where I lived and worked on several islands, like Mallorca, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote as an entertainer. During the day my team members entertained the guest by doing different sport activities, while I was preparing everything tech wise for the evening shows. Every night we performed a one-hour musical performance. I was not only responsible for the sound and lights during these performances, but also performed in these shows.

In 2002 I returned to the Netherlands to start a study in technical theater in Amsterdam. Immediately after I got my degree in 2005 I got a job at UWP and went back on the road.

After travelling for several years on the road staff, I moved into the headquarters in Denver, CO and became the Technical Director.

In 2012 I moved back to the Netherlands and became the facility manager for a company making apps.

After 5 years, I made a career switch and went into real estate, which I am still active in. 

Besides my work in real estate, I also started my own company Huursteentjes.

I am also passionate about giving back to the community. Since 2019 I have been a volunteer at Beth Haim.

I have many hobbies, that include photography and LEGO. My first website I created was to show off my photography and art.  

Where does the nickname MacGaby come from?
I am very handy and can always fix anything. When I worked in Lanzarote, my colleagues started to call me MacGaby, which came from the TV show MacGyver.

The main character MacGyver was a former Special Forces agent now working for the Phoenix Foundation, a “think tank” dedicated to righting wrongs and defeating bad guys around the world. A clever fellow, he often slipped past the enemy’s defences and undermined their foul plans with ingenuity rather than brute force, using tidbits of scientific knowledge and ordinary items that happened to be laying around; for example, the paper clip might be used to short-circuit a nuclear missile, the candy bar to stop an acid leak, or a cold capsule to ignite a makeshift bomb, all just in the nick of time. MacGyver could work wonders with the contents of a lady’s handbag!