#94 Facing Your Fears and Learning from Your Past (with Jan-Willem van der Heiden)

On this episode of #mensexpleasure, I chat with Jan-Willem van der Heiden. Jan is a warrior coach. He was not a very confident kid. He had low self-esteem, no self-worth, struggled in school and had difficulty making connections with peers. After years of depression, his big brother took him to a boxing school where he met his mentor. Under the tutelage of Shifu Zhao, a 70-year old Chinese boxing and martial legend, Jan cultivated and reshaped himself to face all his fears. For the first time he was able to allow himself to feel the anger, shame and sadness from trauma that had been repressed for so long. It made Jan into the Warrior Coach he is today, coaching and mentoring over 50 men from all across the world. The two of us talk about Jan’s work with men and how he helps them overcome fear by facing it head on via the modality of boxing. We also speak about fear in general and how we can learn from our past. Jan shares about his own past as a professional gamer and what, if anything, he has learned from that. We also discuss finding a healthy mindset and balance with regards to our vices, such as video games and smoking.

Key Points:

- Jan introduces himself and his passions

- Warrior coaching and fight club

- The role of fear in our lives

- Jan’s previous life as a professional gamer

- Learning from our past

- Finding balance with our vices

- Having a healthy mindset

Relevant links:

Jan’s Instagram: @janwillemvanderh

Jan’s website: https://www.thewarrior.coach/