I’m Dirk, and I have a passion for cars.
I was born in 1965 and grew up in a warm nest. In my first garage, the Matchboxes were next to the Dinky Toys and I shared them with my three younger brothers. On the street, I parked my first Go-cart next to my sister’s tricycle, the fourth in our line of five.
The first Van Hooydonk with a love of cars was not me; it was Mike, my uncle and mentor. Not only was he a fantastic car driver, he was also a passionate teacher. I was glued to his lips when he began to talk about controlling a car, the right mindset behind the wheel, safe and defensive driving. When I turned fifteen he put me behind the wheel and taught me how to drive. Not much later, I taught my first “anti-slip” courses as a job student at Jesco’s site, then in Zolder.
Cars, playing soccer, basketball, I had a great childhood. Studying was part of that. After obtaining my Master’s degree in Marketing at Lessius Hogeschool in Antwerp, I started working in the IT sector. After four years, I returned to my roots and in 1994 took charge of the Jesco Auto Training School.
Every day I feel privileged to be able to contribute to safer traffic together with a team of enthusiastic professionals with Jesco. The satisfaction it gives me I share with that other and even greater love of my life, my wife. We have two children to whom we gave our four H’s. Hope, Humanity, Humility and Humor.
