“If I Slack Off, I’m The Only One Who Pays For It.” - Daan Koens

Daan didn’t plan to fall in love with Rotterdam. “In Curaçao, everything felt small, like I was stuck. But here? It was different. I made friends within days, went to parties, and started to see what life could be.”

He wasn’t expecting that. “I thought Rotterdam was all junkies and shootings. At least, that’s what I’d seen on TV. But after a week here, I fell in love with the city.”

Like many of us, Daan's path didn’t follow a straight line. There were years without a fixed address, years that might sound rough from the outside. But he doesn’t see them that way.

“It was during COVID, so while everyone was stuck at home, I was free. The curfew didn’t matter because I was technically homeless. If the cops stopped me, I’d just say, ‘I’m wandering,’ and they’d leave me alone.”

There was freedom in that. No debts. No responsibilities. Just him and his art. Now, things look different. Daan's days are a rhythm of gym sessions, studio time, and walking the dog. “Sometimes I’ll stay until midnight if I’m in the zone. Discipline is everything. When you’re your own boss, you’ve got no one to blame. If I slack off, I’m the only one who pays for it.”

His paintings live in the tension between extremes. Decadence vs. struggle. 

A trip to Hong Kong brought that contrast into focus. “People with nothing were pushing carts down the street, while a Rolls-Royce cruised by like it was nothing.”
Back in the Netherlands, the contrast is still there, but hidden. “Poverty here is quiet. That’s part of the problem.

He’s building now. A studio, a steady rhythm, a sense of direction. For Daan, it’s not about chasing money. It’s about telling stories that might otherwise go unseen.

“If I could tell my younger self anything, it’d be this: Start now. Don’t wait for the perfect moment, it doesn’t exist. Just start, even if it’s messy.”