A conversation with Robbe Van Bogaert about more than 20 years in nightlife, redefining what inclusion means on the dancefloor, and helping build Antwerp's youth culture.

Robbe Van Bogaert wakes up most mornings with music.

Then a shower. A good glass of warm water. Blueberries and crumble. Coffee after.

If his kids are with him, he makes time outdoors before school and work. Fresh air. Connection.

This is the rhythm of a man who has spent 35 years as a DJ, event organizer, and nightlife architect.

Robbe is one of Antwerp's official nightlife experts. He works for the Department of Youth, guiding young people through the maze of permits, paperwork, and presentations needed to bring their ideas to life.

He co-founded Eventsure, a creative company that transforms everything from empty castles into creative hubs to helping festivals rethink their concepts. Here's a  case study with police zone HANO. And here's one from a 16th-century castle estate.

And he runs Human Power, an activist DJ and speakers project that has taken him from Portugal to Hungary, from Berlin to conferences across Europe, and next week he’s going to Ibiza.

All with one message: disability shouldn't keep anyone off the dancefloor.

But when you ask Robbe what he's most proud of, he doesn't talk about stages or recognition.

"I love to work in the shadows without saying too much," he says. "But I know where to push and where to put the seeds, and after a while see the trees growing."

For years, almost nobody knew.

Robbe was born with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, a bone structure problem that affects his mobility.

His whole life, he fought not to connect himself to this topic.

"I always have been fighting to get out of a wheelchair and stand on the stage while playing music and dancing."

Only people who traveled with him for several days, who saw him use what he calls his "bike," knew the full story.

His wheelchair is his bike.

"I start my  presentations in the wheelchair, and in the middle, I stand up and say that this is my bike," Robbe explains. "I want to make the explanation that my wheelchair is the same that you need for your bike. The perception of me in the wheelchair and the perception of you on your bike should be the same. My wheelchair is my bike, it's for long distances, for long standing, and for festivals and some proper raving."

It's not just a metaphor. It's a way of breaking down the barrier.

In 2010, at Boom Festival in Portugal, a photographer took a photo of Robbe enjoying the sunrise.

He didn't know it was taken.

Two years later, that photo appeared on the festival's banner next to the words: "special needs."

"I was like, what the hell is this?"

He contacted Boom. They told him the picture inspired them so much that they made a change on how to do something for this audience.

"I didn't know that this picture of me in my wheelchair enjoying the sun could change the whole festival."

The photo he tried to hide became the catalyst for Boom's accessibility transformation.

But the real turning point came in 2018.

Robbe underwent surgery to prevent him from being paralyzed.

They told him it would take him 6 months to recover, he did it in 3.

He traveled to Portugal for the Boom Festival. Went to Funky Beach. Told them his story. Asked to play.

They gave him a one-hour slot before the festival officially started. Everybody was on the beach.

He played for 3.5 hours.

His ‘bike’ next to him. Everyone was watching.

"At that moment the Human Power project was born."

Human Power became an activist DJ and speaker project where Robbe motivates people to believe in their own human power, physically or mentally. Here’s his set at Boom Festival 2025.

"I want to kick in the doors of nightlife and festivals to invest in inclusion as an attractive topic and not a boring thing."

Robbe has a view that makes some people uncomfortable.

“Nightlife is a life and the first generation of nightlife as we know it is aging and just like life itself, people come and go. Nightlife needs to evolve.”

But there's a new nightlife growing.

He's observing a fundamental shift in the younger generation

The generation between 30-35? Long-time ravers. They used to stay out till 7-9 in the morning and sleep the whole Sunday.

The younger generation? Different opportunities.

They build their own spaces. They prefer home parties. Daytime events. Waking up early.

"This generation didn't have nightlife for 2 years because of COVID. They were at home."

Now they do more activities in the daytime. They're more into consciousness, health, sport.

This isn't about less partying.

It's about 24-hour dance culture.

"We have to look at nightlife as a dance club culture and what is a 24-hour experience we can create."

One of Robbe's roles is nightlife expert for the city of Antwerp, working within the Department of Youth.

Part of his job is to help young people and professional youth organizations navigate the bureaucracy of turning dreams into events.

Helping with the things that kill most ideas before they start. 

Guiding them through the process. 

Answering questions. 

Connecting them with the right people.

“For organizers, one of the most expensive mistakes is opening a club when the venue is ready but the license isn’t. So, make sure the place is approved before you start building”

In February 2026, something shifted.

The first meeting of the Antwerp Nightlife Council started at Kavka.

"For so many years there has been a discussion about the nightlife in Antwerp."

Finally, everyone is getting together. Leaving their egos aside. Working together.

Robbe's vision for how this should work is clear.

You need three circles talking to each other.

"This is a triangle of three round circles, and this has to be in contact with each other."

His example: Berlin is building a highway and some clubs might have to disappear.

"If they have to disappear, then why don't you build under the highway in these concrete new clubs to continue giving them the space."

Solutions exist when all three circles talk.

“We are on a mission for your adventure.Eventsure is what happy customers  call the A-team of events.” 

It operates on four levels.

Consultancy: They work with nightlife clubs, real estate developers, festivals, and municipalities. If you have a 500-year-old castle and don't know what to do with it, they can help. They design youth culture zones. They do research. They navigate permits.

Projects: They manage transformations from vision to construction. Right now they're converting the Blauwhuis castle into a creative hub and social innovation playground.

Academy: They train people. Teach skills. Invest in the next generation.

Tribe: An international network of specialists from different fields and countries who help each other solve problems.

Robbe doesn't just advise.

He builds.

Human Power isn't just about Robbe performing at festivals.

It's about changing how the industry thinks about accessibility for everyone in a creative way and not as a boring topic. “We are all we are one”

His advice to organizers is specific.

"If you have pictures of people like this in your audience, put them in your posts. When they see they are welcome, they will come."

If the venue isn't fully accessible, be honest about it on your website.

"Hey, you're welcome, you pay your entrance fee and you can bring 2 friends for free. They will have to take care of you. This is the situation, this is the adventure."

Even if it's not totally accessible, there's a way for ravers in wheelchairs.

“In Amsterdam they get refused because of fire exit regulations. In Berlin there's no space on the dancefloor. Every country has their own way of refusing people. There is a lot of discrimination."

So Robbe kicks in doors.

Not just to stop discrimination.

But to give people with disabilities a place on stage. A part in the branding. The feeling that they're cool, not just tolerated.

"Give them the feeling they're welcome."

For some years, Robbe and his team ran Meatpack.

A creative factory. 5,000 square meters. At the time, the biggest youth culture center in Antwerp without funding.

A space where people of different backgrounds and interests could experience art, partying, talking. A complete cultural experience in one building.

"Currently a missed opportunity in nightlife is education on how to DJ, how to party, how to get in love with the dancefloor and creative venues."

That's what Meatpack was.

Robbe's dream now is to find another space. To continue that mission.

And to start a philanthropic project that funds new dreams from young people and invests in their ideas.

"If you want to have a good society, then you have to invest in the youth, and they will create the dreams of tomorrow."

Robbe is honest about his limitations.

"The biggest bottleneck for my growth is, to be honest, time."

He's a single father with two kids..

He's strict about boundaries.

"When I am at home, if my kids are there, I'm a father. When they're in bed, I can be an entrepreneur."

Time management isn't optional.

"Plan time for work and time for social and family time."

Robbe has watched countless people try to build in the event industry.

"The difference between the ones that actually succeed and the ones that don't, is in the way they treat people."

That means taking care of your audience, your sponsors, the artists.

In the last 10 years, more clubs have nomadic promoters.

"These promoters are strong because they have their tribe, their community behind it and know how to serve them with nice music, good feeling, and identity."

Carlos Michielsen from Traum is one example.

"He was 16 years old when I started to coach him and his gang, and he's one of the club promoters of today."

This is the work Robbe does.

Coaching. Guiding. Opening doors.

Then stepping back.

For Robbe, the wins aren't about recognition.

"My most rewarding part is seeing the people that I guided as young kids became the rulers of today."

And on the other side, Human Power.

"Where I made a snowball and now it's rolling."

He loves to inspire people so they can find their own way.

For someone who wants to start a business in culture, nightlife, or events:

"Make it clear what your dream is, what you want to do. Believe in your dream and know that it's an adventure to start."

It's hard. You have to keep going because it's not for free.

"Believe, have good nerves, juggle many balls at the same time."

Robbe Van Bogaert has been a DJ for 35 years.

He guides young people through the bureaucracy that kills most dreams.

He transforms venues and advises festivals across Europe.

He’s an activist that kicks down doors.

But when you ask him what he does, he'll tell you something simpler.

He plants seeds.

Coaches the young who become tomorrow's promoters.

Sits at tables with policymakers and ravers.

Opens doors so people in wheelchairs feel welcome on the dancefloor.

And when the trees grow, he's already moved on to the next seed.

That's the work that matters.

Question:  What's the key to finding balance between ambition for being successful and having a healthy social life with good relationships? 

Robbe’s answer: “Managing time. It's all about time. I'm very strict when I am at home. If my kids are there, I'm a father. When they're in bed, I can be an entrepreneur. But being an entrepreneur all the time working while the kids are there, that's not the way I do it. Plan time for work and time for social and family time.”

You can find him on LinkedIn!

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Which European country is credited with formally institutionalizing the role of the "Night Mayor" to create similar positions dedicated to nightlife governance?

A) Germany
B) Netherlands
C) France
D) Spain

_{You can find the answer at the end}