About me
“I love Ferraris. I’m a huge Ferrari freak, and a member of the official Scuderia Ferrari Club Belgium. I wear my Ferrari club jacket most of the time when I go out for something car related, and also maybe people can remember me from other events. Since then I got in contact with a few car collectors, and it just feels so good when they just say “Hi!” at an event to me.”
“I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 16, when my parents thought it was because of my hip disease. And autism did impact my car spotting experiences. It takes a lot of energy for me to go to new places with many strangers and to deal with the noise. Like, you're sitting at the table with 20 people. Everyone is talking with someone. If I am there, I struggle to follow anyone. I hear them all speaking to someone, but there is too much information coming at me. I am unable to follow or understand what anyone says. It’s just too much noise going around. Conversations like that I have trouble adapting, and I don’t feel comfortable asking them to repeat themselves over and over for me because sometimes they just give up and talk with someone else. But with cars it’s no problem, it’s just a lovely sound. You don't need to answer it, just listen to the sound like you would to a song.”
“I always tried to go with my parents to the motor show in Brussels when I was a kid. But I didn’t take photos because we didn’t have smartphones or digital cameras back then. I think I really started car photography like a year or 6 or 7 when I had my smartphone. And I could go because I had a driver's license and didn’t had to ask my parents to go somewhere. I really love to see these cars, watching the details of all the cars. And all these special, expensive and rare cars in the world. With taking photos, I can always look back to see everything I saw again.”
Here are five unforgettable moments from my carspotting journey:
One of my most unforgettable experiences was when a friend invited me for a passenger ride in his Ferrari FXX-K Evo during Ferrari Corse Clienti at Spa-Francorchamps. It became one of the greatest moments of my carspotting journey.
Thanks to The Octane Collection, I had the opportunity to experience a passenger ride in a Koenigsegg CCXR Edition. Feeling the power and performance of one of the world’s most exclusive hypercars was an unforgettable experience and one that I’ll never forget.
During Ferrari Corse Clienti at Spa-Francorchamps, I had the opportunity to sit in a Ferrari 599XX. The owner (@yonly65) kindly took some great photos of me sitting in his incredible car.
At Cars & Coffee Benelux, I was lucky enough to sit in the Apollo IE, which was an unforgettable experience. It’s an incredible car that many people don’t even know exists. The founder of the brand (@normanchoi_) also took some great photos of me sitting in this amazing machine.
Also at Cars & Coffee Benelux, I had the opportunity to go for a short ride in the Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster of the well-known Instagram creator @rana65556. I really enjoyed the ride and had a great conversation with him.
Circuit Zolder is close to my home, so it’s the circuit I visit most often. It is also the circuit where Gilles Villeneuve lost his life in a crash. There are many races and car events throuhghout the year, so I try to visit as often as I can. So far, I’ve only visited London, but one day I’d love to experience Monaco. Despite my autism making travel more challenging, I hope to make that dream come true.