Meet the Sizoo Brothers
A photo-friendly sibling rivalry for the social age
By: Anne Marie Boidock
Meet the Sizoo Brothers“The rivalry is real,” says Bastiaan, the least competitive of the three Sizoo brothers and the first to arrive for coffee, significantly ahead of Willem and Bob at Centraal Station in Amsterdam. His arrival adds up on several levels because, as the eldest of the three, the 18-year-old Bastiaan has rampant experience being first to things. He was also the first one to pick up a camera, and the first to see any kind of return from it — though today you’d never know it. He currently sports a look of bewilderment that suggests he’s either on the run because he’s just done something illegal, or because nobody ever lets him out of the house to handle interviews alone. Bastiaan and his brothers are best known for their photography but nothing about him leaps out immediately to confirm this — nor the fact that they have amassed Instagram followings of epic proportions as a result of it.
He takes a seat and casually eases into small talk about the science fiction books he’s reading. He could have eased into conversation about the sweeping, idyllic photos of The Netherlands’ countryside that the teens are best known for, or explained why they de-prioritize figures in their frames by placing them further back or turned away from the camera, but he doesn’t. That’s just Bastiaan, though. He’s a photographer by trade but his personal interests are delightfully omnivorous.
The discussion pivots to his parents. “I had them all to myself before they came along.” He’s motioning to the doorway now, where Willem and Bob have appeared. “It wasn’t much,” Bob cracks as the twins slide into available chairs. Bastiaan barely reacts at being corrected. That’s the thing with brothers: they don’t finish each other’s sentences, they revise them. This tiny interaction is the first true indication of what their relationship is like. It begins to satisfy a curiosity about who they are that the perfect symmetry and commercial-eye-candy nature in their images does not.
Now that the whole family is in one place, the genetic similarities are arresting. These boys have the same face, the same complexion, the same build. Like many notable photographers from previous generations, they all rock dark, monochromatic, nondescript swag.
Aside from being shuffled from The Netherlands to Malawi and back as kids due to their parents’ jobs, the majority of the trio’s upbringing sounds straight out of a Beatrix Potter collection. They slept in bunk beds and wore the same pajamas, “But not at the same time,” Bastiaan and Bob both jump to clarify. Bastiaan would eventually take up photography after picking up his mother’s old film camera. At first, Willem and Bob spent most of their time playing soccer, but would soon follow their older brother’s lead.
“Really they were fed up with me winning everything all the time so they started shooting photography,” notes Bastiaan, who would go on to win National Geographic’s Junior Photo Contest.
Instagram had been around about a year at that point and the twins got up on the platform while Bastiaan did not. “You only need photo contests,” claims Bastiaan. Ironically, it would be this loyalty to competitions that caused Bastiaan to steer clear of Instagram until 2014, which allowed Willem and Bob to jump ahead in notoriety. They started following photographers they liked and soon noticed that those photographers were following them back. During a trip to Spain, they pioneered “jumpstagrams” — or at least the most kinetic versions of them — featuring snapshots of figures in midair. People soon started copying their work. Overnight their individual Instagram followings exploded.
Over the course of 2015 the Sizoo brothers started receiving sponsorship offers. Realizing that they might be able to make a living at this, they rebranded as a unit and took a hard look at the Instagram platform in order to suss out the viability of a professionally creative future. “There were quite a few brands who contacted us for promotions mainly because of our followings,” says Bob. “But we’re very picky when it comes to collaborations. We only work with brands that represent what we believe in.”
Though the brothers often work in tandem, it’s clear that Bob is the de facto leader. He’s the first responder. The big idea guy. He drives the conversation with acute efficiency and he’s always looking at what’s next. If he weren’t an artist, he’d be a damn good CEO. From the look of it, Willem and Bastiaan embrace this work dynamic wholeheartedly. It allows them both to create work and be held accountable without the burden of keeping the light on. “We’re quite democratic but Bob is on a whole other level of dedication,” Bastiaan confesses. “He’s always thinking one year ahead.” Willem, on the other hand, is behaviorally the most enigmatic of the bunch. He only speaks when directly addressed and his responses are succinct yet revealing. He’s a wallflower but not wallpaper.
Unsurprisingly, when asked who the reigning champion for “best shot” is, each one of them answers, “Me.” Then they argue semantics. Bob counts victories in photos. Willem counts them in followers. It’s a dead-end topic, so naturally Bastiaan zooms out and derails things. “I find it hard to relate to you guys,” he says.
Despite being close in age, the Sizoos maintain different interests and groups of friends outside of work. “We only hang out at the dinner table,” Bob says. At work they teach each other techniques, experiment and try to one up each other. After hours, they disperse. It’s a good habit to be in, being defiantly individual. Variety is your friend when it comes to sustainability in close, long-term working relationships.
The unexpected post-interview walkabout around Amsterdam is perhaps the most illuminating part of the whole Sizoo experience. It almost doesn’t happen due to the fact that the brothers all run out of phone minutes, which temporarily leaves them stranded with no way of contacting their friends who are out shooting. Eventually they coordinate a meet up and the next hour is spent watching them slip in and out of unknowing tourist clusters with their cameras as they work. They’re flanked by their friends Phil, Curro, and VuTheara — all Instagram talents in their own right and all significantly their senior. Each member of the gang interacts with the others as equals and there’s a shocking lack of ego as they amble about nurturing each other’s work. At one point a middle-aged Asian tourist commandeers Willem through mime hand signals and asks him to take his picture on the canal bridge. The entire company looks on as Willem snaps a few shots and returns the man’s camera to him. They never exchange a word and the whole bit is kind of magical.
As splinter groups form during the walk, Curro speaks freely about Bastiaan, Willem and Bob. He cites their process — their ability to experiment, fail and experiment again — as the element that suggests they should have longevity in the business.
The conversation devolves again into a series of lovable anecdotes about how the Sizoo’s parents met and who made the first move before nose-diving when Bob — in the middle of a rebuttal about his father’s early years in London — momentarily forgets what nationality he is. Dutch? English? Bastiaan lovingly looks at Bob and says, “We’re Dutch.”
The best part about talking with the Sizoos is that halfway through the first sentence, you forget that they’re kids. And then one of them says something goofy and it pleasantly reminds you. In terms of family life, there is nothing quixotic about the brothers, they’re just average teenagers, but it’s no accident that they are as skilled as they are at photography. Their talent got them started and their drive has gotten them to a point where they have polish and reputation. The interesting part of the journey will be seeing what they do with this head start.
When the discussion shifts to the teenagers’ photography goals, no two answers are the same. “I’m interested in building long-term relationships. In having a sustainable future. In experience over materialistic things,” Bob says. From the opposite end of the spectrum, Bastiaan chimes in, “I don’t want to dedicate myself to this. I want to do photography or film but I want to do it alongside a career.” As if that didn’t cover it, Willem adds, “I want to be the best guy in it and inspire people.”
Follow Bastiaan Sizoo on Instagram: instagram.com/bastiaansizoo
Follow Bob Sizoo on Instagram: instagram.com/bobsizoo
Follow Willem Sizoo on Instagram: instagram.com/willemsizoo
Originally published at www.papercutmag.com on August 1, 2016.
