Episode #1
From Marine to Mud Masters: Building a 15-Year Fitness Empire
André Skwortsow is a former officer of the Dutch Marine Corps (Korps Mariniers), where he served for 10 years. He is the founder of Mud Masters, one of Europe’s leading obstacle course event brands, and the creator of Gymrace — a fast-growing fitness racing concept expanding internationally.
“We practice what we preach — taking on challenges.”
How does someone go from military deployments to muddy festival fields filled with 20,000 competitors?
In this episode of Nothing But A Good Time, André Skwortsow breaks down the unexpected path from serving 10 years in the Dutch Marine Corps to building Mud Masters — now one of Europe’s most established obstacle course brands — and launching Gymrace as the next evolution of fitness racing.
This isn’t just a founder story.
It’s a conversation about discipline, timing, obsession, and what happens when you act before you feel ready.
André didn’t leave the Marines with a five-year business plan. He saw an obstacle race on television while on holiday — and decided within weeks that it needed to exist in the Netherlands. No prior event experience. No deep financial modeling. Just a hard deadline and a willingness to figure it out.
Fifteen years later, Mud Masters has survived growth cycles, market corrections, and the global shutdown of live events. Why did it endure while others faded?
We explore:
What military planning actually translates to entrepreneurship
Why simplicity scales
How mud became more than branding — it became psychology
Whether fitness racing is replacing CrossFit — or expanding the ecosystem
And why Gymrace might represent the next phase of mass-participation sport
Is fitness racing the new marathon boom?
Is CrossFit past its peak — or simply evolving?
And what does it really take to build something that lasts 15 years in a trend-driven industry?
Listen / Watch episode #1
Also available on Apple Podcasts
Links
Mud Masters — www.mudmasters.com
Gymrace — www.gymrace.com
