Alex grew up as the ninth child in a family of ten children. “Without a father and in pure poverty,” Alex says in the interview. New clothes were not an option for Alex: he always got the old clothes from his brothers. “My mother couldn’t take care of us, she spent all day looking outside and smoking.” Alex was therefore more or less raised by his older siblings. They also took care of the household. “My older brothers and sisters shopped and cooked.”
Alex describes himself as a ‘street boy’, but did not necessarily experience his childhood as difficult. “Of course there were painful moments, when everyone got school milk and I was the only one not. Or when they had stories after the holidays and we had not gone further than the backyard.” Yet these situations have caused Alex to become ‘a fighter’. He did his own homework and made sure he was the best at every job.
Not only was his home situation difficult at times, Alex was also bullied in high school. “In rubber boots, no new clothes, a haircut that my mother cut herself and that didn’t look right. Then you’re soon screwed.” Alex didn’t give up, but decided to make the best of it. “I went to the gym, trained hard and waited for the right moment.”
Alex hit back at his bullies once and that put an end to the bullying behavior. “Then they knew I couldn’t be messed with anymore.” Alex moved on from MAVO to HAVO at the age of fourteen and has not been bullied since. “My brothers and sisters were now working, there was more money and I could finally wear nice clothes.”
