A brief history of the brand

Born in Brownsweg, Suriname, his family moved to the Netherlands when Gee was two years old. His father, Humphrey, has always been culturally and socially active, working with refugees and protesting against social injustices. It is more common to do so now, but in the 80s and 90s, consistently speaking up against the use of blackface during each annual holiday season took courage and determination. Indifferent to being perceived as uppity or even worse, "ungrateful", father Schmidt made it a point to educate his children on the values of doing the right thing. And these are teachings that have stuck with his son over the years. His father is a soft-spoken, introverted man who thinks and deliberates before he speaks, and Gee was not much different.

Gee's family was also responsible for his obsession with music. His parents frequently played Reggae or Soul music at home, and during family functions, they would play R&B and at some point: Hip-Hop. It was like love at first sight. He loved the way it sounded, but also the way the artists dressed and how confident and powerful they seemed to look. As a youth, Gee started playing basketball, and he proved to be pretty good at it too. Several of his teammates loved Hip-Hop as well, and they were very conscious of their footwear choices on and off the court. So, both basketball and Hip-Hop played a massive part in the way Gee dressed. Because the same shoes that he saw his favourite player wear on the courts, he saw his favourite artist wear in a music video.