Woman Who Gets 15 Packages a Week Finally Surprises Doorman with One for Him (Exclusive)
Katherine Johnsen has lived in the same building in Toronto for three-and-a-half years
Katherine Johnsen
Katherine Johnsen surprises doorman with sneakers.Katherine Johnsen receives about 15 pairs of sneakers each week
When she's out of town she relies on her concierge, Ridge Levene, with whom she has become close friends over the years, to help her manage her packages
In August, Levene helped Johnsen open a package with Nike Air Max 95 Toronto shoes. Months later, she surprised him with his own pair
Katherine Johnsen, co-founder of the sneaker startup Common Ace, receives about 15 pairs of sneakers each week.
The Toronto native, who is also a partner at an agency called Counter Culture, has lived in the same building in Toronto for three-and-a-half years. She travels frequently, averaging around 70 flights a year. When she’s out of town, she relies on her building concierge, Ridge Levene, with whom she has become close friends over the years, to help her manage her packages.
"Ridge is incredibly helpful when I receive too many packages while I'm away and they start filling up the mail room," Johnsen, 31, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "He’ll bring them to my place and lets friends in if they need to stay there. He’s just so supportive and kind. Plus, he loves sneakers, so a lot of times when I get new pairs, I'll open them in the lobby with him. He shares in the excitement, and he's just wonderful to have around."
Johnsen shares with PEOPLE how, in August, Nike did a re-release of the Nike Air Max 95 Toronto. The shoe serves as a tribute to the city, featuring contributions from several talented artists, along with a custom box that tells a beautiful story.
She recalls opening the package of shoes that was sent to her with Levene, who's also an artist. "He was really excited about it," she says. "He loved it. He knew some of the people involved in the shoe, and I thought, 'Okay, this would be exciting for him.' "
That's when Johnsen decided to order Levene a pair of the shoes for his birthday. After searching everywhere, she found a pair that would fit him and purchased them. In October, she created a plan to surprise him: she wrote a card, placed it in the sneaker box, and headed down to the lobby to hand the package to him.
Throughout the surprise, she filmed Levene's reaction, and after getting his consent, posted it on social media, where it has since gone viral, garnering more than 1.2 million views and almost 1,200 comments.
"I worked at the Starbucks next door. We all love ridge!! He gets free drinks for life," one comment reads.
"Ridge was tearing up before he knew what was in the box. We love him!! He’s all our concierge now!," another user says.
Someone else comments, "That’s not a doorman, that’s family ❤️."
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"The sweetest thing about Ridge is that he read the whole card from start to finish and was just really excited," she says. "It was fun for me. He’s so appreciative of people taking the time to acknowledge him, I think, because he feels like a fixture. A lot of people take people like that in their lives for granted."
"It’s not that Ridge couldn’t buy himself a pair of shoes, but I think it was touching for him that someone remembered what he had said meant something to him," she adds. "I could have gotten him any pair of shoes, but he had noted how much he liked these, and I was just really excited to do that for him. I think it meant more because it showed he was seen and heard. He had mentioned it two or three months ago, and I remembered. That’s what made it so meaningful for him."
After giving Levene the shoes, Johnsen says he put them on immediately. Later, he made a reaction video to her TikTok, which she describes as the "cutest thing in the world."
"Thank you soooo much X 1000000!!! I appreciate you more than you know!! I am truly thankful for having you in my life 💙🙏🏾❤️I love love love you and your spirit 🕊️🫶🏾💙," he wrote.
She also notes that because she’s been posting videos with Levene for a while, making him a regular on her account, her followers were particularly thrilled to see how surprised he was.
"It was just kind of special to show but to be honest, I was really taken aback," she continues. "I had no idea it would go viral."
"I always say, 'I would've worn makeup had I known this video would do so well!' I had just finished a workout and couldn't wait to give them to him," she adds. "I didn't expect the response. I think it's important to show appreciation for the people in your everyday life who make your day special. It doesn't have to be through a gift; even just a card matters. A lot of times, I’ll pick up coffee for Ridge when I’m coming back from meetings because I know he’s working hard. If this inspires someone else to do something nice for someone, that’s a huge win for me."
