5Qs and 5As with @jeroenfriso

We’re back with another instalment 5Qs and 5As; the interview series where we meet Team KLEKT members. Today, we’re sitting down with one of the humblest guys in the Netherlands sneaker scene @jeroenfriso. After getting into the sneaker scene almost a decade ago, Jeroen has grown his collection to a very sizeable and respectable size, managing to get his hands on some pretty crazy heat.

Today, we’re going to learn a little bit more about Jeroen, his passion for sneakers and where it all began for him. As a big basketball fan in his youth, he knows only all too well how influential the worlds of sport and music have impacted him. Make sure you follow Jeroen on Instagram too as there will be a special promotion he is running all weekend. Without further delay, this is 5Qs and 5As with @jeroenfriso!

Hi Jeroen, it’s great to have you here. Can you please introduce yourself?

What’s up guys, thanks for having me – it’s a big honour. My name is Jeroen Theeuwen, a 25-year-old Dutch sneakerhead who’s been collecting for about eight years. I feel very humbled and proud of the collection I have built over the years and am looking forward to growing my closet more in the future. Hopefully with a lot more Ws and a lot less hype, but I guess that’s just “wishful thinking” – right? We’ll see what the future holds for the sneaker scene but one thing is certain: I’m in!

How did your passion for sneakers start?

I was born in the ‘90s and from the age of eight, I started watching and playing basketball. Basketball combined with my interest in hip-hop has had a lot of influence on my passion for shoes because both of those scenes were stacked with sneakers.

I remember seeing NBA players like PJ Tucker and Nick Young having the craziest sneaker collections, including PEs I had never seen before. I instantly thought “Yo, this is it!” Obviously, I wasn’t exactly in the same financial situation as them so my opportunities were, of course, very limited.

After I finished secondary school, I had a year where I started earning some more money. My involvement in the basketball scene drew me to one specific model: the Air Jordan 1. I remember being on the hunt for my first ever pair of Jordan 1s when I got my first paycheck. I ended up buying the Air Jordan 1 Retro “Premier Gucci” in the sale section of a Foot Locker. Can you imagine an Air Jordan 1 Retro on sale? The good old days, right. From that point on, my hobby turned into a true addiction and my collection started to grow.

Do you have a Holy Grail?

Of course! The term “Holy Grail” isn’t exactly used well in the sneaker community, but that’s a different story. Honestly, I have quite a few must-have pairs which are very hard to get or simply too expensive. It’s too difficult for me to pick one so I tried to narrow it down to three pairs:

Air Jordan 1 Retro High “Rust Pink”
Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 “Purple”
Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Retro High “Chicago”

What is the most you have spent on a sneaker?

I made a rule for myself to never spend more than €500 on a single pair of sneakers, but I’ve broken that rule three times since haha. The biggest purchase I made was the Travis Scott x Nike SB Dunk Low “JackBoys,” a crazy amount of money in my opinion, but it was just one of those pairs I had to have.

I love the look and tearaway paisley print materials together, especially with the unique rope laces that really make this pair stand out. I feel this is a pair that people will still be talking about in 10 years and it links directly to Travis Scott’s influence on the whole sneaker scene. This shoe also brought the Nike SB Dunk back in 2020 too.

In all honesty, though, I need to start reducing the amount of money I spend on sneakers. Every time I tell myself “Jay, you don’t need these, keep your money in your pocket”. Luckily, my name is not Jay!

Can you tell us the top five pairs in your collection?

Sheesh, I get this question a whole lot and to be honest, I’ve probably given a lot of different answers in the past few years. After a long debate with myself, these are my current top five favourites: