By Despina Karpathiou
Being diagnosed with cancer, having a daughter and losing your best friend in a motorcycle accident at the tender age of 26 is a lot to go through for an average person. For 36-year-old Leonidas, those events in 2014 forever altered the course of his life.
The Greek Herald sat down with the half-Dutch, half-Greek father to discuss his inspirational comeback story.
Leonidas, can you tell our readers about yourself and where you are from?
I am a 36-year-old hospitality business enthusiast from Amsterdam. Born and raised here by a Dutch mother and Greek father. Hospitality is in my blood I think because of my Greek heritage. My dad always had Greek restaurants and from a young age I loved welcoming people and sharing our culture with them.
Besides that, I have a big passion for fitness, nutrition and overall, a healthy lifestyle. This may be an answer to the hospitality sector which contains long days and nights, and often quick, unhealthy food choices. I decided to do things differently so became fitter but I also coach a lot of people, helping them with their fitness goals and becoming a better version of themselves overall.
You have overcome cancer. What was the experience like for you?
It was surreal. I was 26 at the time, just had a daughter, and just lost my best friend in a motorcycle accident and then that happened. It gave me an overall weird taste of life and death and how everything is so fragile. Luckily after surgery, I was clean, so I was right on time with it.
The first year was just overcoming the shock. I had check-ups every three months for almost five years after and that always reminded me of how things could’ve gone, and still the risks that remained. Overcoming cancer is a process but in general, I was able to recognise it very early on, so I always held on to the idea that it could’ve been so much worse. Still, every check-up or conversation or reminder was difficult. Sometimes I was crying like a baby when I had to do the scans because I was scared, and other times I held on to a feeling like ‘You Only Live Once’ (YOLO). I could’ve been gone. Surreal like I said, and it still is.
What would you say to another young father who has been diagnosed with cancer?
Go for your health and if you manage to survive it, keep that as a priority. You now have a small human being depending on you and that should be the biggest motivation to keep you going every day, no matter how tough it gets, or pessimistic things might seem.
How has fatherhood changed you as a person?
Yeah, like said, I now have a small human being calling me Dad! So, I had to give it my best. That changed me for the better, for sure. I’ve always been a responsible person, but this made me realise that I had to get my things together at an early age.
Would you like any more children?
I think so, yes! But there’s no hurry.
How do you balance being a father and running a cafe?
That is always a challenge. Restaurant business in general is difficult for social life but on the other hand, it gives a lot of freedom if you plan it right.
How important are fitness and health to you and why?
It’s priority number 1 for me now, because if this isn’t in order, the rest is always so much harder. If I work out and eat well, I sleep better and am more energised and positive on all my other projects. It keeps me sane in a hectic, chaotic and often unfair world and I advise everybody to prioritise this. If you do it right, it will make you a better partner, entrepreneur, parent, employee, child, sibling, etc.
What are some goals you are working on and where would you like to be in five years?
I’ve worked and invested a lot in the past few years. Last year I unfortunately lost my father and that made me realise life is short. Therefore, this year I’m still working hard on some things but travelling is going to happen for sure this winter. I want to see several parts of the world and from there decide if indeed I want to stay in Holland forever or move anytime in the upcoming years. Of course, Greece will always be the Patrida/father land, but more for retirement.
