What can I say about my trip to Amsterdam? Well, if it was to one word only, it would be INCREDIBLE! As some of you might know, it all started a few months ago when I entered the Q-dance Maximum Exposure Competition on inthemix. I decided to streak across the MCG baring all with the Defqon.1 logo. After a week of nervous waiting I finally got the good news that I had won. I would be going to Amsterdam with a friend to have the ultimate Defqon.1 experience! My friend was happy he could get his passport in time. We were ready to go.

A lot of things were running through my mind on the way to the airport. Apart from the obvious excitement of attending Defqon.1, it would also be my first trip overseas. It was all happening so fast! I had never won anything before and for such a simple but daring act the responses from Q-dance, inthemix and all the well wishers in cyberspace was mind-blowing! We were in the air for 21 hours, and when we finally landed in Holland we were picked up by a rep from Q-dance and driven to our hotel. It was about 8am and as our rooms weren’t ready yet we set out on our first adventure into Amsterdam. We walked around for hours in the beautiful city, stopping off in many of the coffee shops (as you do in Amsterdam). We had heard a lot of good and bad things about Amsterdam, but everyone we met was really welcoming and the hospitality was great.

We had a big first night, having gone on a pub crawl near the red light district organised by a tour group. So on our second day we were quite hungover and also jetlagged for our trip to the Q-dance head office. We met up with some of the Q-dance crew, and they presented me with $3,000 cash, effectively paying half of the fine for my streaking effort across the MCG. I was totally blown away! They then showed me around the office, where I saw many secret designs for future events. What a rush to be in the place where hardstyle was, literally, born! We then went to the Defqon.1 Festival site at Almere Beach for a pre-event tour. It was awesome to see how everything was built and to understand a bit about what goes on behind the scenes. I’ll never forget riding a quad bike down the beach past all the stages looking back on everything that had brought me to that point. All the Q-dance crew were there and they welcomed Michael and I as part of the family. We met some really great people who made it their mission to make sure we had a wicked time. And we did!

It was now just one more sleep until Defqon.1. We made sure we got an early night, but it was hard to sleep with the combination of jetlag and pure excitement. The weather in the days leading to Defqon.1 were filled with rain and wind, which is apparently typical of Dutch weather around this time of year, but when we woke up on Saturday morning it was summer time outside! The sun was shining and the temperature was a balmy 25 degrees. We were picked up by the Q-dance crew who took us to the festival. We arrived pretty much at the beginning of the day, not wanting to miss out on even a second of the party. The event started with a buzz as we tagged along with the DVD film crew as they interviewed DJs and artists. Unbeknownst to me, most of these people knew about my streaking and wanted to interview me! I made shout outs to my mates and told everyone about my journey to Defqon.1. I kind of felt like a minor celebrity, as heaps of people wanted a photo with me and almost every DJ wanted to say hi.

I was recognised by people in the crowd because I was wearing the – now infamous – red ‘elephant G’ and my Defqon.1 cape. We got a heap of merchandise and AAA passes for the day, so we could go anywhere, drink as much as we liked, and not only meet world class talent but get to chill out with them as well! I was treated like a hero, which was a strange thing coming from the creators of hardstyle and the best hard dance parties in the world. MC DV8 told me he was my biggest fan, and when I got to meet him in the Blue area he took me up on stage in front of more than 6,000 to give me a worthy introduction to the Dutch party people. The sheer size of the festival impressed me most. I was told that the beach was 1.3 km long, and the detail in decorations and stages was absolutely amazing. The theme for this year was Scrap Attack, with monsters created out of recycled materials. The main stage had a massive two headed dragon coming up out of the water, and the other eight stages were also creatures. There were even creatures in the water. It looked awesome!

When the festival was getting close to the end I went up to the VIP viewing deck so I could get a better vantage point. Sunset was quit late, not until around 10:30pm, and I was getting nervous for what was to come next. When the lasers started I was just blown away, and by this time the fireworks hadn’t even started! The fireworks finale ran for about 20 minutes, with an amazing light and laser show accompanying throughout. As we have earlier sunsets in Australia, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the Sydney edition! We stayed for hours afterwards at an exclusive after-party on the beach, where we drank and celebrated another successful Defqon event. I heard heaps of crazy stories and made friends with a lot of really great people who I hope to keep in touch with. It’s really refreshing to know that all of the Q-dance crew and artists are regular people who are really nice and easy to get along with. They didn’t just treat Michael and I like competition winners, they welcomed us with open arms and gave us the experience of a lifetime.

Over the next few days Michael and I saw all the sights of Amsterdam. We went to the red light district and browsed the menu (didn’t buy anything though, haha!), we went to the Heineken Museum and took a canal trip. I hope to go back for Defqon.1 next year, but I’ll be paying for that trip myself! I might even stay a little longer next time. Now I have the Defqon.1 Festival in Sydney to look forward to, as Q-dance gave my friend and I VIP tickets. If Defqon.1 in Holland is anything to go by, Sydney will be absolutely incredible! I want to thank Q-dance for everything. Everyone has been so great, making this something that I’ll truly never ever forget. After an experience like this, I feel that it is my duty to go to every Defqon.1 event. Not just because of my personal experience, but because I believe that Defqon is the best party in the world. Thank you Q-dance!

See the photos from Ryan and Michael’s massive trip to Holland:

Don’t forget, you can have your own hard dance experience of a lifetime with Defqon.1 coming to Australia this September. Head to the inthemix festival page at inthemix.com.au/defqon1 for all the latest info.