Woman Who Receives 15 Parcels A Week Finally Surprises The Doorman With One For Him (Exclusive)

Katherine Johnsen lived in the same building in Toronto for three and a half years.

• Katherine Johnsen receives about 15 pairs of sneakers every week.

• When she leaves town, she relies on her concierge, Ridge Levin, with whom she has become close friends over the years, to help her manage her packages.

• In August, Levene helped Johnsen open a package of Nike Air Max 95 Toronto sneakers. A few months later, she surprised him with her own match.

Katherine Johnsenco-founder of sneaker startup Common Ace, receives about 15 pairs of sneakers every week.

The Toronto native, who is also a partner at agency Counter Culture, has lived in the same building in Toronto for three and a half years. She travels frequently, averaging about 70 flights per year. When she’s out of town, she relies on the house concierge. Ridge Levenwhom she became friends with over the years to help her manage the parcels.

“Ridge is incredibly helpful when I get too many packages while I’m away and they start filling up the post office,” Johnsen, 31, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He brings them to me and lets friends in if they need to stay there. He is so sympathetic and kind. Plus, he loves sneakers, so often when I buy new pairs, I open them to the lobby with him. He shares the excitement and is just wonderful to be around.”

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Johnsen told PEOPLE how Nike released a re-release of the Nike Air Max 95 Toronto in August. The shoes serve as a tribute to the city, featuring the work of several talented artists, as well as a custom box that tells a beautiful story.

She recalls how she and Leven, who is also an artist, opened a package of shoes that were sent to her. “He was very excited about it,” she says. “He liked it. He knew some people who were involved in these shoes, and I thought, “Okay, this will be interesting for him.” “

That’s when Johnsen decided to order Levene a pair of shoes for his birthday. After searching everywhere, she found a pair that suited him and bought them. In October, she came up with a plan to surprise him: she wrote a card, put it in a box with her sneakers, and headed to the lobby to give him the package.

During the surprise, she filmed Levene’s reaction and, after getting his approval, posted it on social media, where it has since gone viral, racking up more than 1.2 million views and nearly 1,200 comments.

“I worked at a nearby Starbucks. We all love Ridge!! He gets free booze for life,” one comment read.

“Ridge teared up before he knew what was in the box. We love him!! Now he’s our concierge!” says another user.

Someone else comments: “It’s not the doorman, it’s the family .”

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“The best thing about Ridge is that he read the whole card from start to finish and was really excited,” she says. “It was funny for me. I think he appreciates people who take the time to acknowledge him so much because he feels indispensable. A lot of people take these people 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 that his words meant something to him,” she adds. “I could have given him any pair of shoes, but he noticed how much he liked them and I was really happy to do it for him. I think it meant more because it showed that he was seen and heard. He mentioned it two or three months ago, and I remembered that’s what made it so significant.”

Johnsen says that after Leven received the shoes, he immediately put them on. He later made a reaction video on her TikTok, which she describes as “the cutest thing in the world.”

“Thank you sooooooo much X 1000000!!! I appreciate you more than you know!! I am truly grateful to have you in my life I love, love, love you and your spirit ,” he wrote.

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She also notes that since she’s been posting videos of Leven for a while now, making him a regular on her account, her followers were especially happy to see how surprised he was.

“It was something special, but honestly, I was very overwhelmed,” she continues. “I had no idea it would go viral.”

“I always say: “I would have put on makeup if I knew this video would be so good!” I had just finished training and couldn’t wait to give them to him,” she adds. “I didn’t expect an answer. I think it’s important to show appreciation for the people in your daily life who make your day special. It doesn’t have to be a gift; even just a postcard has meaning. Very often, I’ll bring Ridge coffee when I get back from a meeting because I know he’s working hard. If it inspires someone to do something good for someone else, that’s a huge win for me.”