Mike Passenier
Mike Passenier is a Dutch kickboxing trainer who owns Mike's Gym in Oostzaan, Netherlands. He is also known by the nickname "Big Mike".Biography
Passenier was born and raised in Amsterdam. He played football in his youth. At the age of 15, he attended a kickboxing event for the first time, and became impressed by the visitors and the atmosphere. While working in a bar, he met kickboxing world champion Gilbert Ballantine. Passenier sparred with Ballantine, who appreciated Passenier's skills and invited him to work as an assistant coach. Passenier never entered the professional ring himself.
Passenier began teaching martial arts in 2002. A year later, he opened his own gym, named Mike's Gym. Passenier became more known in the world of kickboxing when he trained Joerie Mes, who was considered one of the best combination specialists in kickboxing. The silhouette of Mes was made part of the Mike's Gym logo.
Mike's Gym became one of the biggest martial arts gyms in Holland. Passenier's pupils are distinguished by their focus to win by knockout during battle. They do not use points-oriented tactics. Passenier raised many world champions, including Melvin Manhoef, Badr Hari, Murthel Groenhart and Sahak Parparyan. At certain stages of their careers, he coached top contenders such as Artur Kyshenko, Gokhan Saki, Alistair Overeem, Freddy Kemayo, Björn Bregy, Sergey Adamchuk, Sergei Lashchenko and Raul Cătinaș.
In February 2019, Mike's Gym partnered with the well known Vos Gym, led by Ivan Hippolyte. Both gyms operated under one building.
