Stijn Oude Vrielink

When meeting Stijn Oude Vrielink, it is impossible to overlook his high-energy enthusiasm: his zest for life and all things related is simply contagious. His interests are countless, but events must be his biggest passion. Training and storytelling are very close. But so are the outdoor, nature, the makers and sustainability…

Anyway, all combined, together with The Maker Sessions he creates mind-shifting and connective outdoor team experiences in his Playground for Venues: an experience paradise for grown-ups. Let us tell you the story…

 

 In connection with other event folks in his role of Venue Marketing Trainer or when focused on the future of his natural playground in rural West-Germany, is when he shines the brightest. It is exactly at this crossroad, where the art of storytelling melts his talents and interests together, that others can learn from him the most.

Storytelling comes natural to Stijn. In fact, Stijn is storytelling. An ultra-important part of that, is that he knows how to listen deeply to the stories of others. He gets to the core of it and transforms the story towards reaching the goals of the storyteller. His eyes light up when in conversation with others. When feeling like walking in the dark, a chat with Stijn will wake and shake things up again. Not only does he know exactly how to get people back on track; he will get them there properly fired up, all at the same time.

Over 20 years of marketing experience in the event, venues, and locations industry, taught him precisely how events work. He turned this knowledge into gold by creating courses and training materials for venues and locations that want to go above and beyond. When making the trainings part of the Playground team experiences, their impact gets levelled-up even further.

Yet, he has even more plans up on his sleeve. His country house in the middle of a Wi-Fi free oasis, just across the Dutch border and into Germany, is his physical ‘playground’ project. Here, he takes busy people offline and into the woods, where they rediscover the lost connection with nature. And possibly also the slightly disconnected one with themselves.

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Stijn’s story is never-ending, as the sharing of his tales doesn’t end here. Since 2022, he shares many of his anecdotes and spoken articles over on the ‘Venue Marketing Show’ on YouTube and through the Marketing podcast for Venues & Hotels (both Dutch).