HQ Heroes: Lucas
By now, all of you probably know each and every one of our instructors better than your own colleagues (or families, even!). You spend time sweating it out together on the bike. You connect on our social channels – and theirs. And you get to know their favourite tunes on Spotify. But, Rocycle is actually so much more than our instructors alone. We have an incredible team working behind the scenes to make our Ro’fam as wonderful, inspiring and inclusive as it is. And they do so pretty invisibly. Though we’re heartily impressed by just how seamlessly they do their jobs, we decided it’s time to shine the spotlight on our HQ team. We’re ready to get to know them a bit better and formally welcome them into the Ro’fam.
Today, we were lucky enough to have a chat with our amazing Expansion & Retail Manager, Lucas Vroemen. Keep reading to learn more about Lucas’s life in the HQ lane, his favourite things about his team and what Rocycle means to him.
Ok, let’s start at the beginning. Can you introduce yourself?
Of course. I am Lucas Vroemen, I’m 29 years old and I always describe myself as a Burgundian epicurean. I was born and raised in Maastricht, but I moved to Amsterdam for my studies. Over the past seven years, I have helped several start-ups and scale-ups with their plans to expand abroad. I love building companies from scratch and making them successful. When I’m not at work, you can find me in Amsterdam's cafes and restaurants where I like to talk about life, food, and politics with my friends. Furthermore, I love to travel and prefer to go place where no one else really goes.
Very cool. What about your role here at Rocycle? What exactly do you do?
I work as Rocycle’s Expansion & Retail Manager. I am responsible for finding and signing new locations across Europe. In addition, I am creating a roll-out strategy to ensure that we can quickly but sustainably expand Rocycle abroad.
Sounds like Rocycle’s going to conquer the world! Walk us through a day at Rocycle HQ for you0
.For my role, I travel a lot, which is why I usually work in the office on Mondays and Fridays and take my time traveling from Tuesday to Thursday. A day usually starts with taking the train to a new city. Throughout the day I have appointments with estate agents and property owners to see if the locations I visit are suitable. Once we have found a property that seems suitable, we start the tenancy process. To keep the process running smoothly, my work also involves a lot of administration and documenting all the information properly. If I’m really lucky and the day ends with a signed contract, I treat myself to a small toast. Well-deserved, for sure. Tell us a bit more about your team and what it’s like to work for Rocycle.
The Expansion team is quite small – it’s just Eduard Neudorf and me. It is very nice to work in a small team, as this improves speed and communication. Eduard and I also get along very well; I can even call him Eddy. We also work alongside our construction manager, Filip Mamula, who is responsible for the renovations of our studios.
How did you end up here at Rocycle?
As I mentioned earlier, I am always looking for young companies with expansion plans. I was approached by Lyssa Hoogenboom, and our first conversation made me realise that Rocycle was a great match. Before I knew it, I was in the studio on a bike.
Do you Ro’ride?
Because I travel a lot, I am not always able to Rocycle, but I do have my regular class on Tuesday mornings. I also often ride over the weekend with my girlfriend. We are always determined to take the 08:00 class.
Is there anything particularly exciting in the works for your team in the coming months that you can share?
The coming months will see Rocycle expanding into Belgium. After setting up Germany, it is finally time for our southern neighbours.
Give us your three favourite things about Rocycle.
Freedom
Great colleagues
A go-big-or-go-home mentality
All amazing things. Ok, last one. What does Rocycle mean to you?
The great thing about Rocycle is that you can completely shut yourself off as soon as you enter the studio. For 45 minutes, you are only focused on your workout and you don't have to think about anything else.