My passion for hardstyle started at a young age, fuelled by family road trips with my dad. While my mum favoured sing-alongs and popular music, my dad’s music stood out – it vibrated in your bones and spoke volumes even with minimal lyrics. On those trips to pick up supplies for building our house, my dad would crank up the volume, and we’d jam together. The energy of his music was unlike anything else I’d ever heard.

At home, the garage became a sanctuary where hardstyle blared, drawing me in. This was before Spotify or YouTube made music instantly accessible, so Dad would curate collections for our iPods and burn CDs for our long travels. My love for hardstyle began with ‘Recession’ by The Prophet, and from there it grew into a lifelong passion.

When I turned 18, I attended my first Deqon.1 in Australia. Experiencing the music live – the pounding beats, the euphoric crowds, the stunning visuals – was transformative. It was a shared dream for my dad and myself, one that deepened my appreciation for the art behind the music. I even worked as a ticket promoter for Q-Dance, immersing myself in the hardstyle community. But in 2018, Defqon.1 in Australia came to an end, leaving a void only partially filled by streaming videos of the legendary Defqon.1 in the Netherlands, a rave my dad and I still hope to attend one day.