What does it take to survive the impossible and come back stronger? My guest, Vincent Van den Broeck, is a Belgian entrepreneur whose life has been filled with unexpected challenges. From losing his mother at a young age to building restaurants, facing bankruptcy, and finding success in the hospitality industry, Vincent has never allowed setbacks to define his future. Then, in October 2024, he was struck by a car and spent three weeks in a coma. Doctors warned his wife that he might not survive. Yet Vincent defied those expectations and began the difficult journey of learning to walk and talk again. I enjoyed hearing how his experiences shaped his views on overcoming adversity, personal growth, gratitude, and the power of positive thinking. We also discuss his book, Everything Feels Impossible Until It’s Done, and why preparing yourself for life’s challenges matters long before they arrive. Vincent’s story reminds us that we have more strength and ability than we often realize.

Highlights:

01:38 – Discover how personal loss led Vincent to a career in hospitality.

10:30 – Learn why curiosity and passion are keys to success.

18:39 – Explore the challenges of entrepreneurship and business failure.

34:43 – Hear how a devastating accident changed Vincent’s life.

45:48 – Discover the challenges of recovery and the power of support.

56:35 – Learn how gratitude and positive thinking help overcome adversity.

About the Guest:

Vincent Van den Broeck is a Brussels-based entrepreneur, restaurateur, and survivor of a near-fatal car accident that changed his life forever.

On October 11th, 2024, he was struck whilst riding a scooter in a collision at 55 km/h in a 30 zone. The impact left him with multiple fractures and major brain trauma. Doctors gave little hope with most injuries of this severity having only a 10% survival rate.

He spent weeks in a coma and three months in intensive rehabilitation, but recovery didn’t stop there — it became a daily mission. Against all odds, he not only regained his strength but came back stronger than before: working out 7 times a week, running a business, and building new creative projects.

Today, Vincent shares his story as living proof that resilience, mindset, and community can make the impossible possible.

About the book:

On October 11th, 2024, I nearly died.

Surviving was one thing. Understanding why became another. This is the story of how the life I built became the life that saved me: the sacrifices I made, the small daily habits, the challenges I faced, the days I kept going anyway. And how all of it took me from a 1% chance of survival to a full recovery. No one sees those moments, but when everything breaks, they’re what hold you together. And sooner or later, life tests all of us. So if you’re going through something difficult right now, or searching for something more, this book is for you. Because everything feels impossible, until it’s done.

Everything Feels Impossible Until It’s Done is more than a memoir. It’s a testimony of survival, perseverance, and hope — told with raw honesty and humility.

The book takes readers through:

• Before – the years leading to the day of the accident.
• The Accident – a life-changing moment in Brussels.
• The Coma & Rehab – weeks unconscious and months relearning life.
• The Recovery Journey – rebuilding body, mind, and spirit, far beyond the hospital.
• The Rebirth – lessons in resilience, purpose, and creating again.

Ultimately, this is not just a story about survival. It’s about awareness, responsibility, and perspective — toward yourself, and toward everyone who plays a role in your journey.

For fans of David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me, James Clear’s Atomic Habits and Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air

Ways to connect with Vincent**:**

https://www.instagram.com/vincentinthekitchen/

https://www.tiktok.com/@vincentinthekitchen0

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-van-den-broeck-b9b275103/

About the Host:

Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.

Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.

https://michaelhingson.com

https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/

https://twitter.com/mhingson

https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/

Thanks for listening!

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Transcription Notes:

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Michael Hingson  00:04

What if the biggest thing holding you back isn’t what’s in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I’m your host, Michael Hingson, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what’s possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let’s get started. Well, hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet, and the unexpected is definitely a significant part of our guest today, Vincent Van den Broeck, and he wants me to just use Vincent, so I will. But you’re going to see that there’s a lot of unexpectedness in in Vincent, and a lot of creativity as well. And definitely, Vincent is a person who is unstoppable in so many ways. So we’ll get to all that, though. We’ve got lots of time, and we hope that you’ll stay with us because Vincent’s story is fascinating. So, Vincent, welcome to Unstoppable Mindset. We’re glad you’re here, all the way from Brussels.

Vincent Van den Broeck  01:45

Thank you for having me, Michael. For real. And by the way, after this introduction, you’re literally boosting imposter syndrome. I’m like, unstoppable. Am I that creative? No. Thank you for those words. That’s too kind of you. Thank you.

Michael Hingson  02:00

Well, you’re absolutely welcome. Why don’t we start as I love to do? Tell us about the early Vincent growing up. That’s always fun. That way, people get to know you a little bit more.

Vincent Van den Broeck  02:10

You know what? I’m gonna quickly take give me two seconds. I’m gonna take my book because the first line of the everything feels impossible, and then it was done this project perfectly, which is I was 16 and life had been planned out. My mom had made sure of that the schools, the programs, the grades that were acceptable, what success was supposed to look like, and that was the and those were my early years. Like I was considered this market. I was studying Latin. Then I went when I went to university. University I went for engineer because it was considered cool and smart. And then my mom got diagnosed for the second time with breast cancer. This time terminal, she she was given two years left to live. And in those last months, she went from bad to worse. So we had to help her go to the toilet, put her in bed, and I was never allowed to work in hospitality like hospital. And by the way, until today, has like this negative connotation. Like when you work in hospitality, that’s weird. And so when she got worse, I saw that as an opportunity to land a student job in hospitality. And from day one, I loved everything about it: the adrenaline, the rushes, the energy, the taking care of customers. And so from that day on, I built my whole life and whole personality on hospitality, and that is also the moment I learned that every negative has a positive. Yeah. So I’m back then when one years young when my mom passed away finally a couple of days before my birthday.

Michael Hingson  04:02

Well, I wasn’t quite so young when my parents passed away. My father passed away in 1984. I was 34. I had been married for two years, and then my mother passed away two and a half years later. It was like May or so of 1987, and I had a brother. We were pretty close, and and he lived until 2015. Then he died of of breast cancer, actually. But now it’s me and my wife and I were married 40 years, and she passed in November of 2022, but as I tell people, we’ve got lots of memories and lots of wonderful things over 40 years that I get to treasure, and so you know, there’s there’s no reason to be upset. Things go as they go, and I don’t control everything in the world. I wish. I did, but now maybe not. That would be a lot of work. So I don’t need to control everything in the world. Well, so you got involved in hospitality. So did you pretty much start to do that out of college and university?

Vincent Van den Broeck  05:14

So when I landed my first student job, I just did it at a as a student job, And then in December, so I think I started it as a student job. It was like September, October, and then in that December, when my mom getting, she spent her last month in in hospital, and in December, I was studying for the exams in January. And I think a week or two weeks before, I had a conversation with my then manager, asking him like, “Hey, would it be a possibility for me to come work here full time? And he was like, “No, keep on studying, but should you want to? Yeah, of course. You’re doing a great job. And so I was studying. I was in front of my book, and I was like, “What in? What on earth am I even doing here? And on the spot, I dropped out of high school, out of university, and then started working full time immediately, and in the beginning, I was like ashamed to tell people around me like I was working in hospitality full time. Again, going back to the negative connotation, me being considered this market, and then until a certain point, I was like, “Wait, I love this so much. Why would I be ashamed telling people that I work in hospitality full time, and so then I started telling, and we’re then 2021, 13 years ago. Where wow, 2013. That seems a while ago.

Michael Hingson  06:58

Yeah, it’s 13 years ago.

Vincent Van den Broeck  07:00

Yeah, crazy.

Michael Hingson  07:01

So, what were you doing? What was your what was that first major job that you were doing in hospitality? What did you do?

Vincent Van den Broeck  07:08

I was just a simple waiter. I was doing more. I was waiting tables. I was cleaning tables, and then I worked. Not yeah, I worked my way up until I was 24, and so my old bosses they plan on opening a restaurant in Brussels, and they offered me the opportunity to open the place with them and manage it, which for me was like big.

Michael Hingson  07:43

Yeah. So where were you at the time? You weren’t in Brussels at that point until.

Vincent Van den Broeck  07:48

Oh no, not at all. I grew up in Antwerp. I lived my whole life in Antwerp. In Antwerp, okay. Natsworth, yeah.

Michael Hingson  07:55

Okay. So then you moved to Brussels to open the restaurant for them.

Vincent Van den Broeck  08:02

Exactly. The thing is, like the first months I went back and forth, I did Antwerp Brussels, Antwerp Brussels, Brussels, Antwerp Brussels, and then in the same. So we opened in August when I was 24, so it 10 years ago. This is 2016. We opened in August 2016, and in that same month, I got to I met my wife, my then girlfriend, and so for the who is from Brussels. So in those first month, I worked three to 400 hours a month, and at the same time, I was seeing someone that was from Brussels. I was like, “Hey, my life’s in Brussels. Why not move? And so I moved for love for work to Brussels.

Michael Hingson  08:47

There you go. She she lived in Brussels.

Vincent Van den Broeck  08:51

She she’s from Brussels originally.

Michael Hingson  08:54

Well, that means you had someone who who knew the city.

Vincent Van den Broeck  08:58

Exactly. Exactly.

Michael Hingson  09:00

Well, that’s that’s pretty cool. So you opened the restaurant, you you managed it.

Vincent Van den Broeck  09:07

Yep.

Michael Hingson  09:09

And then what?

Vincent Van den Broeck  09:11

And then so things were great. Things were amazing. First, yeah, I think we did 4 million in revenue net. The The thing is, so my bosses they took in a partner from Russell’s because she had connections, she had the money, and it was like a big investment. A woman, things went great with her too. And then at a certain, which I learned afterward, at a certain point, they were they asked her to take Minion as a partner investment, and I think she took it wrong, because from there on, like our relationship went sideways, and it got so bad that my boss called me in the office one day and he told me, “Yeah, Vincent, I think it would be better for you to come back to Anna.” Work for things to cool down, and when things are have cooled down, we can come back to Brussels. And I was like, “Yo, I literally moved to Brussels for this job. I’m not going back to Antwerp. And then it got so bad that they let me go. Unfortunately,

Michael Hingson  10:20

yeah, that’s that’s that’s never fun when somebody feels so threatened that they they can’t create a better teaming relationship. That is always extremely unfortunate. So when did that happen that they let you go? What year was that?

Vincent Van den Broeck  10:36

That was I’m 26. So this is I managed the place for one year and a half, so this is 26. This is eight years ago. Late 2017

Michael Hingson  10:49

or early 2018?

Vincent Van den Broeck  10:51

Exactly, exactly. Because yeah, early 20 late. It was actually December 2017 because we opened our first place in April 2018.

Michael Hingson  11:03

Well, what before you left? That that happened, and well, to put it this way, that had to be a great adventure. Moving to Brussels, being the manager, and so on. What did you learn from all of that?

Vincent Van den Broeck  11:15

Hard work always pays off.

Michael Hingson  11:18

There you go.

Vincent Van den Broeck  11:19

Honestly, if this, if I have to, I learned a lot. But I learned that being curious is an important skill to have. Asking a lot of questions, learning, being eager to learn, and then hard work always pays off. Always.

Michael Hingson  11:38

Yeah. Well, and I think that is that is so true. And and hard work doesn’t necessarily need to be hard, but it that does mean working pretty seriously and so on. But the other part about it is that hard work had to be a lot easier because you were curious and you you worked to learn a lot, and so you you progress a lot because you were willing to be curious and ask a lot of questions.

Vincent Van den Broeck  12:08

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. the The thing is, when when you do something you love, you can never go wrong. Yeah, it’s that easy, and it’s it sounds cliche, but it’s it’s the truth. When you do something you truly love, like you’re ex, you wake up and you’re excited about your day. Yeah, could be whatever. Could be you’re a public speaker. Could you could be you working in hospitality. You’re working in insurance. You’re. It does not matter what, but when you do something you love, you can never go wrong.

Michael Hingson  12:45

And it and it becomes less of a job and more of, as you said, something that you’re excited about doing. And it becomes less hard because you become excited by it.

Vincent Van den Broeck  12:57

It’s see, I’ve been working for many years with Gen Z, and I’ve heard this sentence so many times. I really need vacation, and I’ve and I find it so fascinating because it would be the same saying. I really need to go out for dinner. No, you’re just hungry, or you feel like eating, and like it’s it’s this thing of we’ve been creating lives for ourselves that we need escaping from, and I find it so fascinating. And I’ve been lucky lucky enough to have lived the life until today that I do not need escaping from. And sometimes you work a lot, and then there’s times that you work a little bit less. Going back to yeah, when you do something you love, it is it doesn’t feel like work, and you can work. You can do three to 400 hours and still not have the feeling of having worked too much. At the same time, though, what about this thing that people talk about-work-life balance? You you

Michael Hingson  14:07

you got married, and and so you had someone else who was a part of your life. You had to devote some time to that as well, I would think.

Vincent Van den Broeck  14:17

Don’t get me started of work. I do. I do not believe in work. I balance this. Let me let me put it like this: this times you work, and this times your life, and this times you work more, and this times your life more. Okay. And it’s this, and it’s and it’s this balance Of again, when you’re surrounded with people, they get you because I’ve never, my wife never had the impression. I never had the impression that we didn’t see each other enough. But again, there’s times you and. We got so caught up in this in this work life balance thing in 2026. Like, stop it! Like, if life is not working out for you, I can tell I can guarantee you, work won’t neither, and vice versa. If work is not working out for you, life will not.

Michael Hingson  15:16

What’s so? What’s the secret that you and your wife have that that makes for a good marriage.

Vincent Van den Broeck  15:25

Isn’t that a question I need to ask you? You’ve been married for 40 years. We’ve, by the way, we we’ve been a couple of days ago, the 20 july 28. We’ve been married for eight years by now. We got married when we got married when we were 26, and what I learned through time, good communication, good conversation, okay, understanding, and it again, it seems so cliche, but it’s the true conversation, talking about things that matter, not what, not about what you want to hear, but what you need to hear often, and not only talking but also listening-it’s

Michael Hingson  16:06

all about communication first and foremost. And you know, and yeah, you’re right. I’ve been married 40 years, and we went through a few tough times, but we talked about it, and we had also made a commitment To work together, and we did love each other, and and the key really was to communicate, and and it’s important to be able to do that because that’s what makes for a solid marriage. You you guys talk to each other, you know each other, and you can be honest with each other and figure it out together, and that’s what it’s really about.

Vincent Van den Broeck  16:45

Yes, sir. The thing is, like I always use examples that are easier to understand, and the thing is, it’s like a business when you have the same goal, meaning making the business work. If you’re aligned on that, no matter what happens, because you know what shit always happens. Yeah, tough tough times always gonna happen. As good times will always happen, and there’s gonna be ups. There’s gonna be downs. There’s gonna be plenty of money, and then there’s gonna be times where there’s less money. But when you have the same, when you’re chasing together with your partner, the same goal, meaning spending the rest of your life like truly, like you’re not pretending, like you truly want to spend the rest of your life together, then things work out pretty well.

Michael Hingson  17:37

You you have to have that commitment, and you each have to know that the other one has the commitment. So it’s more than talking about it; it’s living it. But when you do that, and then you open up with each other to communicate, that’s as good as it gets. And you can always make things succeed. So, what does your wife do? Does she work today?

Vincent Van den Broeck  18:00

She has her own company in music industry. She does label consultancy. She manages artists, project management. She does a lot of things. She works in the music industry.

Michael Hingson  18:14

Couldn’t get her into the restaurant industry, huh?

Vincent Van den Broeck  18:17

No, I did. I did, and but this is like this is this is this has always been for at least the past years her passion and she has always been there since day one for for me she has always supported and she even until today she still works in the restaurant from time to time but that’s that’s that’s her thing music is her thing

Michael Hingson  18:40

well again you get to share so many things, and I think that is that is so important.

Speaker 1  18:49

If you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we’ve created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you’ll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset Community.

Michael Hingson  19:22

Well, you opened your first restaurant. You said in April of 2018. Tell me about that. That that again, having moved to Brussels, having opened a restaurant for someone, that certainly was an adventure, and obviously you had to learn a lot. So that gave you some skills that you were able to use. But still, opening your own place is is a whole different level to go to.

Vincent Van den Broeck  19:46

100% and I made a lot of bad decisions. No, the thing, the the fun fact is, so I was already thinking about. So when things got bad at my at my job, I was already thinking about. Okay, why not? Up from my own place, and then there were customers in that same restaurant, and I heard I overheard them talking about I think it was hospitality, and so I stopped them in the hallways of the place I was working, and I asked them like, “Hey, can I? Are you in hospitality? And they told me, “No, but we have a building, and we’re looking for someone to rent out the place. And I was like, okay. So we exchanged numbers, and I went visiting the the building in which we opened then our first restaurant. And then because I got fired, because the goal was not to open the restaurant immediately, it was just like opening a door, and because I got fired, things had to go three, four, fire. Yeah, way faster. So I get fired in December. I have no money on the side. My wife has no money on the side, and that’s why we opened the pre the place already in April 2018, so I had to go visit banks and find investors. Managed to to have the owners of the building invest in the business. My best friend invested in the business. I think a week or two weeks before opening, found a bank loan. So it was it was something. It was something, and then we opened the place. And the thing is, my idea was, yeah, I’m gonna run this thing in the same way as my bosses did with their places. The thing is, the the experience was different. The budget was the investment was different, so I made, so I was running it from the corner office, while at the same time we did not have money, so I hired a manager. And the thing in Belgium is like taxing is crazy, like hiring staff. Let’s say you pay someone 15; it costs you as a business owner 30. So we went into a lot of debt due to me, due to bad management decisions, due to life, and so I was so I had to ah yeah, and then also fun fact 2020 2019 comes around. I get in touch with a lawyer to restructure the business financially. We open the second place hashtag in May 2019, and then good news, COVID hits, but we go into lockdown.

Michael Hingson  22:43

Yeah,

Vincent Van den Broeck  22:44

and and this is you have to know. So this place was huge. So we did first year we did despite the debt we did more than 1 million net in revenue. We had a so we had the restaurant on the second floor. We had a reception room. Then the third and fourth floor, we had luxury apartments that were rented out on Airbnb and booking. COVID hits, and we’re in a business area, so there’s no more. Everyone is working from home. Yeah, because I don’t know if you remember, but it was the first lockdown, and then we were able to reopen for a couple of months, and then it was a second lockdown. And in that reopening period, revenue dropped from one under 50 a month k to 60 a month, and we were paying 17k in rent alone. So it the math didn’t add up anymore, unfortunately. So we had to close the a file for bankruptcy the end of 2020, and then we were we still had a hashtag that we didn’t still own until today. So end of a chapter.

Michael Hingson  23:56

Yeah, and so when were you finally able to reopen and really start to build the business,

Vincent Van den Broeck  24:05

the first restaurant or you need hashtag,

Michael Hingson  24:09

whichever. Well, the first business. The the

Vincent Van den Broeck  24:12

first business was so the lockdown. I think the lockdown was announced in February 2020. Then we had we could reopen. I think it was summer 2020, and then we had to re close October or November 2020, and then we filed for bankruptcy. I think it was December or January 2020 2021.

Michael Hingson  24:36

Now, during that time, did hashtag close or did it stay open?

Vincent Van den Broeck  24:42

Yeah. So that again, fantastic. So we opened hashtag May 2019. We opened for a couple of months, and again, lockdown. So it shut down also for almost a year, and then in that first lockdown, again, every good has a bad. In that first lockdown, like I’ve never been diagnosed, but I’m convinced I have ADHD. Sitting still is sitting still is not for me. So I don’t know if you remember, but those first weeks of lockdown, you could not go out. Yeah, you had to stay at home. So after week three or four, I was like, “Okay, I’m not doing this. What do people eat when they’re depressed and at home? And I was like, “Yeah, sugar. Yeah, chocolate. Yeah, indeed, sugar. And I’ve always been a big fan of donuts since a very young age. So what I started doing is I started doing trials at my kitchen at home for homemade donuts. My wife was had to taste them all until I found the perfect recipe, and so we started selling homemade donuts from Instagram, and we delivered it to people’s door.

Michael Hingson  26:11

I was wondering if you were going to get to delivering. Yeah, go ahead.

Vincent Van den Broeck  26:14

Yeah. So, and this is month two or three in lockdown, and it became so big, so quick that we were doing at a certain point. We were pushing out three to 4000 donuts a day. Wow! And we were delivering them all out of all over Brussels. And then, me being me, I’ve always been very big on being solution minded, everyone was at home, so I called up friends that were living all over Belgium, like Ostend Antwerp, yes, and I asked them like, hey, would you be down to sell to your network our donuts and you get a cut on the sales? So we were selling all over Belgium. It it was crazy. So while everyone was at home, we were pushing 1000s and 1000s of donuts. We we then opened shops a bit all over Belgium. We started doing B to B, so it became way bigger. But again, my big flaw in the beginning has always been I’m crazy good in starting new business, new concepts. But when it comes to the foundation, I’ve always been pretty shitty. So it went crazy for six to 12 months, and then lack of experience revenue dropped. So yeah, file for bankruptcy for beat and kept on doing hashtag, and then we called it hashtag bakery the donut things because hashtag was already Open, right.

Michael Hingson  28:04

So you, you, but you kept hashtag and in the donut business. So do you do donuts today?

Vincent Van den Broeck  28:14

We no. So we’re. It’s funny that you ask all the questions because I started a series on our social media building hashtag with a weekly episode coming out, and everything I’m telling you right now, I’ve been posting on for the past couple of weeks, and so in 2022, I think I was delivering donuts all over Belgium. We had an hashtag, and I had this conversation with my wife where we were telling each other like we’re running all over Belgium for very few money at the end of the day. Wouldn’t it be better to just close everything and just focus only on hashtag, which we then did. So we decided to close everything down, focus only on hashtag. And again, we’re I think we’re summer 22, and at that point we’re only doing waffle burgers in hashtag. And the good thing is, I’m there because everything is closed. I’m there every day because we’re open since for seven days a week. My wife is there every day, so experience was on point. Quality was on point. Dishes were beautiful. Service was clean. We decided to then add on top of the waffle burgers all day brunch, all day brunch salary, and things popped off again immediately. Revenue. I’m not gonna lie; those first months were kind of tough because we were dragging that from COVID, right? Unless revenue was coming in, so I still remember I have some, I have some. Memories of moments where I had to decide between buying still or sparkling water for the customers because there was no money for both. I remember my wife and I taking the bike to go buy at a night shop 90 cent noodles because there was no money for fancy food. So it was again it was a struggle, but again, in thinking all struggle, there’s beauty, and all of a sudden, month after month, revenue got up, and it got up, and it got better, and it got better, and it got better. So, why do you think that

Michael Hingson  30:35

was,

Vincent Van den Broeck  30:38

Michael? It’s I do not have to explain it to you, like quality, it all goes back to quality. Like when you give quality, one day it hard work again always pays off. Like if you give what people are looking for, it’s not that difficult. And the the thing in the thing what is hard in hospitality? It’s it’s the final of the World Cup every single day. Yeah, because a customer can a customer can come over 20 times and be super happy, then come for the 21st time, hate His experience, and he will never come back. Yeah, and you understand that, which is so important. Of course, that you you you you do not do this if you’re not customer obsessed. You’re doing this for the money. Go find something else. It’s not in hospital being going to do that.

Michael Hingson  31:42

Well, so quality got better, and I asked you this before we started. So now we might as well explain why is it called hashtag.

Vincent Van den Broeck  31:51

Because a hashtag. Because a hashtag looks like a in itself looks like a waffle, and because waffles is our yeah because it’s it’s our main product. I decided to call it hashtag because it’s easy. Hey, let’s go to hashtag. It’s easy to say, easy word to mouth. Yeah. Hey, let’s go to hashtag. It makes people like this.

Michael Hingson  32:17

And it sounds good. And you so the restaurant. Well, and your email is hashtag Brussels, which makes perfect sense. So I’ll be waiting for you to start a hashtag in California, but that’s probably a ways off yet. So that’s okay.

Vincent Van den Broeck  32:30

It’s so funny because you have to know that 95% of our audience is tourists, and I’ve been hearing so many times from from Americans, people from England, from all over the world, like you should open this in Quebec, you should open this in Kellogg, you should open this in New York. It would go crazy. Just a matter of time.

Michael Hingson  32:56

And and maybe that’s true, and maybe not, but it still is something that’s worth thinking about. But but the reality is, it’s a whole different thing to bring an enterprise like that, especially to another country, and understand the same quality, or keep the same quality, or keep the quality that people in the new country will like, and and it can be a challenge. I know one of my favorite restaurants is a restaurant in New York called Virgil’s. It’s a barbecue restaurant. They have the, I think, the best ribs in the United States. And I’ve tasted ribs around the around the country. What I learned was at one point several years ago that Virgil’s was going to open a restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vincent Van den Broeck  33:42

Okay, but

Michael Hingson  33:43

one of the things that they required before that restaurant could open was that the people who were going to open the restaurant had to come and spend six months working at Virgil’s in New York because they wanted to have the same quality. They wanted the the same sort of thing, and having now eaten at both restaurants, I could tell you they did a good job. But you know they they learned the business, and it and it worked out really well. And what Virgil’s originally did was traveled around the country, looking at different barbecue restaurants in different places, learned what they did, and they put it all together to make the ribs that that they sell, and they’re wonderful.

Vincent Van den Broeck  34:25

Everything you just said, literally everything you just said. Could you imagine the worry that goes behind it? If you want to be invest in hospitality, good luck. Yeah, good.

Michael Hingson  34:37

Yeah, there is there. You know, there was so much behind it, but the people were committed, and and they’ve done a good job. I actually ate at Virgil’s in Las Vegas. The last time I ate at Virgil’s in Las Vegas was earlier this year, and it just reminded me of how good their food is because it’s not just the cooking of it; it’s the kind of ribs they use. It’s just everything. And and it’s wonderful, so I certainly can’t complain. But I imagine it’s got to be a lot of worry, a lot of work, and major challenges to go to a whole new country. You know, moving and having a second restaurant in Belgium is one thing, but opening it in another country-that’s got to be a big challenge.

Vincent Van den Broeck  35:18

Yeah. Good luck with that. It’s not really overnight. It’s not something you do overnight.

Michael Hingson  35:24

Well, so you have been running hashtag for a while, but of course we got to get to the fact that something happened in 2024. Why don’t you start to tell us about that, if you would?

Vincent Van den Broeck  35:38

It’s funny because when people say like you need to go all in for your business. It’s literally what I did, meaning October 1120, 24. Two weeks after sending my account, and hey, did you see our revenue? We just did our best month since forever. The same day we’re having a catering at Abbe, which is a famous concert room here in Brussels, which I always wanted as a client because I think since the end of 2023 we started doing catering. They became a good client of us, so we’re doing catering events at Abbe, and I had to send a last important file because, again, I was reorganizing, restructuring the business because the debt we were dragging from COVID, from business partners that that framed us, and I had to send the last file to our lawyers that same evening, so I’m on my way to the Hoxen, which is a hotel here in, who’s also in the States, by the way, who’s a hotel here in the center of Brussels, and I’ve always been doing admin from that from that place because the restaurant we own is kind of small. I’m on my way to the to the Hoxton to send that last file, and in front of the the hotel, I get hit by a car, unfortunately, which was a pretty bad accident. So I fall. I fell on the front window on the roof, and then the person who found me, which was by the way the same comment I was just talking about, found me 11 meters further than the than the car. My skull was already open because I wasn’t wearing a helmet. I was already suffocating on the spot, telling Tacoma immediately and then stayed in coma for for three weeks. For three weeks, and the narrative back then was to my wife, your husband is not gonna make it. Probably stop prepping the funeral. So found it challenging. Wish that, of course, didn’t happen.

Michael Hingson  38:02

Well, I certainly would expect that it didn’t, since we’re here talking. But that’s a good thing. So, but but she had been told to expect the worst. What did she think?

Vincent Van den Broeck  38:14

She um, she’s she believes in God, so and she’s a big believer, and she’s good. Destiny’s Destiny’s Destiny, but she was she stay convinced weirdly enough. Like she was delusional, and we talked a lot about being delusional. She was delusional about the fact that I was going to survive. There was no way I was gonna pass away, despite the medical facts, despite the the bad news that she was getting, and at the same time, there were a lot of a lot of my friends, a lot of my family that told her, if there’s one person that is gonna survive this, it’s Vincent. Don’t worry about it. And so everything came together to me. Then eventually waking up on the on October the 31st, and I think I’m I’ve I also believe a lot in energy, like the body, the brain, the body, the universe works in mysterious ways, and they feel like super pessimistic about the fact, like, yeah, okay, not gonna make it. The room just feels it. The patients, which in this case was me, would feel it, and then again afterwards, nah, go. a little bit sideways, but no, she was convinced. But I was gonna, I was gonna make it.

Michael Hingson  39:47

Well, that that had to help.

Vincent Van den Broeck  39:52

Until this day, I I tell her, I tell everyone, she’s the reason I survived.

Michael Hingson  39:57

Yeah, I can understand that. My wife, in 2014, went into a coma because she had caught bronchitis and it went into pneumonia, and her lungs were 90% filled with ammonia. With pneumonia, and the doctors kept saying, you know, there’s a very small chance that she could survive, but not likely. I never felt that we were going to lose her, and I would occasionally. We had two dogs. I had my guide dog Africa and Africa’s. I have

Vincent Van den Broeck  40:34

a question. I have a question for Sergeant Sure. But and why not? Why were why were you convinced that you were not gonna lose.

Michael Hingson  40:42

It was just the way it was. I I never felt as much as I heard what other people were saying. I felt she is stronger than you think, and I’m gonna do all I can to help her. And as I was gonna say, we had two dogs, my guide dog and her, my guide dog’s mother, Fantasia, that was also Karen’s service dog. So occasionally we took Fantasia over to the hospital, and she was very gentle about it. But she would get up in the bed with Karen and lay down next to her, even though Karen was in a coma. And I just think we we worked to to tell Karen you’re gonna be okay. It’s entirely up to you and and God to to come through this. Well, she eventually started waking up, and she did.

Vincent Van den Broeck  41:33

Right, that’s amazing.

Michael Hingson  41:35

Yeah, and it’s it’s the same sort of thing, but I I know That I just listened to my inner voice that said she’s going to be okay, but you got to do your part, and I did my best to do my part, and so that’s that’s the way it worked.

Vincent Van den Broeck  41:54

Yeah, that’s amazing. How long did she stay in coma?

Michael Hingson  41:58

It was an induced coma after a while, and she was in an induced coma for about three and a half weeks.

Vincent Van den Broeck  42:05

Ah, same as me. And

Michael Hingson  42:07

the the issue was that her lungs were very full of pneumonia, and it was very difficult to get the fluid out. But they eventually were were able to do that, and so you know she did fine. But you know, she’s always been a very strong person and a very committed person. So I was just very confident that she would be able to be okay if that’s what she chose to do, and she did. Yeah. So on Halloween night, you you came out of your coma. You know, an interesting question that I think about is, you know, people basically said they wrote you off and they basically said it’s impossible. He’s not going to survive. What did you think about being impossible before the the event? Before you lost, well, before you went into a coma, and and how has your view of impossible changed, or has it?

Vincent Van den Broeck  43:04

Oh, that’s a good question. Impossible before the accident. Yeah, the I’m gonna try to find a good answer. the The thing for me has always been impossible is just is just a word, and you know what? The before the accident, I went through so many bad things and difficult periods that, for me, and again going back to the delusional part, for me, I’ve always been someone that impossible does not exist to me. That did not exist and does not still exist, and that doesn’t mean that it does not exist. But to me, if you would ask me back then in 2018, yeah, but Vincent, what if the rest of it doesn’t work out? Yeah, it’s gonna work out. No, no, but what if? No, it’s gonna work out. Which eventually it it did not, but everything I was able to control, I did, and impossible was giving a new definition because right now it’s it was linked to my health, which is of course a complete different thing, but in a certain way, it did not really. The definition of it did not really change. It just for you to overcome impossible. And again, I do not need to explain it to you. You need to be delusional about it. Whatever again you chase it, you you you will seem to people around you like crazy. Yeah, which is again, which is hard. Which is hard. It it

Michael Hingson  44:56

is, and it’s really hard to explain it to other people. Because what you’re ultimately doing is listening to yourself and to your inner voice, to your subconscious. Thank you. It’s telling you you can do what you need to do, and that is is difficult to explain to people because they’ll write it off until it happens to them. It’s it’s a personal experience by any standard.

Vincent Van den Broeck  45:20

Yes, sir. And then, and then, there’s life is life, you know. And then they will always tell you, “Oh, you’re so lucky, and it’s hard because you’re the only one that knows what you really did, what it took you. And as human beings, we we want the accolades, we want the applause, we want the credit. We want the recognition, but it’s it’s just about you. If you manage to figure out whatever you’ve figured out, the impossible. That’s enough. That’s enough. And for me, and for me, two years ago, that was just surviving, learning to walk again, learning to talk again. Okay, yeah, that has.

Michael Hingson  46:07

What was the biggest obstacle you had to face mentally speaking when you woke up? Is that you know you woke up? I don’t know what you were thinking. Probably wondering what was going on, but what was what? What challenge did you have?

Vincent Van den Broeck  46:21

Being completely dependent on everyone. I’ve I’ve always been super independent. I’ve always managed my own stuff, and being dependent for even the most basic stuff on everyone around me, like going to the toilet. I had to ask my wife to help me. Help you! Yeah, I could. She had to feed me. She had to wash me. She had to put on my clothes. Could you even imagine? For for a boy that built businesses that have been that has been figuring it out for the past 10 years, all of a sudden going to the total he needs his wife. That was difficult. I was in a bad place,

Michael Hingson  47:01

but somehow you accepted it.

Vincent Van den Broeck  47:03

That’s the only thing you can do. Yeah, that’s literally the the only. Like again, it got even tougher today, 2026, because we all think we’re the exception on the rule, and we have a hard time accepting reality. But reality is reality. You you can okay complain. The only person you’re fooling is yourself. Is yourself. Yeah. Exactly.

Michael Hingson  47:33

The reality is, working as a team is is is always a good thing. There are things you know. There are things that she knows, and when you put it all together, that makes it a whole better system all the way around.

Vincent Van den Broeck  47:46

Exactly, exactly. You need you need you need people around you that lift you up, that make you believe that there is more to life. Because I can tell you, if you’re around people long enough that always complain, and it’s always someone else, and it’s always society and the weather, and it’s no matter what, I can tell you, you’re gonna be grumpy like crazy. Yeah. But be but be around people that be like, “Hey, Michael, you’re so amazing. What you only did that? I think you can do better. Hey, Michael, why you’re not smiling? Yeah, no, Michael, you can do better. Yeah, but it is. And I was lucky enough that the accident happened when I was 32, meaning I had built an entourage of people that when I was in a bad place, those first two to three weeks after my after me waking up, I was in a bad place, and I had people around me that told me even I was missing part of my skull, even though I was in a hospital that that told me, “Hey, Vincent, stop complaining. This is not you. I I didn’t want to walk because walking for me was like running a marathon. Every tiny effort felt like a huge one, and they told me, “This is not you. You want to walk? But you

Speaker 2  49:13

did it.

Vincent Van den Broeck  49:15

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And that’s why I always say, “This is our win. This was never just my win.

Michael Hingson  49:22

Well, so I would presume that all of this that you went through definitely was a positive strengthening of your marriage too.

Vincent Van den Broeck  49:33

Oh, 100% We’re in the best place ever.

Michael Hingson  49:37

Does she make waffles, or do you do all the cooking at home?

Vincent Van den Broeck  49:43

No, she she cooks she cooks, but she’s more like a pancake person. So oh well, we do not eat we do not eat waffles at home.

Michael Hingson  49:50

Yeah, you got to go out to the hashtag to eat waffles, right?

Vincent Van den Broeck  49:54

Exactly.

Michael Hingson  49:55

Yeah, that makes more sense. So, have you become a more patient person because you had to exhibit a lot of patience as you were going through all this recovery?

Vincent Van den Broeck  50:08

Oh, far from! I’ve always been super impatient. Even when I was when I was in hospital, people would complain like, “Be more patient. This is not good. Be more patient. When it comes to the short term, I’m super patient. When it comes to the long term, like I know business they take 1520, 25 years to build, but when it comes to the short term, like waiting in line to buy a donut, I do not do that. Yeah, waiting in line for a table in a restaurant, I do not do that. I go eat somewhere else. I’m super impatient when it comes to the short term.

Michael Hingson  50:48

Has that changed at all since the accident?

Vincent Van den Broeck  50:51

No, not at all. No, even worse. Even worse, I think. Oh well, there you go.

Michael Hingson  51:00

Well, you said that the accident didn’t change who you are, but it reinforced who you are. Tell me more about that,

Vincent Van den Broeck  51:06

Michael. Listen, you better be, and again, I do not need to tell you this, but you better be ready when opportunity presents itself, and it could be whatever. It could be a business opportunity. Could be a new your your dream job, the woman of your life, the man of your life could be whatever, because again, life is life. There’s not 1000s of them of those opportunities that present that present themselves in a lifetime, and it was not not even as if, but it was. I was I was more than ready to go into coma, go through rehab, and everything that came after. I had built everything around the, and and also when I think about when I think back about those months, I’m proud of myself. I took it with the most grace possible. I was ready for this opportunity. My mindset, my body, my brain, and I took it with the best way you could have taken it. And so, indeed, the accident taught me nothing. It reminded me of everything. Everything I went through, everything I learned before I used during the most. Because the problem with opportunities, it’s not like the opportunity presents itself, and then you’re like, quick, quick, quick, let me get ready. In my case, it was not. You don’t get hit by a car and be like, okay, quick, quick, let me build resilience, let me build recovery, let me build this, let me build minds, and then no, you build that years before, yeah, not hoping you’re going through, you’re gonna have an accident and you’re gonna need that, but like you never know, like we, we, we, we both went to COVID. Nobody expected it. Well, all of a sudden locked down.

Michael Hingson  53:07

Yeah,

Vincent Van den Broeck  53:08

and and I didn’t expect the morning of the accident. I didn’t expect to go to found Tacoma for three weeks. But okay, life is life. It happens. Shit happens.

Michael Hingson  53:18

But you were you were prepared, and you know, I I I feel the same way in so many ways. People ask me all the time about being in the World Trade Center and what do I think about that. And my response is, September 11th validated everything that I believe. It wasn’t like it was a whole new thing. It validated so many things because I had learned so many things, I didn’t expect to have an emergency. I didn’t expect to be in a building that was struck by an aircraft, but it happened. And and the fact is, we can deal with so many things if we learn how to prepare, and if we learn that we can do so many things that we never thought we could do.

Vincent Van den Broeck  54:04

Thank you.

Michael Hingson  54:05

So your wife documented a lot about the accident and so on. Tell us more about that, and what was it like for you to to see all of that, see it through the way she looked at it.

Vincent Van den Broeck  54:16

It was. It made me writhed for a very long time. As in, when I think back about everything that happened, what makes me really sad is when I think about what my what she went through, what my family went through when I was in coma. Like I could not even. I was just sleeping for three. I was I was just sleeping. Yeah. But the bad news that they got day after day after day. That was, and so the docu fun fact is the documentary part was just because a lot of my friends lived abroad. They they did not live in Belgium, so she was just filming it to send them send them an update like she. Has been. She has been amazing. She was like super rational. She was like with me emotionally, but like she made a visitor list on a word document. Like because there was so many visitors, and she was like, “You can come that day. You can come that. People had to register. Then she filmed. She sent recaps of the whole situation to friends, then she has been she has been amazing. And seeing all that, it’s it’s like today, we’re july 31. Today is just a reminder. It’s literally a reminder, and I’m even happy. And that’s why I always say that I’m happy that the accident happened because before the accident, I went to hell and back multiple times, and I know because my personality, because my way of talking, I make people believe that life is easier for me. And the right now the images are there, and I know even right now because the way I recovered and the way I progressed so fast, I make people even today believe that. But right now the images are there. The Vincent with a with a part of his comb missing that cannot walk, that is sitting in a wheelchair are there, which then adds credibility to everything I’m preaching. And the only thing I’m preaching at the end of the day is get more of out of your life. Whatever you’re chasing, the world does not owe you nothing. Nothing is given, but everything is there for the taking. Go get it.

Michael Hingson  56:34

Yeah. This may be kind of redundant to that, but if somebody feels that they’re trapped in their own life out of illness or unexpected things, and so on. What do you want them to remember from your story?

Vincent Van den Broeck  56:48

Ask yourself. the The key takeaway would always be for me. Start asking yourself the question, “Why not me? Instead of “Why me? Yeah. Why not? Why can I have this and that or that and that? Why not me? It’s that easy. And you know what? Three simple changes that any listener could do after listening to this podcast Is one start talking positive about yourself? Is two think highly of yourself, and three choose gratitude every day. And those three things might simple because they are, but might be harder in reality. But you do those three things on a daily basis, life all of a sudden starts becoming more sunny, yeah, more beautiful, yeah,

Michael Hingson  57:56

and it becomes easier. and the The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Vincent Van den Broeck  58:01

Exactly. Thank you.

Michael Hingson  58:03

So your book is entitled “Everything Feels Impossible Until It’s Done. Tell us about the book. the The

Vincent Van den Broeck  58:13

book came to life, of course, after the accident, and so there was so many, as I told a bit earlier in our conversation. So there were so many people telling my wife when I was still in coma, if there’s one person that is going to survive, this is Vincent. And then when I was already awake, so many people told me, “Yeah, Vincent, your mindset made the whole difference. And then I was like, “Huh, where does that come from? And so I analyzed my day-to-day life, and I was like, “Wait, I can teach that. And then my auntie, when I was still in reading up, she told me many times, like, “You should write a book about all this. And then I got inspired by a story. His name was 2019. His name is Elliot Kipchoge, who’s until 2019, it was considered physically impossible for a human body to run a marathon under two hours. Elliot Kipchoge came, and this is an unofficial marathon, so he never got registered. Runs a marathon in one hour 59 minutes 40 seconds. A couple of months ago in London, London Marathon, two runners run a marathon under two hours, and so I put all the the puzzle pieces together, and I was like, “It is indeed that. Everything indeed feels impossible until it’s done, because no matter what you’re going through, your situation-it could be a divorce, you just failed an exam, it could be an accident, you just lost your job. Your situation in that moment always feels like. Like the worst worldwide, and it always feels like impossible to go through. And so the the book became sort of like a success story, not not as in accolades for me, or credits for me, or recognition for me-sort of like a hold on for the person reading the book. Like, finally, indeed,

Michael Hingson  1:00:33

yeah. And I would assume that for people who read the book, you would want them to, after they finish it, have that conversation with themselves. Why not me?

Vincent Van den Broeck  1:00:44

Yes, sir. On the spot. On the spot.

Michael Hingson  1:00:47

Yeah, it’s it’s very important. I think I think it is so important. We we find so many things that we just berate ourselves about. We we yell at ourselves. You you know, I and I still hear today. Why did God allow the World Trade Center attacks to occur? And and do you regret surviving, or why did you survive? You know, my responses are things like, God gave us free will and choice. How could He? How could He not let the World Trade Center happen. It’s not his job to deal with that. That’s why we’re we’re put on the earth, and we need to grow going forward to make sure that sort of thing doesn’t happen again. But for me personally, as as I tell people, as a survivor of the World Trade Center, I was given an opportunity and chose to take it. And the opportunity was, what do I do after the World Trade Center? What can I do that may be helpful for other people? And for me, that has led to being a keynote speaker now for almost 25 years, and I enjoy it. It’s fun, but I also think that it’s important for people to to hear the story and hopefully take away lessons from it. That’s really the key, and and I hope that that people do. They say they do. I hope they do because I think it’s so important. So, for for you, what do you think that success will look like for you or for other people in five years? That’s an arbitrary time, but yeah,

Vincent Van den Broeck  1:02:22

for me it’s it’s pretty easy, Michael. Like I’m not chasing nothing in particular, but there’s one thing I’m chasing, by the way, on a daily basis, and it will be in five years, as it will be in 1015, 2025, years. Is my last moment on this earth. I will be able to tell myself, “Wow, what an incredible life did I have! Yeah, I did everything I wanted to do, and I said everything I wanted to say. It could have been, and when I was 32, I I would have been able to tell myself that, and that is exactly what I’m chasing. Yeah, isn’t that should shouldn’t that not be the goal for everyone? By the way, what else are we chasing? Money, homes, cars? No, chase that feeling of being able to tell yourself in your last moment to people around you, “Wow, thank you for my life, I had an amazing, extraordinary life,

Michael Hingson  1:03:24

and I love my life, and I I believe in living it to the fullest. Well, if people want to reach out to you, how do they do that?

Vincent Van den Broeck  1:03:33

You can pre order the book on Amazon already today, which I suggest you to do, and my my Instagram. I’m super active on Instagram. Vincent in the kitchen. I’m I’m on LinkedIn. Vincent Vann Brook, my my whole name. I’m on TikTok, YouTube, and I’m documenting everything. By the way, everything I just we spoke about during this conversation. I’m preaching online like this. You’re gonna see online. This is gonna be in the book. The visit you’re gonna see by himself walking to the seats of Brussels. Exactly the same. When will the book be out? The so pre-orders are open right now. They will start sending out the pre-orders as of September 15, but the official release party will be the day of the accident two years later. So this year, 2026 October 11. Okay,

Michael Hingson  1:04:30

well, we’ll we’ll have to have the podcast come out right around then, so that people will will learn about the book. But I want to really thank you for being here, and I think you’ve you’ve demonstrated unstoppability by any standard, but more important than that, I think you’re talking about it. Hopefully, will help a lot of people. I’ve learned a lot and been reminded of so many important life lessons that we all should should remember. So, thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for being out there listening to us or watching. Yes, love it if you’d give us a great review wherever you’re observing the podcast. And if you’d like to, and I would appreciate it if you would, I’d love to hear from you about this podcast. Please feel free to email me. It’s really easy. Email me at speaker@michaelhinkson.com. That’s s p e a k e r at m i c h a e l h i n g s i. O n.com. Love to hear from you, and love it if you’d help us find more people who want to tell their stories. I’m always interested in getting introductions from people. So, Vincent, if you know anyone else, and and so on, love to hear from them. But I want to thank you all for for being here, and I appreciate that. But for you, Vincent, thank you very much for being here today. This has been absolutely wonderful.

Vincent Van den Broeck  1:05:48

Thank you so much for the opportunity. By the way, Michaela, I loved it. I loved it for real. Thank you.

Michael Hingson1:05:54

Thank you for being here with me on Unstoppable Mindset. I hope today’s conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about. If you’re ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others, I have a free gift for you. Head over to michaelhingson.com and download my free ebook, Blinded by fear, it explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back and shows you how to reframe them so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward together. Thanks again for listening. Keep learning, keep questioning, and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable mindset.