The Amsterdam Student Removal Service has existed for fifteen years. It all started with one student, a Peugeot 106 and a trailer. There is now a complete fleet of vehicles at the Amstel Business Park. It employs around 250 people (now not just students) and last year branches were also opened in Groningen and Rotterdam. In honor of the 15th anniversary, graduated photographer Raoul van Hilst thought it might be fun to make a calendar. But for that the shirts had to be taken off.
We drive in the moving van to a job in Nieuw-West. Raoul sits behind the wheel with Sean next to him. They were both students when they started working at the Student Removal Service. Sean completed the Commercial Economics course. “I was 19 years old when I came here as a little boy. In ten years I have had the opportunity to hold several positions within the company and I am now team leader in the sales department.”
That means Sean doesn’t have to carry around as much as he used to. As a mover he has been through enough. For example, they found a large collection of cigarettes in the home of a deceased man. 50,000 packages, and they were allowed to take them all. “The boys were able to smoke for at least four months.”
Or the time he had to help a customer with towing on the Prinsengracht. “I walked up and the customer thought ‘I’m already doing my couch’. I’m less than ten meters away when the couch comes out. The whole hook creaks and the couch comes down straight away, right in the middle of his car. “
Raoul has been working for the Student Removal Service since 2019 and he is also no longer a student. He graduated from the Photo Academy two years ago. He now also spends more time in the sales and marketing department than outside. “I’m January,” he says, holding up a photo of himself. Made from the back, with a bare torso and jeans with a cordless drill hanging from it. “As you can see, I’m not completely trained, but I try to look as sexy as possible.”
‘Sexy men who are always there for you’
Raoul is working on a calendar in honor of the moving company’s 15th anniversary. “Inspiration was the Australian firefighting calendar, the sexy men who are always there for you.” Raoul initially thought it would be fun to make such a calendar as an April Fool’s joke, but the enthusiasm within the company was so great that it was decided to really work on it. “We have had hundreds of registrations in just a few days, which is really not normal.” And so Raoul started taking photographs.
Ultimately, twelve movers will be on the calendar. All men. “No women, because we don’t employ them.” He brought some photos with him. One mover is a bit more muscular than the other. “Movers are not always trained guys. I want to keep it a bit rough, a bit real. Not just clean-shaven men, but also some hair here and there. But still a bit sexy.” We don’t see faces because most models prefer to remain anonymous. “And we also wanted to make it a bit exciting. You can think about it a bit yourself. It is exciting without any faces.”
The calendar must be completed by the end of April. “The idea is that we will sell the calendar on the website and I hope eventually also in stores.”
Old hand Sean pats his tight stomach, laughing. “I will also be in it myself, so anyone who wants to see it will have to order it.”
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