André's Bio

André Hesselink
Co-CEO

Flying and traveling are my ideal combination. Like my co-pilot, I like to fly. Though not in an airplane but as a paraglider pilot. There is virtually nothing that comes close to the excitement of flying all by yourself in the open air. Imagine flying at an altitude of 6000 feet in complete silence with the Mont Blanc in the background and circling slowly back to that little alpine village... It doesn't get any better than that.

Apart from paragliding I like to constantly find new challenges, from the New York marathon to climbing the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The same challenge I can find in traveling. Whether it be trekking in Ecuador, Kayaking in Botswana, or biking in China. It is really amazing to see how different distant places and people are from what you thought they were. Everywhere in the world I have experienced warm and welcoming people and I have many favorite places that I want to go back to, but my favorite destination is the Island of Bali. There you can really find everything one is looking for, whether it is 5 star luxury resorts or a simple bed and breakfast. That combined with the people, the food, the culture, the landscape, the beaches, and the activities, I could go on and on.

Wim's Bio

Wim Butte
Co-CEO

Flying is of course a dream of many little boys. No different for me. My life took me into a different direction, albeit "close" to the real thing. I worked for a couple of airlines in sales and management positions. The fact that these airlines (Canadian Pacific Airlines and Wardair Canada) are not in existence anymore today, has nothing to do with me being there I can assure you.

When studying law at the University of Amsterdam, I specialized in Air and Space law, so even more abstract from real flying, although Air and Space law are very interesting fields. Did you know there is a "Moon Treaty"? It basically says that countries may plant a flag on the moon, but not claim territory.

So to make this long story a bit longer, finally at age 36 I started to take flying lessons in the Netherlands. I have enjoyed flying since. I especially like the navigational part of it. My flying adventures include island hopping in the Carribean, a trip from South Africa, through Zimbabwe and Zambia and a trip from Holland to Djerba in Tunesia. Since I am now commuting between Amsterdam and San Francisco I became a member of the Palo Alto Flying club and I find it great to fly around California. One of the latest flights I did was with Andre as one of my passengers to Mojave Desert Airbase. This is the final resting place for many "Iron ladies" and also the end of my little story of me as a little boy.

Bill's Bio

William Niejadlik
CTO

I grew up in a traveling family. My father use to repair electronic equipment on supertankers around the world. As you can imagine they don't bring the tanker to you... you go to the tanker. So my father was always flying to exotic locations like Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and the Panama Canal. When I was 11, my parents took me on a trip around the world. Right there and then I was hooked on travel. It took me until I was in the travel industry to take more flights and to go more places than my father. (However, I think he has edged me out on visits to countries-that-don't-exist-anymore category... I have 2).

Other than travel, which I actually do a lot less of now a days (launching this product takes a lot out of you), I am an avid Harley driver and scuba diver. I have driven across the country twice on my Harley. Only on a Harley can you be standing in front of your bike in Gallup, New Mexico when a bunch of other people on Harleys stop and ask where you headed. You say nowhere, and they say we're going to Vegas, want to come? And you go...

Anthony's Bio

Anthony Hanseder
Vayama General Manager

Like many of my colleagues here at vayama, I have a work-hard play-hard ethic. For play my interests are somewhat seasonal, and include hiking in summer and skiing in winter (good thing there isn't snow all year in the mountains as those double black diamonds would do me in eventually!).

One of my favorite activities is windsurfing. Here in the San Francisco area there are some great places; most are over my skill level as I'm only intermediate. So the thought of going out under the Golden Gate bridge, with 40 knot winds (that's pretty strong) and 50 degree water, only to get swept out into the ocean by the ferociously famous currents…and end up in the jaws of a great white shark… are not that appealing.

It turns out that being an intermediate windsurfer is like being one of those practice boxers; you get all beat up but don't really get anything out of it. You would think that falling into the water would be very soft…reality is much different, as when you get half-decent you use a harness, which is designed to alleviate the immense pull of the sail by using your body as a counter balance. Problem is, when a strong sudden gust comes, you can get catapulted; into the water at high speed…or worse, slammed into the board. Don't worry, I won't post pictures of my scars here, but suffice to say I have my share. And this is supposed to be fun? Hey…when is my next trip?