ALWAYS REMAIN A STUDENT
Professor Soortkill - Co-founder of SMIB Worldwide and Smibanese University
WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO?
My name is professor Soortkill, which means I’m just a professor type of guy, a very diligent student of life. And what I do? I live for the learning.
WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE WEEK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
Doin all kinds of shit within the whole ecosystem me and my friends built from the ground up. Every week is different, but each week ads up to the total amount of things we do as a collective and lifestyle brand.
HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN SMIB AND SMIBANESE UNIVERSITY TO SOMEONE ENCOUNTERING THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME?
SMIB is a Hiphop lifestyle brand, driven by a multi disciplinary collective from Bijlmer, Amsterdam. Basically we practice most of the elements that embody Hiphop in its essence, from mc'ing to dj'ing, street fashion, street language, street knowledge and street entrepreneurialism. Even graffiti and beatboxing are disciplines we practice, if i can include producing beats as a substitute for beatboxing, haha. And one of the members was a breakdancer back in the days. So we basically touch all the 9 elements of Hiphop, but to be very specific: we make music, produce beats, make clothes and sell them in our own boutique shop, we publish a variety of books, and we have our own festival. I’m probably missing something. Oh yeah, we also have our own record label and our own school, formally housed under the umbrella of a foundation.
The Smibanese University (the foundation) is our educational platform that moves from within, which promotes the fundamentals and principles of the lifestyle we live, and shares a lot of information that helped us in shaping our collective vision. We’re spreading street knowledge within an educational realm, and our main memo is that people should get with the program, our 11-point program. This program is a Smibologic guide for a fulfilling holistic life, a theory for practical application.
WHAT PRINCIPLES GUIDED SMIB’S GROWTH INTO A CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM?
Just do you, be authentic, be your own teacher and always remain a student, and to always strive and prosper. If you really internalize the fact that you have one life to live, everything will shift from that awareness. If you live by these principles and overall awareness, the only thing you can decide is to live life to the fullest, and build the reality you wanna live in. But at the end of the day, you just have to do shit, and make things happen by any means.
WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO UNLEARN TO BECOME WHO YOU ARE TODAY?
To be a bitch about things, and act like life happens to you. The thing is, you ARE LIFE, and everything flows from within energetically.
You really have to harden your spirit, something that happens through hardships if they don’t kill your spirit, and you have to be consistent in building the person you wanna be in life. Most people are looking for answers outside of themselves, but I believe everything is within. You just have to decide who you wanna be and especially who you don’t wanna be. This is what I did.
HOW DOES SMIBANESE UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE TRADITIONAL EDUCATION?
We don’t. We just say fuck all that. What we propagate is this: be your own teacher, just in the same way they explain how you should be your own buddha in Buddhism, and always remain a student of life. from this standpoint you can even join traditional education if you want, although you probably won’t.
The thing with the traditional educational system is that it isn’t built for free spirited people, while the Smibanese University is a spirit school, focused on opening participants' minds and spirit. One of our slogans is: we don’t brainwash, we just wash the brain. While traditional schools teach people how and what they should think, our goal is to drive people back to the beginner's mind. Shunryu Suzuki, a legendary zen monk once said: In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are a few.
WHAT SKILLS OR MINDSET DO PEOPLE DEVELOP BY WORKING ON SMIB PROJECTS?
You get a deep sense that everything is possible, and that life is here for you to make your own world within this universe.
WHAT DOES “EACH ONE, TEACH ONE” MEAN TO YOU INCE TODAY?
We believe that it’s our duty to teach people what life has taught us. All the information in this universe is here for everybody to take in. Each one teaches one is just the mentality of passing on what you’ve learned to the next generations.
HOW DOES SMIBOLOGY SHOW UP IN THE EVERYDAY WORK OF SMIB PROJECTS?
It’s our main objective in life, and the mental frame we think from. This is basically the code we live by. The projects are just secondary activities because we live within a capitalistic system that forces us to make money. But if money wouldn’t exist, we would still live by the program.. expect for number 9: get money, make money.
Wake up, pray, exercise, do long runs, eat good and spend most of my time on stuff that’s worthwhile.
LOOKING BACK, WHAT ARE YOU THE MOST PROUD OF?
That I stopped being a bitch about shit, took responsibility, and believed in myself to a point of delusion. Life is awesome if you pass this threshold.
And on the path of my career I'm very proud of the fact that I published a book when I was just 24, independently, while most of my peers were dictated by their dicks and going partying all day. I wrote it, edited it, and made a whole marketing plan without any experience. Shout out to Hansje Lathouwers! She assisted me on sum PR stuff.
WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE HAS STAYED WITH YOU?
Nike slogan, just do it. The power of action is in your fingers. Keep it simple, stupid.
And one thing, my dad always said: AUFGEBER GEWINNEN NICHT, GEWINNER GEBEN NICHT AUF. Quitters never win, while winners never quit.