Laurent Gerstmans

Laurent Gerstmans grew up in Antwerpen’s Seehhoek neighborhood, where he learned to fight in the streets. In 1910, he won his first national title in wrestling. In 1912, in the heavyweight class of Greco-Roman wrestling, he competed in the Olympic Games in Stockholm. There, however, he was eliminated after losing the first two rounds against Scandinavian opponents. In 1912, he also tried his hands at boxing but soon returned to wrestling. After the creation of the Belgian Boxing and Wrestling Federation, he was the first title holder in the heavyweight category in 1913.

As a dockworker, Gerstmans chose to pursue a career as a professional wrestler in 1914. Winning fight after fight, he became a true people’s hero. Because of his impressive physique, he was nicknamed “Antwerp Apollo”. In August 1919, he founded his own Wrestling Club in which he taught. The greatest moments of his career were undoubtedly his victory over the Japanese jiu-jitsu champion Mikinosuke Kawaishi (1899-1969) in the fifth round in April 1926 and the successful fight for the European title in 1933 against the Walloon wrestling hero Constant Le Marin (1884-1965). In 1936, Laurent Gerstmans quit wrestling and opened the famous “Café Jozef” on Koningin Astridplein in Antwerp, still a monument among Antwerp cafes.