Bob Sniekers
Born in the spring of ’89 in Amsterdam, I was stubborn for the first time in my life. I let my mother wait 48 hours in labor so that I could be born on my grandmothers birthday. After being taken home from the hospital I grew up in the suburbs of Amsterdam. During kindergarten and pre-school I was a cute kid with ginger colored hair and glasses. I secretly loved that those glasses made me look a little bit smarter.
When I was 12 years old and decided that I didn’t need to wear those glasses anymore. It wasn’t because I realized that I didn’t need glasses to make me look smart, because I was already pretty intelligent… It purely was a teenagers statement that I was growing up (and I actually didn’t feel like I could see any better with them anyway). From that point on I began exploring my young adulthood and new born freedoms. Eventually I took this to a point at age 15 that my mother decided that is was time for me to live on my own, so that my relationship with my parents would become more relaxed and so I could mature faster. It went well! I finished my High School in Amsterdam and went on to college where I first began with a study in Management, economics and law. After I had finished my first year I realized that out of those three subjects, law was the one that interested me the most. So the next year I decided to follow up at the University of Amsterdam as a law student.
During my years as a student I already worked for a well-known real estate agency in Amsterdam. I was loving it. I wanted to be a real estate broker ever since I was a little kid because my parents had inspired me too. When I actually became a real broker (when still in college), I began developing my own interests and ideas based on the current Amsterdam real estate market. I was constantly thinking about opportunities. And when my new housemate moved in with me, I had it! I saw that there were so many students, young professionals and expats that were looking for a room or an apartment in Amsterdam, but could not get one due to the lack of cheap and affordable housing. I decided to make this my business! I now own a business that invests in cheaper and more affordable housing in Amsterdam. So while having an enormous amount of fun in work, I am helping people as well.
Though the fact that I love my work and that I get a lot of satisfaction out of it, it is not the only thing that makes me Bob. There is more. I have a tendency to get bored pretty quickly and I always need to stay in motion. Therefor it will not come as a surprise that my biggest hobby is traveling. So no matter what climate or culture you are in, be sure that I want to visit your place as well!
Besides travelling I also enjoy sports very much. Not on television though. Because like I said, I need to stay in motion! And sometimes things out of the ordinary come across. I had a good friend talk me in to participating in a semi-professional kick-boxing match for charity and – what the heck – I did, and learned a lot in the process.
A good self-reflection is not complete without a look on the brightest side of life. Friends, family and love. This is without a doubt the biggest fulfiller of happiness in life. But I believe John Lennon already said it best when he said: “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” And “There is a great woman behind every idiot.”
I would like to finish off with quoting Charles Bukowski: “I never met another man I’d rather be. And even if that’s a delusion, it’s a lucky one.” I believe that this is the way that every man should feel. And let’s not forget that this statement comes from the man that also stated: “Sex is kicking death in the ass while singing.”
