Mental Theo

Mental Theo, whose real name is Theodorus Jozephus Jan Nabuurs, was born on 14 February 1965 in ’s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), the Netherlands.

His passion for music started very early: at the age of ten he was already mixing records at family gatherings using his parents’ soul collection. At fourteen, he owned his first set of turntables and bought his own records, such as an ABBA album. As a teenager, he worked various odd jobs to fund his love of vinyl.

After starting electrical engineering studies—later abandoned—he worked as a light jockey at the “Chic” nightclub in Oisterwijk. His DJ career truly took off when he filled in at short notice for a sick resident, impressed everyone enough to be booked regularly, and also worked weekdays in record stores.

Musically, he moved through the eras, following trends from disco to rare groove and then to hip-hop in the late 1970s and early 1980s, even working for a hip-hop magazine. It was the arrival of house music in the Netherlands in the mid-1980s that helped him find his direction.

His reputation exploded during the gabber and hardcore boom between 1990 and 1993. He played at landmark parties alongside DJs such as Rob Janssen from Rotterdam’s Parkzicht, and later at major events worldwide including Fantazia, Mayday, Berlin’s Love Parade, Thunderdome, Switzerland’s Street Parade, Mystery Land, and many others.

In the early 1990s he worked for Arcade Records and created the world’s biggest Hardcore compilation, Thunderdome. He then signed a production deal with Master Maximum Records, a label he co-founded with Charly Lownoise. Their duo, Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo, achieved global success with their debut single Wonderful Days, selling millions of copies and followed by eleven other hit singles.

Alongside his music career, Mental Theo is an accomplished athlete who has practiced football, karate, ice hockey, judo, baseball, rugby (even being selected for the Dutch national team), cycling, Thai boxing, and weight training.

After his musical successes, he turned to television and founded his own production company. Since 1999, he has worked for The Music Factory (TMF), the Dutch version of MTV, where he presents the shows “Mental Theo On The Road” and “Bounzz”. He also produces summer/winter specials while travelling around the world.

He is also an entrepreneur: co-founder of the label Patriott Records and manager of several other labels such as Mental Movement Recordings, Future Freaks and Bunkör Beats. He owns a television production company, “Mental Television”, and a racing team, “Mental Racing”.

A versatile artist, he is recognized as a major figure in the Happy Hardcore, Hardstyle and Trance scenes.