Patrick van der Jagt

About Patrick van der Jagt

Patrick van der Jagt lived for 20 years as a homeless heroin and crack addict on the streets of Rotterdam. He is now nationally known as caveman010, as a speaker and photographer. With perseverance, resilience, a good rehabilitation clinic, and a little help from the TV program Het Rotterdam Project on RTL, he managed to turn his life around. He is now, in addition to being a photographer and speaker, a proud father of a son.

He speaks about his childhood with an alcoholic father, not having a home, his addiction, and the harsh life on the streets. Getting just one chance is only enough if it comes at the right moment. And getting back on your feet is one thing, but how do you stay standing? As with many significant changes or achieving the highest goals: not only different behavior is needed, but also a completely new way of thinking and acting to function and succeed in a society full of expectations.

I thought that if I stopped using, I wouldn’t be able to expand my mind anymore. But being sober turned out to allow me to open up even more to the things I saw.

Patrick had spent such a long time doing everything alone at the bottom of society. He was not very social, and everything was focused on the short term, not on maintaining relationships.

Honesty and open-mindedness turned out to be his salvation, and that still saves him every day. And that honesty starts with accepting that he has a problem and working hard for his goals, completely turning around everything he did for 20 years.