20 December 2024
Congrats Rob Keijzer, on your 60th Birthday!
SISU exclusive interview: Six questions – six answers from the dutch three-time Aufguss World Champion
What’s your motto in life?
Believe in yourself! Have the courage and the self-confidence to go your own way and follow your dreams and plans always with passion. Cooperate with others: Success in life is a constant give-and-take. But it’s also a rollercoaster and full of surprises.
On your special day, take a look back and forward please. How does it feel and look like?
Time has gone by so fast! We are a family with two adult daughters who are doing fine in their jobs for Owell with my wife Jacqueline. The transition in work from former IT branch to your own family business has brought us a lot of pleasure and passion. My company ToWell is currently changing from training aufgussmasters into a world of consulting companies and installing light & sound systems in sauna and wellness environments. Nevertheless we enjoy „sauna weeks“, entertaining hotel guests in a lot of countries, par example in Italy and Austria.
You are the undefeated Aufguss World Champion, three times in a row. Which topics do you create and how would you desrcibe the future of showaufguss?
Yes, three times in a row: 2014, 2015, 2016. I realize now in retrospect that was a great achievement. Showaufguss has brought so many beautiful experiences and friendships. But I also have seen the „dark“ sides of success. It’s an all-in-one business.
Among others, my well-known topics are Lumberjack, Samurai, Sons of Anarchy, Never Forget, Tikal and My Perfect Moment. In the last years there are often more positive ones where you can go out of the sauna with a good feeling, not too heavy. The future of showaufguss in general and of topics in particular? Well, I don’t know because it depends on different variables such as competition rules, cultural mentality, gender perspectives, personal engagement and last but not least the undefinable „Zeitgeist“, what is happening now on a global scale.
Rob Keijzer’s & Leszek Pustulka’s (the polish founder of Palac Saturna leisure facility) event innovation is Battle of Gladiators, Aufguss World Cup Freestyle. The finals for the 2024/25 season will take place in Poland at the end of February, for the third time already. Why do women and men have their own battles in this competition?
We are doing our best to grow with Aufguss-WCF. In these december days we officially become a foundation. In early 2025 we will establish a board to become more and more professional. We fortunately see that many aufguss-masters appreciate our concept. It is less stressful and needs less preparation than a showaufguss under competitive conditions. It’s designed for the aufguss-masters, not forgetting the mantra “without masters there is no successful event”.
Indeed the unique beauty of Aufguss-WCF Battle of Gladiators is we have a competition for women and one for men. In my opinion one single competition where women and men combat against each other is not fair. Both have different qualities that will come better to action in separated friendship fights.
What do you think about emerging aufguss countries outside europe?
Japan is developing great! The masters are very professional and ambitious. Here it is to be seen too the freestyle focus will give aufguss-masters more fun than restricted, regulated showaufguss events.
In the USA there are very talented aufguss-masters who come from the entertainment industry, very professional. They know how to make shows. But it would require great efforts to bring them to international aufguss stages successfully.
Germany has not played an important role in showaufguss for years, measured against international contexts and developments. What do you think about that?
In many countries the masters of aufguss are well supported by the their companies and are appreciated for what they are doing. An aufguss-master is a solo or team artist, a top athlete but not a cleaning employer or part of counter service who has to provide an aufguss too. Where masters often can train together one could see a faster development in better techniques and the different elements of the entire aufguss ritual in sauna or banya.
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