The Antwerp night owl who became a personal coach: “I used to drink 20 pints a night, now I help others improve their lifestyle” (Deurne)

Patrick De Wachter (50) was the king of Antwerp nightlife at the turn of the century until he suffered panic attacks at the age of 35 and decided to change his life. Today, as a personal coach, he runs his own gym in Deurne called Personal Coach 4 U.

“I started in Latin-mathematics and ended up learning electromechanics dually,” explains Patrick De Wachter from Antwerp. “So I had been working part-time since I was seventeen. But I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. So I worked as an electrician for six months, then became a warehouseman in the port and then tried my hand at work as a clerk in a sports shop. Many different functions followed each other. Until I ended up in the catering industry around the turn of the century at the age of 25.”

“Working long hours and earning well. But there was also a lot of partying after the shift until the early morning. After a while the night hours started to weigh in.””

Patrick De Wachter

Personal coach

“Immediately love at first sight. First behind the bar, later as a waiter. For seventeen years. I worked the longest in The Bistro, the well-known brasserie located on the Wapper between the Meir and the Schuttershofstraat, but also in many other night bars and dance halls that have been closed for a long time today. Work long hours and earn well. But there was also a lot of partying after the shift until the early morning. After a while the night hours started to take over.”

Emergency department

Ultimately things went wrong. “Sometime in 2010 in De 7 Chess on the Grote Markt I suddenly had a panic attack in the middle of my shift. I started hyperventilating so much that I thought I was going to die. The ambulance had to come and get me. And it didn’t stop there. I found myself in the emergency room more and more often. My body clearly did not agree with my lifestyle and I realized that this could not continue. It was time to decisively change my life at the age of 35.”

“I found myself in the emergency room more and more often. My body clearly did not agree with my lifestyle and I realized that this could not continue.”

Patrick De Wachter

Personal Coach

“That’s why I decided to take the personal trainer course at SyntraPXL in Hasselt,” De Wachter continues. “That felt like a relief. This was the path I wanted to take. I specialized further through a number of American courses, and in 2015 I started as a full-time independent personal coach in my first gym Personal Coach 4U. Meanwhile, eight years later, I am here in the Stevenslei in Deurne at my third location and I still enjoy doing it just as much.”

Little daughter

“Will I do anything else? No, I really enjoy helping people. You see them making progress and blossoming here in the gym. Some people completely change their lifestyle. I share what I am good at and I help others with it. That’s fantastic. I used to conduct all the personal training sessions myself. But even there I decided to take it a bit easier at the age of 50.

I now also have a four-year-old daughter, who I really enjoy spending time with. Now I have subcontractors who provide some of the training while I deal with marketing, administration, meetings, and helping clients monitor their lifestyle and nutrition. Believe me, this is the job of my life (laughs).”