Fit Founder: How To Build Sustainable Habits for Body & Mind – with Barbara den Bak 💪🧠
A founder's guide to healthy practices that enhance creativity, reduce stress & support long-term success
👋 Hey, Dan here,
Welcome to this week's edition of In Founders Words, where I interview founders building big from Europe – uncovering their real experiences, practical insights and actionable advice. In their words.
Today kicks off a new series, Fit Founder: how to stay fit and healthy as a founder, with insights and tips from successful founders who've mastered it.
Why? Because being a founder is awesome. It’s also incredibly hard. The demands are relentless – there’s always more you *should* be doing. It’s all-consuming. Your mental and physical health can get stretched to the limits.
For peak performance as a founder, health and fitness matter. A lot.
I have to admit, this is something I got wrong as a founder in the past. With an app connecting people for nightlife, I immersed myself in the community–partying in cities around the world–which was incredibly fun–but not exactly healthy.
Nights out led to poor sleep. Exercise took a backseat to "more important" work. Healthy eating habits? Forget about it.
Drinking a few beers each night to wind down (or more often: keep working) became my norm. And smoking on nights out gradually became my go-to when stressed.
I was still incredibly driven and focused. Relentless even. And I gave everything to that company. But looking back, those habits definitely didn't help my performance as a founder. Or my chances of success.
That's why I wanted to explore how successful founders actually do it: stay fit, healthy and sharp, while building something impactful.
The first in the series kicks off with Barbara den Bak, founder of Kaer, a transformational travel company for well-being and growth.
After our conversation (scheduled for 15mins, went for 45) I was inspired, and walked away with a bunch of healthy practices I immediately started trying!
What you'll learn:
How to create morning routines that enhance creativity
Founder fitness: why "less intense" can mean "more effective"
How to integrate well-being when you’re working 80-hour weeks
The power of distraction-free walks in nature
Why you might want to consider microdosing
Ready to build better health and fitness habits? Let's go! 💪
🌱 From High-Intensity to High-Impact: Meet Barbara den Bak
Many founders now know their health matters. But as they’re prone to do – some take it to extremes:
Intense work-outs 7 days a week, tracking steps and sleep, fad diets, multi-day fasts. They push their bodies as hard as their startups push their minds.
But what if the secret to peak performance isn't about doing more, or pushing harder, but less? What if the path to sustainable success as a founder lies not in high-intensity everything, but in simple, powerful practices that actually restore and energise you?
Barbara den Bak has lived both sides of this equation. As the former founder of High Studios, she helped build Amsterdam's boutique fitness scene around high-intensity workouts.
And her journey with fitness mirrored that of many founders:
"I got high on my own supply with High Studios," Barbara laughs, describing her previous routine. "Every morning I would walk 45 minutes to the studio, do a 45-minute HIIT class, stay for meetings, then walk 45 minutes back. So high-intensity training, plus almost 2 hours of walking every day."
For years, this worked. Barbara built High Studios into a boutique fitness mini-empire, before selling to Urban Gym Group before COVID hit.
But something shifted: "As I get older, I noticed high-intensity workouts aren't for me anymore. The stress [from the workouts] is not always good for cortisol. And I saw it wasn't beneficial for me any longer."
This realisation led to a fundamental shift in her approach–one that ultimately informed her next venture, Kaer.
Now, Barbara's daily routine looks completely different. No extremes, just simple practices that create space for creativity and restoration.
This shift mirrors exactly what she's building with Kaer, her transformational travel company.
Kaer creates curated experiences in places like the Dolomites and Botswana that combine nature immersion with practices like breath work and coaching. These trips are designed to help founders and executives step away from the noise to rediscover clarity and purpose.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is slow down.
🌅 The Creative Hour: 5am
Barbara has experimented with different early morning routines that tap into her brain's most creative states. Here’s what she found:
"5am works best because you have no distractions. The first few days you think 'What the f*** am I doing?' But it's so nice - you're so creative in the morning."
Her ideal morning routine:
Wake-up at 5am
Focus on creative work
No checking phone or email
💪 Sustainable Strength Over Intensity
As mentioned, Barbara's approach to physical fitness has evolved from high-intensity to more sustainable strength training:
"No HIIT classes anymore, just strength classes. Three times per week max, at a boutique gym with 9-10 participants."
Though she has a gym at home, she's learned the value of community for workouts:
"We have a TechnoGym bench and dumbbells at home, but I never use them. It's good to go out. And to be around other people working out."
🌳 The Power of Walks in Nature
One of Barbara's most powerful discoveries has been the transformative effect of simple, distraction-free walks in nature.
"I do outdoor walks with no distraction—no phone, no music, no podcast—sometimes for hours. And that works really, really well. It keeps me sane."
Barbara swears by this practice:
"It lowers your cortisol levels, relaxes your nervous system. Being outdoors is just the Holy Grail."
Simple, yet powerful:
"If I'm stressed out, or having a hard time, or can't figure something out, I just go for a walk and the answers always come. Sometimes, I even talk to myself out loud, 'What if we try this and this?' It's almost meditative, and it makes me super creative."
Barbara's experience reflects the philosophy from Rick Rubin's "The Creative Act," a book she highly recommends:
"Everything that you're searching for is already inside of you. Everything is already there. With going outdoors, meditation or breath work, you can achieve everything you need."
The 20-Minute Rule
Barbara has noticed a consistent pattern in her walks:
"When you start walking, the first 15 to 20 minutes you’re very busy in your mind, wondering 'What am I doing? Should I go back? I have a call later, my inbox is exploding.' But after 20 minutes, you get relaxed. Then, you get a clear view of everything."
The Science Behind the Strategy
Barbara's instinctive walking practice aligns with neuroscience research showing that unfocused walking activates the brain's default mode network–the same neural pathways linked to creativity and problem-solving.
🥗 The Anti-Perfectionist Diet
"I used to be really hard on myself, trying to have the perfect body, skipping everything, avoiding sugars. But it's not healthy.”
After years of trying every diet: intermittent fasting, low carb, vegan, eight months sober, Barbara has settled on a more balanced philosophy:
"I tested, tweaked and tried everything. What I learned at High Studios, is that in January, people did everything at the same time: exercise five times a week, quit smoking, no booze, clean diet. That just doesn't work."
Her Current Approach:
Morning: Fruit, coffee, lots of water
Throughout the day: Loads of vegetables, occasional chicken, minimal meat
Philosophy: "If I feel like chocolate or champagne with friends because it's beautiful weather outside and it's a Thursday, let's go!"
Alcohol: Mostly alcohol-free, but flexible for social occasions
“Now I'm like, 'Don't be so hard on yourself. Just let it go a bit.’ Sometimes doesn't matter. Everything should be in balance."
😴 Sleep Optimization (Without Obsession)
Barbara uses a Whoop fitness tracker to monitor her sleep quality and recovery:
"It measures everything and gives you advice like 'You should go to bed by 9:30pm tonight to get your eight hours.' You can see the quality of your sleep and if you've recovered enough."
Her Ideal Sleep Routine:
Bedtime: 10pm
Wake-up: 5am
Target: 8 hours (whenever possible)
But she maintains flexibility:
"During summertime with my kids, sometimes they're awake until 10:30pm. You're like, 'I spent my day with only work, then the kids, and I want some time to unwind.' I know with sleep that when I have a strict routine it works best, but I don't want to be too hard on myself."
🫁 Breath Work as Business Tool
Through her work with Kaer, Barbara has discovered the business applications of breath work – for personal well-being and clearer thinking.
"One of the most powerful exercises we do [on Kaer retreats] is silent mornings. You wake up at 6am, start with breath work, then meditation, then journaling – no distractions, almost a digital detox."
The Connected Breath Work Protocol
Barbara emphasises the difference between casual breathing exercises and serious breath work:
"I'm talking about connected breath work sessions of 30 minutes - real conductive sessions."
"It's so powerful because when you write, you often just keep writing, and the energy starts to flow. Stress about something, even traumas from childhood - everything comes out."
🍄 The Microdosing Experiment
Barbara openly discusses her experimentation with psilocybin microdosing as a creativity and focus tool:
"I experimented with microdosing. I'm an all over the place with 50 tasks at the same time, kind of person. But with microdosing, you get really focused, and super creative."
She sourced her psilocybin and microdosing guides from Spinoza, a company founded by a former yoga entrepreneur. Barbara recommends combining with other practices:
“The combination of 5am, psilocybin, and nature walks is super powerful. You're so creative and focused."
Note: Psilocybin is legal in the Netherlands in truffle form, though regulations vary (wildly) by country.
🎯 The Challenge of Integrating Well-Being as a Founder
Barbara is honest about the ongoing challenge of maintaining well-being practices while building a company:
"In an ideal world, I would say everything is in balance, but it's totally not possible it's startup life. Sometimes I’m working 80-hour weeks. You wake up and it's the first thing you start working on, and the last thing you think about before bed."
Reframing Work:
"It doesn't feel like work because I really, really like what I do. I would say almost this sort of obsession – I just really like what I do. Everything is about positivity, and I keep learning every day."
When pressed about her drive, Barbara becomes reflective:
"I just don't know why I'm doing what I'm doing, but it's just sort of... I'm driven to it. A calling or something. And as long as it works and I like what I do—of course, you always have your struggles as a founder—but as long as it works, I continue."
Location Flexibility:
Working from home and with a distributed team allows her to maintain her nature-walking practice and morning routines.
🏗️ From High Studios to Kaer
Barbara's evolution from fitness entrepreneur to transformational travel founder reflects her deepening understanding of what people actually need:
"Wellness tourism is one of the fastest-growing trends in the travel industry. People don't only want to travel for the what, but for the why. There's a huge desire for meaningful trips – to go somewhere you've never been, try stuff you’ve never done, guided by professionals in breath work, coaching etc."
The Problem She Saw:
"Many people are at a sort of crossroads in their lives: 'I worked my ass off for 20 years, I'm here, but I don't know who I am. I'm trying to find a balance between work life and family life. Or, what's next?'"
Her Solution:
Curated retreats combining:
Nature immersion (Dolomites, Botswana, Morocco)
Professional facilitation (breath work, coaching, sound healing)
Like-minded community (founders, C-suite executives)
Digital detox environment
The transformation Barbara witnesses is profound:
"What we see is that when people arrive, as a group, they're all anxious, like 'Okay, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. Was this the right decision?' And then after just two days, you see that the faces are getting softer and people are connecting. And then real breakthroughs happen. It's super cool to see."
⚡️ Final Thought: The Paradox of Doing Less
Barbara's story reveals a paradox common to many successful founders: sometimes the path to peak performance requires doing less, not more.
"Instead of bio-hacks and tech-driven wellness trends, what works best is being outdoors, waking up early, breath work–simple things that help you find your creative flow."
This is the first in the “Fit Founder” series, and this was based on an interview with Barbara den Bak, founder of Kaer.
Until next time, stay healthy,
Dan