Ron's Mini-Bio, Part 1: On house parties and fitness...

I recently found myself at a reunion talking about what had happened to me since a 20-25 years ago. It occurred to me that perhaps this is a good topic for a blog post as a sort of mini - biography and maybe a pre-run for what may become some more extensive memoirs.

Let’s - totally random – begin this with the period since I stopped doing competition ballroom dancing, sometime around 1993. Until then, ballroom dancing in addition to my studies and work were my most important activities, but at one point that was just enough. At the same time, I also tried to find my niche as a gay man in the world and after the elimination of all dance classes , training nights and competitions there was plenty of time for that as well.  Pretty quickly I came into contact with the Dance scene that, at that time, was still largely 'underground'. Before long I was dancing quite a few nights away in the most bizarre outfits and entourages.

Actually, this was a belated acquaintance with the 'nightlife ', for which previously I barely had the time as my nightlife consisted mainly of free dancing at the dance school! At those that parties I was primarily busy with ' wandering away' on my own imagination, because that's what House and Trance Music eventually enable you to do. No drugs, no pills, nothing of the sort, just the music, my body and my mind .


It was also my first experience with altered states of consciousness ( in other words, trance ) and the wonderful things that those can bring. It was huge fun, and an exciting as well as ultimately exhausting time, because all those nightly activities eventually start taking their toll.

A bit later I discovered the gym and with it the various forms of what was called then " Aerobics" .

The party scene was already going a bit into the background and Ron changed from a party animal into fitness junkie, sometimes spending three , four times a week a few hours in the gym with various forms of cardio fitness, aerobics and weight training. Not really aiming to become super muscular, but doing something healthy and fun at the same time. I started this Ceasar 's Sports, at that time on the Korte Voorhout in The Hague , and I still have some great memories from my time there. I am now quite a few gyms further down the road, but the fitness and - now - the Zumba workouts still belong to my regular weekly activities palette. House -parties no more, though, I feel I am really too old for that. And my trance experiences, I now get someplace else. Which is for a next time !