Dan Desormes was born and raised in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country — Parc-Extension — and he still lives there today. For him, it is not a dormitory, but a place full of emotions that has seen him evolve over the years. Today Dan is nicknamed the” Kickz Surgeon ” — literally, the “sneaker surgeon” —, which is also the name of the company he started. Her job, her passion? Clean and refurbish shoes.
It was on a cool autumn evening, on the premises of the Never Was Average studio, that Dan spoke to La Converse. He chose the place, and not in an insignificant way. “It's a work space Black-Owned that promotes inclusiveness and collaboration with the community. I work here sometimes, I feel comfortable and at my place in these premises,” he starts by taking a seat on one of the sofas in the room.
Who is Dan?
Dan has juggled sports and music for much of his life. It was in elementary school that he first discovered his interest in music. He says that, a student at Barthélemy-Vimont school, in the heart of the Parc-Extension district, it was thanks to his music teacher that he discovered an attachment to the fourth art. “In the first year of elementary school, my music teacher talked to my mother. He told him that I was good in his class, and he suggested that he change my school to send me to a specialized music school,” he said. After finishing elementary school, he continued his career in a high school that also has music as its vocation. “I attended Pierre-Laporte high school. Then, towards the end of high school, I gave up music a bit to focus on another passion of mine: American football. So I registered at Cégep Montmorency to be part of the soccer team,” he continues.
In the midst of a pandemic, during the few months when Quebec was in full lockdown, Dan started looking for a way to occupy his days. “At the time, I was a student athlete. We could no longer practice sports because of health measures. I had to find a way to keep busy while remaining creative,” he began. He paused and started laughing, a bit derisively, then explained: “On Snapchat, in my Private Story, I asked people if they wanted me to clean their shoes. I spent the time like that: I put my music in the background and I worked on my friends' shoes. It was a way to relax and be productive at the same time.”
While cleaning and refurbishing shoes was just a way to kill time for Dan at first, the enthusiasm of those close to him for his work encouraged him to continue. “More and more people came to me asking me to take care of their shoes. I realized that there was a demand, and that I could really do something with that,” he said. That's why in 2021, the young Montrealer officially launched himself. “I opened an Instagram page, I found a way to promote myself a bit here and there, and here I am! ” he declares.
As a young person of Haitian descent, he explains how his heritage and culture interfere with his motivation to do what he does. “When I saw how much demand there is, I was surprised at first. Then I realized that it was actually predictable. I am an immigrant and Black, and I know that in our communities, appearance is important. You have nice shoes, beautiful jewelry, you pay attention to how you present yourself in front of others. In a way, I am responding to a need. When people take their shoes back and see them clean and refurbished, they have the same feeling as when they just bought them at the store,” he summarizes.
That's also why he says he keeps going and loves what he does: “When I look at people's faces when they're back on their shoes, I see that they really enjoy what I do.”
The road is not easy
Dan has a younger brother, and the siblings were raised by a single parent. Seeing his mother raise two children alone was — and still is — a difficult thing for him. “It's amazing for a child to see their only parent go out of their way for them. Paying the rent, buying groceries, making sure the children are well: it's a huge task, especially when you do it alone,” he recalls. The young man's daily life was therefore marked by a complex family life, but Dan wanted to emphasize that, despite everything, his mother was able to meet all the needs of her children: “Even though she was alone, my mother always took good care of us. But I know how hard it was for her.”
An event changed the life of the small family in Parc-Extension. In the midst of a housing crisis, the mother of the two boys receives an eviction letter: we must leave the premises as soon as possible. “In 2018, the owners of the apartment we were renting told us to leave. We had to find an apartment very quickly, otherwise we might end up on the street,” he says, still disconcerted.
“I still remember that time. I walked for miles in the streets and looked for apartments to rent in the area because you couldn't leave the neighborhood. The change would have been too abrupt and getting used to new places is demanding, even if it doesn't seem like it,” he says to illustrate the mental load on his family. “I spent hours calling telephone numbers hoping that the rents wouldn't be too expensive, especially at the start of a housing crisis.”
“We had to leave on the 1stEr July of that year. Two days before, we were still homeless. Then, by some miracle, we found an apartment near where we lived. We were able to move, but it was limited.” He stops in the middle of his sentence to breathe, as if the stress of this experience was coming back to him. “We were lucky, but I know that others are not so lucky,” he continues, thoughtfully.
The change in the neighborhood that saw him grow
Experiencing an eviction is an increasingly common reality in Montreal. Dan knows this and thinks that in Parc-Extension, it's becoming more and more common, especially in recent years.
Although he remains very attached to Parc-Extension, Dan does not deny the change and evolution that this neighborhood has been going through in recent years. “I grew up and lived there all my life. I see change, especially with gentrification. I testified to the evolution of the neighborhood.” He then told how, when younger, he and his friends went to local parks to play. “I still remember the time I spent in Parc Liège playing basketball or soccer. Today, it's not the same at all.”
The young entrepreneur also talks about a form of emigration in the neighborhood. “I see a lot of people leaving Parc-Ex. It's sad, but I get it. Rent prices are nonsense,” he is outraged. “More and more students are coming to live here, especially since the University of Montreal built a pavilion near here,” he said, referring to the construction of the University of Montreal's MIL campus, which is located very close to the Acadie metro station.
“Fifteen years ago, all I saw in the neighborhood was a very diverse community. South Asians, Africans, Haitians: diasporas were numerous here. Now people are leaving, and those who can afford the more expensive rent are coming.”
“To be for young people what I did not have the chance to have”
Dan is currently pursuing graduate studies at Concordia University. “I am studying to become a sports director at the high school and college levels,” he tells us. He reiterates that sport has always been a passion for him and that his goal is to give back as part of this passion by taking on a mentoring role.
“I want to give back through sport,” he repeats. Determined, he explains to us why becoming a sports director is so important for him. “I grew up with a single mother. I have a younger brother too, and I've seen how hard it is to be a single mom and raise two boys,” he begins. He then looks up at the ceiling, as if to think, and continues: “Through sport, the coaches encouraged me to stay in school and keep going. I kind of had father figures because I saw successful men who believed in me and pushed me to excel in school and to continue in sport.”
And it's the same with Kickz Surgeon only with what he wants to become later, which he feels he can give back to the youngest. “I want to be for young people what I didn't have the chance to have directly. I want to motivate them to stay on the right path,” he says.
But how do you give back? For Dan, giving back to the community is more than representing a model of success, however accessible it may be. “We need to go further. I want to help and reach young people directly. I would like, especially in my neighborhood, to organize events, to ensure that young people have a positive vision of their neighborhood. I want there to be food, music, and successful people to be accessible to these young people to motivate them,” he says, with stars in his eyes.
For Dan, intervention also involves understanding young people. “I know that I have been in the same place as several young people in the neighborhood, and I know that I am not the only one who has experienced difficult things. I know that young people think they are meant for something, but I also know that they need people who understand them rather than people who put them into categories.” In addition to understanding young people, he believes in letting them know that there are passions in life and ways out of life, “without staying out, on the streets, doing nothing and hanging out with people who are a bad influence.”
“It's a cycle,” says Dan. “You have to help younger people who think they have no hope. If we show them that we can get out of this cycle, anything is possible,” concludes the Kickz Surgeon.