About me

I’m Elise, founder, owner and coach at BOUBOUGE. My love for fitness started more than twenty-five years ago, back in my teenage years. Whenever I had free time, you could find me in a group class somewhere dancing, stepping, sweating, laughing. I was completely hooked on the energy of moving together.

After completing my Master’s degree in Business & Sport Psychology, I started my career as an HR assistant at Passage Fitness First, Belgium’s largest fitness chain at the time. Being immersed in the industry I loved only fuelled my passion, and I soon began completing a wide range of trainings to become a group fitness instructor.

A few years later, Passage Fitness First was taken over by its biggest competitor, Health City. That transition became a turning point for me: I stepped out of the office and onto the fitness floor. I first became a club manager and eventually moved into a regional manager position.

When Health City transformed its clubs into Basic-Fit, I decided to follow the part of the job I loved most: teaching group classes. That’s when I became a freelance group fitness instructor. For many years, I taught group classes in studios across Ghent and Brussels. Throughout that time, the dream of opening my own studio kept growing louder. In 2025, I found the perfect spot in Ghent, took the jump and BOUBOUGE was born.

What started as a teenage love for group classes has grown into a studio built from passion, purpose and movement. My goal is to create a space where everyone feels motivated, supported and inspired to move, sweat, jump and fly together, a place where you become healthier, fitter, stronger, less stressed and more energized. I can’t wait to welcome you soon.