Music makes
you stronger

DJ Rens Hageman, born in Dordrecht and raised in Deventer, is living ‘the millennial life’ in Amsterdam for 2,5 years now. When he moved to the city, his roommates introduced him to some of the DJs of techno label Diynamic and he was hooked immediately. He started out making some simple mixtapes for Soundcloud, bought a small turn table and practiced at house party’s mostly. The last few years, he managed to trade his living room for some small festivals in the Netherlands and Belgium. The ultimate dream? A gig at Diynamic Festival. But for now, let’s talk about his ADE favorites and sport routine.

First gig: slamming success or epic failure?

“Epic failure. Definitely. I had to use a different and bigger turn table than I was used to, and something went wrong when I tried to install my music on my USB. Luckily, it was a party at the ‘Amsterdamsch Studenten Corps’, a fraternity. They were so drunk nobody noticed I was struggling. I even got some compliments on my choice of music. Everybody had a great time, but for me as a DJ that night was a failure.”

Your best, weirdest, craziest ADE memory is?

“Two years ago, I already had tickets for all my favorite parties and then one week before ADE I ruptured my ankle ligaments. I had to stay on the couch, so that’s definitely my worst ADE memory! Last year I made up for it. For me, the most epic party was the showcase of Diynamic. I was there with my best friends and all DJs that inspire me were playing that night. It was awesome!”

This years ADE must go’s are..?

“My number one by far: the Audio Obscura event on Saturday hosted by a Swiss duo called Adriatique. They’ll be behind the decks all night, so it’s guaranteed you’ll get the best of the best. I was also looking forward to Peggy Gou at The Loft. A talented female DJ from South-Korea with a great and sense of style. She’s different than others and that’s exactly what I like about her. Unfortunately, that event was cancelled. To top it off, I’m also going to the Audio Obscura event in ‘Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ’. A night hosted by Len Faki.

How do you stay healthy as a beginning DJ in buzzing Amsterdam?

“I have my study, a job and maybe two or three gigs every month. And I still live in that same house, with the same roommates. So, let’s just say I’m not sleeping 8 hours every night. To stay healthy, I work out twice a week at TrainMore Amsterdam Singel and I play football. It gives me the energy I need to do everything I love. What really helps me to stay motivated is to set goals. For example, I just committed to run half a marathon a few months from now. This helps me to stay focused and not give in to all temptations. Balance is key you know!”

Your ultimate guilty pleasure is..?

“I love to eat a whole bar of Tony Chocolonely caramel sea salt and honestly, I rather don’t share.”

You have to choose: never work out again or never get booked again?

At this point I would say never get booked again. Working out is very important to me as well and is something you can always enjoy at all levels. For now, music is a passion and a hobby, not the most important thing in my life. But I’m ambitious and if I get more successful as a DJ, I might make a different decision. Who knows!

At TrainMore we believe that music makes you stronger. With our own music channel TrainMore FM we motivate our members to get the most out of every workout. The DJ booths in our Black Label clubs are regularly taken over by musical talent. With their live sessions, ‘our DJs’ always take the vibe in our gyms to the next level. Need some motivation for your next workout? Check out our SoundCloud. There you can find some mixtapes of Rens as well!