On the football field, Ruud Boymans was known for his goal-orientedness, but these days he mainly scores off the pitch with the motto 'breaking barriers'. With the experience he gained from organizing the famous No Art festivals, he managed to bring big names from the music world to the Netherlands via SONA, together with co-founders Bora Guney and Omid Kahali. MASTERS spoke to him: ''Just like in football, you work towards that one moment when everything has to be right. That's why I see entrepreneurship as a form of top sport.''

You've had an impressive football career, what inspired you to make the switch to the event industry? 

“During my football career, music already played a big role in my life. As my chances in football decreased and I ended up at Almere City and later Club Boys, it became clear to me that I wanted to further develop my passion for music. At that moment I met Oguzhan and Jesse from the DJ duo ANOTR, who, like me, had a huge love for music and wanted to organize events in addition to their DJ career. They asked Bora, Omid and me to form a collective together. This resulted in No Art in 2018. We started organizing club parties as a hobby.”

Was it a difficult decision for you to finally hang up your football boots? 

''Yes, that was definitely a difficult choice. Football is everything you know and have done your whole life. Your knowledge and experience are completely in that world, so it was very tempting to – like many other footballers – continue doing something within football, such as becoming a coach or a scout at a club. Everyone around me wondered what I was going to do now— organizing parties? There were many doubts whether it would become anything at all. Nevertheless, we all decided to focus completely on No Art. We chose not to do anything on the side and to put all our attention and energy into this project, even though we were still very small. Because of that complete focus, we were able to grow very quickly.''  

En the rest is history: in No. team did you have sold out No Art festivals. What is the keys? 

“Our first event was in a small club, the Claire. At that time, we still had to actively invite people and put them on the guest list, because nobody knew No Art. But it was an instant success, which gave us the confidence to continue. A few months later, we organized a party in Lofi for 1600 people. Everyone thought we were crazy, they said we would never sell it out. But that worked too, and a year later we organized our first festival for 10.000 people.

We’ve always been very daring in our approach. I think the key to our success is that we always want to push boundaries—‘breaking barriers’, as we call it. We always want to offer our event attendees something new, whether it’s music, art or other experiences. We’re constantly brainstorming on how we can improve ourselves and take our events to the next level. That mindset of constant improvement and innovation is what sets us apart and is the foundation of our success.” 

When do you consider an event a success? 

''For me, an event is successful when the feedback from visitors is positive and you not only feel the enthusiasm on location, but also see it online.

At Keinemusik last month, however, we not only received positive feedback from visitors, but the entire team was extremely happy with how it had gone. Communication was smooth, everything fell into place and even the rain couldn't spoil the atmosphere. When I saw how visitors were dancing and enjoying themselves until the end, I knew we had created something special.''

“I am pleased that the municipality will give greater weight to this social involvement when allocating festival locations.”

 

Is that feeling a bit comparable to scoring a goal? 

''That feeling is absolutely comparable to scoring a goal. Of course, scoring a goal is still the best feeling in the world—you can never fully recreate that. But the Happiness, the team performance and the euphoria you feel after a successful event come very close. The great thing about this industry is that you work towards such a peak moment again and again. Just like in football, you work towards a moment of success, you experience that intense euphoric feeling, and then you have to move on, on to the next goal.'' 

How have the lessons you learned on the football field helped you in your role as an entrepreneur?

''Although the activities themselves are of course very different, there are striking similarities in the mentality and discipline that are required. Just like in football, you work towards a moment when everything has to go well. You have to be able to perform at the right moment. In that sense, I actually see entrepreneurship as a form of top sport. After a successful event, you feel the same relief and satisfaction as after a won match. Everyone has played their part, and together you have created something beautiful. That mindset of teamwork and striving for perfection are essential, both on the football field and in business.”

Amsterdam's events policy is being overhauled: (large) festival organisers will have to fear for their (permanent) locations: what is your view on this policy? 

''The new policy in Amsterdam ensures that more attention is paid to the content of a concept and the social contribution, instead of just fixed locations and drawing lots. I see this as a positive development. We at No Art have been socially involved for years, for example by organizing an art festival in collaboration with the Synergy foundation one day before our festival, which is free of charge for people with a City Pass, for people from the neighborhood, refugees, children and students. In this way we want to give something back to Amsterdam. I am happy that the municipality is going to weigh this social involvement more heavily in the allocation of festival locations. It forces organizers to take this into account, and I applaud that. Of course it also brings uncertainty, because no one is sure of a place in the future anymore...''

What are the future plans for No Art? 

''We want to move our festival to a larger location, because we have seen that we can easily attract 15.000 visitors. But our plans extend beyond the Netherlands. The ambition is to put No Art even more on the map by being present in multiple cities and introducing our unique concept there. We are working on expansions to cities such as Los Angeles, Athens, Milan, and Barcelona. We are also looking at how we can bring No Art to Mumbai.''

Which SONA festivals are still on the festival calendar this year? 

''This year, Circoloco is still on the schedule. This Italian collective will come to the Netherlands for the first time on September 14 and will welcome 15.000 enthusiasts to the NDSM Werf in Amsterdam. It is absolutely worth it to be there. Unfortunately, it is already completely sold out, so if you really want to be there, you have to buy a ticket hustle via Ticketswap haha... '' 

Curious about a complete overview of all SONA events? Check out here the website.