The Thisissoul grand opening is on July 28th and it is the only time we can remember a shop doing it so proper (ribbon cutting, red carpet, contest, etc). Are you expecting a large amount of general public to attend in addition to the bladers?
Thank you for putting it that way. If you are going to do something then better do it well. If there is anything that I have learned the last time it is that building something is hard, but the effort of making this same thing likeable costs way less and also makes it a lot more fun. The whole neighborhood is interested in what we have been working on the last couple of months so I expect a lot of these people here. The BHC, Valo and Youth caps that hang in the window here get really good feedback from local kids. We have a well-known DJ at the event so that will also attract a few non-bladers.

 Is this shop completely blader-owned and operated?
The shop is built out of a passion of customizing skates. I used to build setups for fun, so I already had a lot of skates and even more parts in stock. I kept buying new parts and skates from every penny I earned and that is how everything grew. Eventually I started selling new skates, hired new staff and got a new website… then things blew up. There will never be anybody working for Thisissoul that does not blade.

Who are those babes in the panoramic shot on the site? Is blading cool enough in Amsterdam that beautiful women jump at the opportunity to put on black tights and heels and pose with blade gear?
Two of the girls are my friends and they brought up this idea themselves, so in a way you could say that blading might be cool enough for girls in Amsterdam (beautiful women) to do this. They organized everything and got their girlfriends in on it as well. All I needed to do was ask the famous Dutch blade photographer Bojd Vredevoogd if he was interested in the project.

What do you feel distinguishes TIS from other shops around the world?
That is a hard question since there are so many good shops in the world. There are a few shops in particular that I really look up to, but I don’t know if any of their staff has ever tried to put a SSM soulplate on a Fila skate before.

I have pushed the customization of skates a lot in the past and with that experience we can be of great assistance to people that want something extra. All this knowledge hammering, drilling and grinding your skates apart will be put online in the future, free for everybody to learn from.

Thanks for taking with us guys. Best of luck with the shop!

Visit the ThisIsSoul website.