TIJMEN VD
Tijmen is an extremely versatile slackline athlete. Together with Samuel Volery he has walked some tandem World Records.
At the same time he is one of the strongest jugglers on the highline and keeps pushing the game of freestyle highlining.
Beside that he has learned to do cartwheels and handstands on rodeolines and simply keeps training seemingly effortlessly and with a lot of fun.
Checkout Some of Tijmen's Skills
SlackFaq's on Tijmen's SlackLife
When did you start slacklining and how did you discover that sport?
Why do you love slacklining so much?
I’m in love with slacklining because it’s an outdoor sport, which takes you to places you normally wouldn’t go! I’ve already discovered so many beautiful places and people due to slacklining! And offcourse on top of that, it’s just a great all body and even mental training!
What are your favorite slackline disciplines?
Tandem, Highline Freestyle, and Juggling on the line!
What is your favorite setup (webbing, line length, tension)?
Highline setup it’s doubtlessly PinkTube with ½ Marathon back-up, at 60m, tension Should enough to get a big bounce!
For Rodeo lines, I really love the 20mm wide Travelline!
Do you have a permanent rig?
Yes! Since a couple weeks I now have a Permanent Midline 5min from my home, on PinkTube and half marathon 🙂
How much do you train?
Differs from 3 times a week in winter, mostly indoor rodeo training, shortly also midline to about 5 times a week in summer when I go for a Highline almost every weekend, and practice rodeo and waterlines under the week! And currently, with my newly installed midline, it changed to like 6 times a week!
How do you buddy-check when you Highline alone?
When going on the line I naturally go through preparation steps. In which I have three check points involved, first when I make the tie in itself. Second right before I go on the line, where I inspect the knots on of the leash, tie off on the line and check my harness. And a third time when I am on the line in the starting position (sit mount).
What is your favourite trick on the line?
Tricks come and go 😉 Actually, my favourite trick is always evolving, but at the moment I really like diving into the shoulder stand from feet.
Do you have any advice to learn that one?
What advice would you give to a slackline beginner?
Go for it! Learning the beginning of slacklining can be difficult since it’s not very similar to most sports. Learning from others is much easier, I’d recommend seeing if there is a local community (Facebook) or search for Tutorials online!
Are you scared of heights?
Yes! Often when I get on a Highline, I feel tense at the start and need some time to “acclimatize” to the height and surroundings. Over the years slacklining has comforted me so much that this process goes faster and faster.
Do you have any major goal that you want to achieve in slacklining?
Solid handstand (never ending journey), alking a more than a kilometer long Highline, And I have a full list of Highline freestyle trick I am still aiming to accomplish 😉
