Career
Experience & perspective
Nearly three decades, built across clubs, federations, major events and my own consultancy, always at the point where sport, media and commercial interests meet.
Nearly three decades, built across clubs, federations, major events and my own consultancy, always at the point where sport, media and commercial interests meet.
Responsible for media relations and spokesperson duties around six editions of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, where sport, international media, commercial interests, government and local communities regularly came together.
Media officer for TeamNL, on behalf of NOC*NSF, across seven editions of the Olympic Games: Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024 and Milan Cortina 2026.
Independent practice in sports communications since 2022, operating as Miles.
Marketing communications for the Dutch Open, the European Tour golf tournament, working alongside title sponsor KLM.
Head of media relations preparing for the Invictus Games 2020, the sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. The event was postponed to 2022.
Agency specialising in sports communications and marketing. Clients and assignments included the Dutch Watersports Federation, the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup, PokerStars, Volvo, Auping and adidas, alongside years of personal representation for Dorian van Rijsselberghe, two-time Olympic windsurfing champion.
Member of the management team, responsible for a team of twelve specialists covering both media relations and the club’s own media, including the club magazine and Ajax.nl.
Full-time communications advisor at the Dutch Olympic Committee * Dutch Sports Federation.
Media crew for the Whitbread Round the World Race team BrunelSunergy, followed by press work around the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup in Auckland. Then communications and sponsorship manager for the Dutch Olympic sailing team at the Sydney Games, and twenty months living and working in Sweden as communications manager for the ASSA ABLOY team in the Volvo Ocean Race.
The start of my career, at advertising agency LaMarque, now known as OpenNow.
My career started when communications, advertising, PR and journalism were relatively distinct worlds. They no longer are.
Sports organisations have become publishers. Athletes have become media channels themselves. Commercial partners have sophisticated platforms and audiences of their own. Social media has fundamentally changed the speed and direction of communication.
At the same time, I remain convinced of the value of independent media. Journalism brings reach, context and credibility that an organisation cannot create through its own channels alone. The rise of owned media has never meant the end of earned media. It means understanding the strengths of both, alongside paid and partner media.
Reputation and relevance are built throughout the year. Major sporting moments naturally create attention, but a relationship with media, fans and partners cannot depend entirely on results or events. The periods between those moments are often when relationships are strengthened and stories are given time to develop.
Hero, Hub and Hygiene is one framework I use to think about that rhythm: major moments and stories, recurring content that builds familiarity, and the daily communication that keeps an organisation visible and relevant.
“This was our final lap, my finest hour.”
Published at the end of six years as head of media relations and spokesperson for the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix (2019–2026): six editions, thirty-six legal proceedings, and, in his own words, the highlight: fans dancing undisturbed in the rain in 2023.
“Change is the only constant. The question isn’t whether TikTok-fication is happening. It’s how sport, athletes, media and influencers respond to it.”
(translated from Dutch)
A response to the debate on athletes overtaking traditional sports media as their own channels, arguing for co-creation between clubs, athletes and journalists rather than treating the shift as a threat, while insisting independent, critical journalism remains essential.