RIZEUP — About Steven

WHO I AM

Before any of this — I'm someone who has lived.

My name is Steven Chin. I'm a mental coach, entrepreneur, and football trainer based in Breda, the Netherlands. I'm the proud father of a daughter and a 16-year-old son who plays at Sport Club Feyenoord.

I was born in a women's shelter and spent my early years in a Catholic boarding school until the age of nine. That start in life set me on a difficult path — one that tested me in ways I wouldn't wish on anyone.

It wasn't until I was 22, when I met the woman who would become my partner of 27 years, that everything changed. She came from a different culture and a different faith. Through that relationship — through love, patience, and real connection — I found my way back to myself.

27

YEARS TOGETHER

VC2

IN PROGRESS

FCE

FOUNDER

THE GAME I HAD TO LEAVE

Football was my escape. Until it was taken.

I started playing football at the age of five. It was more than a sport — it was my escape, my joy, my identity. But at fifteen, an unstable situation forced me to stop. Not by choice. There was no guidance, no support, no one to help me through it.

"I know exactly what it feels like when there is nobody there to catch you."

That experience never left me. It became one of my deepest motivations — to give others what I never had. To be the coach, the mentor, the presence I once desperately needed. Everything I build with RIZEUP is rooted in that.

THE LONG ROAD TO THE MIND

Years of study. Decades of experience.

That journey led me to study ICT, philosophy, psychology, and world religions — not in a university, but driven by a deep need to understand myself. To find rest. To make sense of everything I had been through.

For years I carried that knowledge quietly. I didn't know what to do with it. Then my son started playing football.

I began training him myself from the age of three. I watched him develop a calmness on the ball that never left him. It was through him that I found my calling as a coach. I earned my VC1 licence. Now working towards VC2. Today I serve as assistant selection trainer at VV Baronie Breda.

THE MOMENT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

What I noticed in my son changed everything.

My son played differently in matches than in training. He held himself back. My nephew is Virgil van Dijk — one of the best defenders in the world. Before he turned professional, our families were close. But when Virgil began his first season at FC Groningen, a family feud tore that connection apart.

My son was three years old when it happened. He didn't understand any of it. But as the years passed — around eight or nine — he started seeing Virgil everywhere on social media. And slowly the question began to form: why don't we see him? Why aren't we there?

"Papa, I want to be there too. Why can't I go?"

He was nine. The Dutch national team was playing at De Kuip. Other family members were there with Virgil. I told him it would happen one day. I thought that was enough. It wasn't.

Slowly he began to feel like he wasn't worthy of belonging. That showed up in his football — hesitation, holding back, worrying about what others thought. So we went to work. Together.

His thinking shifted from "why am I not allowed to be there?" to "I'm going to get there myself." He stopped feeling ashamed. Now he plays for his own glory.

THE INSIGHT THAT BUILT RIZEUP

How do you make a child mentally strong — without the life experiences that build that strength?

Watching my son's transformation gave me one of the most important insights of my life: this knowledge doesn't only belong to my son. It belongs to every young player who is carrying something they can't name — and every trainer who wants to help them but doesn't know how.

As a trainer, I started noticing the same thing everywhere. One hour of training per week is never enough to create real impact. I once ran into a former player in a shop. He stopped me and said:

"Coach, I really miss you at the club. Since you left, everything has fallen apart."

That moment stayed with me. That insight built RIZEUP.

WHY RIZEUP EXISTS

The end product of a philosophy.

RIZEUP is not just an app or a coaching programme. It is the end product of a philosophy — forged through decades of lived experience, self-study, and an unrelenting search for understanding. Every study, every struggle, every lesson — they all led here.

That is why the name is RIZEUP. To rise above where you came from. To become a better version of yourself — not despite your past, but because of what you chose to do with it. Because one hour a week is never enough. And because the mental game is the game within the game.

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        STEVEN CHIN — MENTAL COACH · ENTREPRENEUR · FOOTBALL TRAINER

        ASSISTANT SELECTION TRAINER, VV BARONIE BREDA · VC2 IN PROGRESS

        FOUNDER, RIZEUP & FUTURE CONCEPT ENTERPRISE

My story doesn't startin a classroom.