Power
In conversation with Dutch Performante
Three years ago he wasn't active on social media. Now he has 367,000 YouTube subscribers and 523,000 followers on Instagram. Chahid Charrak (Zeewolde, 1990) went from running a tile business to becoming a social media force. "The business and the videos feed each other. If you use YouTube or Instagram properly, you can grow very quickly as a company."
Three years ago he didn't do anything on social media. Now he has 367.000 YouTube subscribers and 523.000 followers on Instagram. From a tile dealer, Chahid Charrak (Zeewolde, 1990) became a social media cannon. “The trade and the videos reinforce each other. If you use YouTube or Instagram properly, you can grow very quickly as a company.”
You were born in Amsterdam in 1990. What kind of nest did you end up in?
“My father is Moroccan, my mother Dutch. I was born on Waalstraat, in the Rivierenbuurt. I was a very busy little boy and was already walking at six months. Outside, my mother held me with a rubber band so I couldn't run away. When I was two or three years old we moved to Zeewolde. I had a great childhood there. Always outside, playing football, fishing... During the school holidays I worked in the pallet trade. I took apart broken pallets and turned them into usable ones again. I was busy all the time with nail guns, reciprocating saws and circular saws. That's where I learned to work, physically. I was also the only one my age who had money in my pocket. Get some delicious toasted sandwiches, score some fries. When I was 12, my parents split up and it was every man for himself. I was just going to high school, but I preferred to work and earn money. My stepfather worked in the sanitary tiles and could still use both hands. Then he called me sick and I could go tiling with him. My parents would never have allowed that, they both completed pre-university education themselves, but he was very lenient. And since the divorce, my stepfather had the biggest say in what I could and could not do. He raised me to a large extent. I also learned a lot from him. For example, he once gave me a bicycle, which I broke within a week. Then he bought another bike with my hard-earned money. I thought: fuck! This is how I learned to be careful with my things.”
Since you were fourteen, you haven't gone to school at all.
“I went back to work on the pallets – working, working, working – and even lived with the owner of that company for about two years. Bizarre: I've never had a problem with compulsory education. When I was sixteen, I went to Vilnius together with an older employee to set up such a store there. Using sign language, I taught the local people there how to recycle pallets. Making money was difficult in Lithuania, so I saved a lot there. When I wanted a pay increase and didn't get one, I decided to move back to the Netherlands. I said to my colleague in Vilnius: 'My stepfather has made so much money with tiles, let's go into that business together.' Through relations of my stepfather we managed to arrange a building in Tiel and with his help and network of suppliers we filled it with tiles and bathroom furniture. That's how I started my own tile shop. The first year I only worked and even slept in the shop - there was just room for a bed and a refrigerator with a television on it. There was a gym around the corner, where I showered. I went from 66 to 90 kilograms because I only ate microwave meals and doner sandwiches.”
How did you attract people to your store?
“I advertised on Marktplaats: 'Cash-and-carry at Megadump in Tiel, open every day from nine to nine!' It was so quiet for the first few months that my partner decided to stop. I went to my stepfather to ask if he wanted to buy him out. He was furious: 'I look like an idiot to the suppliers! I'll empty the entire business, you just look at it!' Eventually he got in, and I was half the errand boy again... But at least I could continue! I learned a lot by listening to the customers, what they wanted, and to the suppliers. During coffee they once mentioned the name of someone who 'destroyed the entire market'. I immediately call the guy and make an appointment with him. This is how I came into contact with a new supplier of tiles for very little money. This way I could lower the price and have more margin and marketing spend. The first year I had a turnover of six hundred thousand, then it rose to a million. I hired more staff and expanded locations. I currently have six tile and sanitary ware businesses: in Tiel, Dalen, Zeewolde, Wormer, Meppel and Eindhoven. In 2021 we had a turnover of 50 million, and in 2022 I expect a turnover of 60 million. But I don't like that as much. The shit is on because of all the fuss in the world. Transport costs are higher and the delivery of products is also an issue. Sometimes I have to switch to another supplier who charges a higher price.”
Can't you become your own supplier?
“Yes, but then I also have to build a logistics center of 10.000 square meters. And I already have my hands full with the wholesale, showroom and webshop. We also have our own lines, including Salenzi. I set it up six years ago. At a trade fair I saw pink, matte black, blue, army green and many more colors of sanitary ware for sale. I thought: fuck it, I'll order a few pallets in stock and try to turn it into a trend - then I'll be the only one, because no one dares to do that in the Netherlands. And I succeeded. We have supplied the tiles to Corendon Mangrove Beach Resort and Van der Valk, among others. Even Eric Kuster came up to me: 'Do you have any more army green?' Me with a toilet bowl and a fountain to Eric Kuster, haha.”
Is that fuck it mentality your signature?
“Yes, just try. Also something like this: when I was walking through the warehouse, I saw that we still had a hundred floor tubes in matte silver. That color is a hundred years old, I wouldn't lose those things on the paving stones. I thought: what if I now have them powder coated in matte black? Those tubes cost 5 euros to purchase, I put them online for 89,95 euros and lost them in no time. I was the only one in the Netherlands with the color matte black. Then I also started spraying taps, sinks, shower heads and whatnot, in green, pink, blue, even gold. My competitors thought: how did that guy get there? They started ordering from me. You know, you always have to try to get an edge. First you grab margin and when the competitor catches up with you, you join the crowd. I get a huge kick out of that game.”
You are now one of the largest players in the tiling and sanitary ware industry. Where do you want to go?
“It's crazy how we keep growing. Every year we want to take time to reorganize, but we keep peaking. And so the workload remains high. But I perform well under that.”
Your goal was to make a lot of money, you succeeded. What do you spend it on?
“I invest in stones. Together with my partner Eelco, I have about sixty apartments that we rent out. I had a villa with an indoor swimming pool built for myself in Zeewolde. And three years ago I bought a Lamborghini with 639 hp. How does that happen? Eelco and I once went on a tour through Scotland with a group of entrepreneurs. They all had a fast car: McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini... We drove behind them in my four-seater Porsche Panamera. The brake discs, the brake pads, everything started to burn. Eelco and I were like: let's buy a supercar too. We had 150.000 euros available for that. I don't know anything about cars at all. I like certain models, but don't ask me what kind of rims they have. One of the entrepreneurs introduced me to Pon Leusden. One day we received a call from this car dealer: 'We have a Performante here, would you like to test drive it?' My partner and I went to Leusden, drove a bit, and immediately bought two brand new Lamborghinis, for just under 350.000 euros each. He has a yellow Huracán Spider Convertible, I have a Huracán Performante in the color Oro Elios. That evening we showed up at a party, proudly proclaiming that we had bought a Lamborghini. My friends wanted to know what color. When they heard I had a gold one, they laughed at me. Fuck, I thought. The next day I called Pon Leusden: 'Can I still change color?' 'You shouldn't do that, you will regret it, gold is really beautiful.' I lay awake all night, the next morning I decided to leave it like that. And now I am very happy with it.”
But you can't take it out on the street without being recognized everywhere.
“We went to StreetGasm, Circuit Zandvoort, I won the drag racing competition on Supercar Sunday… At that time I wasn't on social media yet, so no one could connect me. 'That boy with the golden Lambo', that's what I was called. A colleague advised me to create an Instagram account for my Lambo. "You do it," I said. 'But I don't want to go on it myself, only my car.' He named the account Dutch Performante. It took me a month to spell that correctly, haha. He had put some photos and videos on it. I was recognized retroactively and in no time I had thousands of followers.”
You now have 523.000 followers.
“During the corona period I also started using Instagram for lifestyle and crazy videos, and suddenly it took off very quickly. YouTube was added later, after Sem Meijer, full-time car & social media nut, once posted a video with my Lambo. Through him I came into contact with YouTuber Boaz. At one point he lived half with me. We went racing, did fun things and made videos of it. He tagged me, I tagged him and, voila, a few thousand more followers. It was just impossible to keep up. YouTuber Don de Jong joined, it was very playful, I had no plan.”
MASTERS MAGAZINE
Curious about the rest of the interview? The winter issue of MASTERS was created in collaboration with Jordi van den Bussche. Many will know him as YouTuber Kwebbelkop, but he has been working hard as an entrepreneur for some time, as he explains in the Great Interview. What is new is that his company JVDB Studios offers to do social media marketing and short format content marketing for other companies. “They can also figure it out themselves, but we cracked the code.” Jordi gives a platform to like-minded entrepreneurs such as Jay-Jay Boske, Demy de Zeeuw, Chahid Charrak and Marcella de Bie, and discusses developments surrounding games, crypto and NFT: “Just as bitcoin turned the financial system upside down, will that also happen with gaming.” This extra thick winter issue also focuses on Lengers' first own ship, an interview with Corendon CEO Atilay Uslu, specials about the new BMW 7 Series and Samsung foldables, and - exclusively for MASTERS! – an interview with Max Verstappen.
