Hi Daniel! Can you tell me a little about yourself? I work as a consultant for startups. I help them to attract financing to pursue their dreams and realize their plans. I have a passion for pursuing new things and opportunities, and like to lose myself in the process. Somehow I always return to my greatest passion, which is cooking. I like the fact that there is so much to explore, so many preparations and flavor combinations. I use classical techniques and a limited amount of ingredients, for I believe you must be able to distinguish every single ingredient. Everything needs to be added with a purpose, an individual role.

Are you originally from Amsterdam, or have you moved there? Actually I am from the South, but there comes a time in any young Dutchman's life that he wants to make the move to Amsterdam.

When did your passion for cooking begin? And what was it like studying under Italian Chef Paolo Tomassi?  My passion started quite early. At six years old I was baking cakes. Together with the house cat, I could sit and watch the cake rise in the oven for over an hour. When I was 14, I started cooking three course menus on Sundays, every time with different techniques and recipes. The book, Le Cordon Bleu's Complete Cooking Technique was a great help to me in those years. At 17, I was sous-chef on Friday nights in a busy restaurant in the city center. 

In 2003 I started working for the famous chef Paolo Tomassi. I had admired the restaurant and the reviews for quite some time, and one day I just walked in to ask him if I could join the ranks. Soon I was working Monday-Wednesday and Saturday, while still studying hotel management. Paolo has taught me a lot about classical Tuscan cuisine. His strength lies in making new combinations with local (Dutch) ingredients that still live and breathe the Tuscan/Italian philosophy. In that small kitchen it was just me and him serving 75 people with three to seven course menus. I have been very lucky to work next to him and prepare dishes together as a team. 

Do you have a favorite dish you like to prepare?  Actually, I don't have one favorite dish, since it is rare that I prepare the same dish twice. I really like the taste of turnips and celeriac with a piece of game and a rich sauce. The earthy and subtle sweet taste of turnips combine excellently.

How did you first find out about Gidsy? I was scouting start-ups for work and then found out Gidsy was about to launch the next day in Amsterdam. I also read that you were able to create a listing in advance, which I did right away. I organized a dinner at my house which was sold out within 5 hours. The launch could not have been better!

Why is it important that Gidsy is in Amsterdam?  Gidsy is very important because it gives local entrepreneurial people an easy way to organize things without worrying about payments, etc. For visitors, it is a good way to really experience the local life and to meet like minded people.

Can you start by telling me a little about yourself and your background? I am from The Netherlands, and I have been working as a freelance nature & wildlife photographer for six years. I am 38 years old (or young depending how you look at it) and am married to my lovely wife Nicole. We have two little boys named Laurens and Robijn. I was actually trained as a fashion designer and have worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years but always had a passion for wildlife photography and turned that passion into a real job now. 

How did you first get into photography? Having worked in the fashion industry for many years as a fashion designer, I realized I was always working and thinking in boxes, which limited my creativity. By working as a full time nature and wildlife photographer, I now have limitless possibilities in making creative images. Moreover, nature is the most beautiful “office” to work in. This does not mean it is easy, but I have always liked a challenge. Nature in itself is extremely inspiring and its shapes and movements inspire me the most. It is not easy in times like these to do what I do, therefore it needs to be a passion to keep on doing it.

Did you always know you wanted to focus your photography on wildlife? For me, wildlife has always been the thing I liked most. When I am out in nature looking through my camera, I can forget about everything around me and just focus on the beauty that surrounds me. Of course, I forget about appointments that way, and am always late for dinner.

When I am out in nature looking through my camera, I can forget about everything around me and just focus on the beauty that surrounds me...

What interests you in the life of the Kingfishers? We have zero colorful birds over here in Holland (well a few but really, just a few), so seeing the bright blue "flash" (it's nickname over here) made me more than curious. Besides that, they have an intricate way of life and they have been my favorite photography subject for many years now. Aside from Kingfishers, I photograph all sorts of species such as foxes, deer, seals, insects, and many more (I host several workshops on these other species).

Have you ever put yourself in peril to capture a great shot? Many times I have balanced on ice that was too thin and it made cracking noises. I have been covered in ticks (which I hate by the way), and I have dragged my body through layers of mud and sometimes even unidentified animal poo. Yikes! As for dangerous encounters, I have had a few with snakes, scorpions, Tasmanian devils, and other nasty critters when I was "down under" in Australia and Tasmania.

What's the most thrilling adventure you've ever been on? It may sound silly, but the most thrilling adventures to me are close to home! I know first hand how easy it is capturing wildlife abroad and how difficult it is spending months to get that single shot down here. So thrilling adventures to me are when I finally capture that one shot I have been after of a fox grasping its prey or the perfect misty morning with a roe deer in lovely backlight.

How did you get involved with Gidsy? I got a message from a friend of mine telling me about Gidsy, and I really liked the way the website looked and the options provided.

What do you do to relax? To relax, I like to take a walk with the kids or get out on my road racing bike or mountain bike.

What are you currently reading? I am not much of a reader to be honest, but I do like photography magazines, such as Outdoor Photographer and National Geographic.

Namaste, Christine! Can you tell me how your yoga journey began? Yoga was a natural progression from my usual gym workout, such as treadmills and weight training. 

How does Gidsy fit into your current journey? Gidsy is a great concept and really helps me share my yoga classes, and gather people together.

What made you want to share your passion for yoga with others? Our modern society creates so much stress on us, it can further lead to disorders such as anxiety and depression. After witnessing a few devastating cases around me, I decided to help other people to cope with stress in a healthier and natural way, and be happier. 

What do you get out of practicing yoga? Physically: Energy, strength, flexibility, overall health. Mentally: Peace, calmness and truth to myself.

What can people expect from Hot Summer Yoga?  I teach Hatha and Vinyasa yoga classes. People can expect to be more relaxed and more energetic at the same time. Hopefully a few of them will go on to discover the truth of who they are as well! 

You say you do yoga with a sense of humor. What is your sense of humor? It is the words that I use when I am teaching. I try not to be too serious. For example, I would say something like ‘Lift your ass up, yes, you look great!’. 

What do you think would be the perfect activity to see on Gidsy? Anything creative and fun would be perfect! 

To start, tell me a little about yourself and what brought you from Italy to London. I used to live in a small town in Italy. Moving to London was planned a long time ago but never happened until December when I quit my job as a web designer and began traveling for the first half of the year... then I finally moved to London (one month ago) and found a job. I am a web designer, but I do many other things as well as I like to build my own stuff and learn new things, especially if they have visual or geek inclinations.

What’s the best thing about London? I can download at 600kb/sec, I can shop online at the supermarket, and there are plenty of things to do.

How did you find out about Gidsy? I was looking for a watercolor course. I like the website because it is simple and original!

How did you get started making pipes? Is it a difficult process to learn? As most of the things I do, it was by chance, but there is little information about it and you have to learn through the process, trashing a lot of good pieces!

What can people expect from your activity besides a smokin’ new pipe? They can learn how to smoke it if they like! Once they make the first pipe they will probably want to build another one for themselves!

What activity would you love to see on Gidsy that isn’t already there? Pottery, another big passion of mine! Here in London there are pottery parties for firing clay but they are pretty expensive... but all is needed is a few people that want to do pottery and a garden to fire some clay.

What inspires you as an artist? The Internet and weird people.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you found out about Gidsy? I moved to Hamburg in 2009, instantly fell in love with the city and have called it my home ever since. I work in social media as a marketing and community Evangelista for people, companies, and causes I am passionate about.  I discovered Gidsy at Startup Week in Vienna by attending a focus panel hosted by Edial. He mentioned Gidsy as his newest project that was set to launch really soon, so I was curious to discover what it was all about!  

Why is it important that Gidsy launched in your city? People are always buying tangible goods in society, but the only thing that truly adds value to our lives are experiences. Gidsy wants to enrich the way we interact with others. You are dealing with real people, organizing real activities from the heart, which adds a more personalized touch.

Hamburg is an amazing city and though the locals are internally proud, overall, I feel there is modesty to truly promote how awesome living here is! Gidsy will impact skill sharing, enhancing our tourism, and provides creative freedom for its users.

Do you have tips for others to get involved with Gidsy the same way you did?

Take Action (Talk about Gidsy to everyone you know! If you help to promote Gidsy, you are essentially promoting yourself and bringing a bigger audience to your activities)

Explore your Community (Discover local resources and find creative ways to bring it all together. Build relationships with each other. )

Lead your Community (Engage everyone as much as possible online as well as off line. Get to know who your neighbors are!)

Keep up the Enthusiasm (Find out what you are passionate about and share it or find out what others are passionate about and provide it as a service/activity/workshop/etc…)

Be Supportive (Offer help, collaborate on activities, keep communication open and consistent, give each other feedback)

BE FUN! (Who can’t resist a good time? Whatever you do, make it a fun time for everyone! That is the main attraction factor, give them an experience they will remember)

What is your favorite thing about Hamburg? The water. I love that I am surrounded by so much green and also a lake and river that flows out to the sea. 

What are you organizing and what can people expect? I am organizing a walking tour of Hamburg that gives people a good layout of the main areas. As we stroll past monuments and landmarks, I will explain why Hamburgers are so proud, what influenced the architecture, and share a few secret paths and speak about Pirate myths and one legendary pirate in particular and how this affected our early trading business. I will gift a special sweet treat to all participants as a souvenir ;)

What activity would you love to see up on Gidsy? It would be so cool if someone could arrange Dining in the Air and we ate on top of a shipping container crate, suspended by one of the giant cranes and we were positioned over the Elbe river. It would be a totally private experience just for you and your friends and maybe we could even find someone to play jazz music or something. That would be soooo Hamburg and such a unique experience.

What place have you always wanted to visit and why? Iceland as of lately. All natural beauty and the great outdoors! 

One thing you would always bring on an adventure? Swiss army knife, matches, and a harmonica....Ok, I cheated that was 3 things.  But really, if only one thing, probably a journal to write about it all.

If you had only two days in Hamburg, what would you do? It depends on if it is sunny or rainy.

Things to Do - Sunny:

Sailing on the Alster 

Bike Tour from Alster to Blankenese 

Picnic in Planten and Blumen, see Japanese tea house, and water light show at night

Open Air movie at night

Things to Do - Rainy:

Museums (Kunsthalle,  Deichtorhalle - Photography, Minatur Wunderland, Spice Museum in Speicherstadt)

20Up at Empire Riverside Hotel

Attend a workshop either for cooking such as Thaifood and Culture near the Rathaus

Live Reading (where you can listen to the author of a book read their story out loud over coffee and finger food)

Tell us a bit about yourself, and how you found out about Gidsy. I came to Cape Town 9 years ago and was only supposed to stay for 5 months. After finishing a 5 month project - opening a hotel - I decided to stay and start my own boutique travel company. It gave me the opportunity to get to know the country very well. Now I’m mainly based in Cape Town and take every opportunity to explore the country and surrounding countries as well like Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zambia. 

A Dutch colleague from the tourism industry told me about Gidsy. She saw the founders on TV and thought this would be great for Cape Town too! That’s when I started looking into it and saw the massive possibilities for the Cape Town tourism industry.

You can basically run your own company from the Gidsy web site which is fantastic.

Why was it important to you that Gidsy launched in your city? Of course because Cape Town is the most beautiful city in the world, and people have to come and experience it for themselves. I think that for all the local guides and activity organizers, the "1-man-bands" as I call them, this is a great way to reach travelers globally without any marketing costs. You can basically run your own company from the Gidsy web site which is fantastic.

What are you organizing on Gidsy, and what can people expect from your activities? I love to walk, and Cape Town is a great city to walk through and explore. So I take people on walks, either in the city or on my favorite mountain, Lion’s Head. My knowlegde of the country can help them with the rest of their trip if they start off in Cape Town. I also know a lot of really nice restaurants and always try to stay up to date with what’s happening. I love to create positive ambassadors for Cape Town and South Africa and make guests talk positively about the country and city. So they hopefully come back and bring more family and friends.

What’s your favourite thing about Cape Town? The fact that I’m in the middle of a nature reserve after a 5 minute drive. The views around are just amazing. And this all in a fabulous city with great infrastructure, fantastic restaurants and never a dull moment.

What’s an activity you’d love to see up on Gidsy? People who share their passion for the city with their passion for a certain activity or interest will do best on Gidsy, I think..So it can be from historical to cultural to culinary activities, or entrepreneurial workshops. Soon I will be looking for activities with kids..

What is a place you've always wanted to visit, and why? Aj, it’s difficult to just choose one place because my bucket list is still quite long. I’ve never been to New York and it just sounds like a magical city. And then Bhutan. It must be such a special place where GDP is measured in happiness. The Galapagos Islands because of the special nature.

People who share their passion for the city with their passion for a certain activity or interest will do best on Gidsy


What's the number one thing you always bring with you on an adventure? My head lamp haha!! My favorite gadget to be able to ‘braai’ everywhere! And I love my backpack. I used it on many hiking trips around Southern Africa.

If you only had 2 days in Cape Town, what would you do? Day 1: I would walk up Lions Head in the morning and enjoy the views. Then go to the cable car and go up Table Mountain. Come back down and do a little walk around the city centre. High Tea at The Mount Nelson Hotel. Then perhaps go for a Catamaran sunset cruise from the V&A Waterfront. Late dinner at the Harbour House. 

Day 2: Supposing that you’re there on a Sunday, start off with a visit to Langa Township to the Gospel church, have lunch at Mzoli’s in Gugugethu, after lunch go to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. On Sundays in Summer there’s always a concert from 17h30 to 19h00 where the whole of Cape Town just chills with Bubbly and picnics. It’s the most stunning concert venue in the world.

Tell us a bit about yourself, and how you found out about Gidsy. Well, when you're on Twitter, you know about @Gidsynews and @edial! Being a creative (serial) entrepreneur myself, I was truly amazed by the idea to create a marketplace for activities. It wasn't until Edial Dekker spoke at the TEDx Eutropolis event we organized with CreativeClass in Hasselt earlier this year, that I came up with the idea to challenge him to unlock Hasselt as the next city on Gidsy.

Why was it important to you that Gidsy launched in your city? Hasselt may not be a big city, but it's great city to live and work in. There is a vibrant community of young, creative people that will take Hasselt to the next level. Unlocking Hasselt on Gidsy means unlocking the secrets that our city holds. On top of that, I feel that Gidsy is stimulating creativity and entrepreneurship as well. Gidsy is an ideal platform to unlock the skill, talent or knowledge of a lot of people in our region.

What did you do to make this happen?  As the owner/founder of KAAI.16, an old industrial building renovated into an accelerator spot for creative entrepreneurs, I come across lots of people that organize stuff now and then.

Gidsy is an ideal platform to unlock the skill, talent or knowledge of a lot of people in our region.

So at first I just started talking to people, explaining the concept in small info sessions. Meanwhile, we kept putting some social (media) pressure on Edial, of course. Then I started a Facebook group inviting my local network to share ideas, suggestions and questions about Gidsy Hasselt. I considered all members as ambassadors for Hasselt. This was an ideal way to get things rolling. Word quickly got out in to the media, so I gave some interviews to newspapers and radio stations to reach a broader audience. I wanted Gidsy to be the talk of the town.

Do you have any tips for other people that want to get involved with Gidsy, in the same way you have? Start with your local network and work up. Get people enthusiastic about the platform and stimulate ideas first. Although there is a great FAQ online, there will be a lot of questions. The info sessions and Facebook page turned out to be the best way to get those questions answered.

What’s your favourite thing about Hasselt? I'd like to look at Hasselt as "one size fits all". Big enough to find opportunities, small enough to keep it cosy. You should see the creative culture breaking out as we speak. Not only tourists, but also a lot of young entrepreneurs find their way to Hasselt. Especially Quartier Canal is becoming a vibrant part of the city.

What are you organizing on Gidsy, and what can people expect from your activity? I'm organizing a Creative Hot Spot Tour like Derk Marseille is doing greatly in Berlin. We'll be visiting some cool companies in the area to meet and greet the founders. I hope this will show that there is quite a lot entrepreneurship around. It will definitely be an inspiring afternoon!

...You should see the creative culture breaking out [in Hasselt] as we speak! 

What’s an activity you’d love to see up on Gidsy? Something like a "Behind the scenes Tour". There are a lot of big (cultural) events being held in every city that attract lots of people, but I think it would be cool to organize something around that. To get to know the organizers, meet and greet the artists...

Where is the most memorable place you’ve ever been (in the world)? Dubai! I've been many places, but the people in Dubai really impressed me by their drive to innovate and break boundaries. "Impossible is nothing". Like Singapore, the city is run by entrepreneurs trying to excel. Some projects are way over the top, but they do set a new standard.