Duncan Beekink was born on March 6th, 1975, in the Bethlehem Hospital in The Hague, The Netherlands. His very first stunt was to appear on this world with his feet first. Being a left-hander, he continued to follow his own will since…

Primary school was one big game, and Duncan excelled in it. In the 6th grade, he was in a race with 2 follow smartheads to have the most straight A’s on their final list. Duncan won with 2 straight A’s (10) and 8 A’s (9).

The game continued in Secondary school, and Duncan started to help his fellow students with their homework and exams. When he left the 3rd year, he had to switch schools, opening a new playing field closer to home (from the Nederlands Lyceum to the Maerlant Lyceum). Here Duncan found out that being a straight B student was good enough for his parents, but opened new doors - social doors - and he became rapidly involved in numerous side-activities.

He joined the technical union, helping out as lighting engineer for school plays, he participated in the Model United Nations, founded the student council, was a member of the school board and was elected in the Madurodam Youth council, where he was even elected Burgomaster for a year! He also became active as a volunteer for the RANO hospital radio show, hosting the Friday night program for 3 years. Last but not least, he re-introduced the school radio system, hosting music in the breaks.

When he left the secondary school, he was awarded the van Hille price for outstanding school contributions. When the school celebrated its 75-year jubilee, it was only logical that the school principle and Duncan were standing on the school yard to welcome the Mayor of The Hague, while a 500 students-crowd applauded and started to cheer ‘Duncan, Duncan’! Within one year of having left the Maerlant Lyceum, Duncan was elected as board member of the alumni-club. At age 18, he was the youngest ever to be on that board, a function he kept for 10 years.

To earn money as a teenager, Duncan worked for Media-expresse at age 14, distributing reading magazines. At age 16, he switched to become a mailman on Saturdays. He continued to do this, first in The Hague and lateron in Leiden, where he studied BioPharmaceutical Sciences (BFW).

Duncan continued the social side-activities while he engaged in his first year of study. In order to get approved for BFW, he enrolled in Biomedical sciences. At that time he was also coaching a pupils baseball team in The Hague,  was on the board of the baseball club as PR-member, working the local mail on Saturdays and still hosted his radio show on Fridays.

Moving to Oegstgeest, near Leiden, to live on his own in a student house in 1993, Duncan centered his activities in this lovely town just 10 miles north of The Hague.  He now started playing baseball at the student club WAPS and soon become the coach of the ladies team and boardmember as well.  Under his wings the ladies team became champions in 1995.

Moving on to BioPharmaceutical Sciences after completing his first year (propedeuse), he also joined the social acitivities of the student study union Aesculapius, where we was asked to be a boardmember in his 3rd year. At that time, Duncan switched his The Hague postal work for working in the Oegstgeest swimming pool as a bartender.  After his year on the board of Aesculapius, Duncan was asked to become boardmember of the IFSO, the overseeing union for all study unions, with some 11.000 members.

Now playing mens softball in the 1st national league at Volle Bak, a small club in Leiden, he picked up coaching the ladies teams again, first the 2nd team, that became champions after being trained and coached for 3 years, and lateron the first team, that became champions in that year without loosing a single game.  At his student housing facility, Thorbeckehof, Duncan engaged in running the in-house bar for 2 years, hosting a number of parties and pulling off the impossible stunt of having a beach volleyball court within the premises at the local BBQ event.