Where does the name Willy Party come from?

The name Willy Party came from a night out in town. Back then I liked to party a lot. I rolled out the studio 80 (now known as the Claire) around 6 am or so with two friends. This group of Italian girls came towards us and tried to ask me in their best English if I wanted to party with them. It sounded a bit like this.

Imagine a real thick Italian accent. Euuh will he party?? Willheparty?? These friends of mine started to laugh like crazy. hahahaha Willy Party!! Wow that is the best name for you ever! They started using it and everybody else as well. hahaha. Needless to say, it never went away and here I am. Most people have no clue what my real name is. They usually think it is Willem or William or something. Just for the record, it is Sebastian van der Elsken. Hi, hahaha.

Besides having two big Instagram account, you are a DJ in the nightlife of Amsterdam. Tell us how your love for spinning started and how you became a DJ? Plus which gig gave you the most energy?

I started DJing a long time ago. It started as a joke with 2 friends. We used to call ourselves Flamboyance. Hahaha. Started playing at random clubs and parties. Actually, it started with some friends of mine. Back then we were really into Guitar music like indie rock, punk and metal. Varying from the Beatles, The Strokes, Dead Kennedys, Block Party, I don’t know. Everything we liked. They started this party called Huiskamerhits in Bitterzoet (The old Bitterzoet. Thanks, PDK, Nica and Joris). Those guys just played everything. Hip hop, rock, some soul, disco, heavy metal, punk.

Nothing was mixed together and shit would get crazy. I mean really fucking crazy. I fucking loved it. Those were some good times. So, we started playing there. Later on, I started playing on my own as well. I always liked playing 80’s stuff so I started playing a lot of that. After a while I learned mixing stuff together and it kind of evolved in what I play today. Which is a mix of italo disco, disco, house, and some 80 stuff also every now and then. I never see myself as a DJ even though I did play some crazy parties over the years. This year’s Lowlands was one of my favorites for sure. Hope I’ll be back next year.

You use to be a pretty damn good skateboarder and still go at it from time to time, how’s your body feeling.

Yeah I used to be on my board every day for hour and hours. I was a sponsored skater for years. I love it and I can never walk the streets without looking at things for skateboarding. I don’t think that will ever go away. I started skating when I was 12. My older brothers were die-hard skaters, so naturally I started doing it as well. I loved it from the start. I couldn’t think of anything else. Fun fact for the readers.

The founder of this company (Pig & Hen) and I were in the same first class of high school and skated every day together for years. I was pretty serious about it and started to get quite good. I got my first sponsor when I was 16. A shop sponsor who gave me a couple of boards a year and 50% discount on everything I needed.

I would enter these Dutch championships and developed my own style. Around 18-19 I got on the Nike Skateboarding team and got to travel the globe with friends. Definitely the best times of my life. I was sponsored till 29ish. Around 30 I kind of stopped skating for about 4 years. Skated like 10 times a year or something. I was at a point where I was just mad that I couldn’t skate the way I used to. It fucking sucked. And of course, when you skate that little you just start to lose control over tricks.

It was like a vicious circle. Nowadays I try to get back on my board more often. I still skate every now and then but old injuries are taking its toll now. Fucked up ankles, plus I raptured my hamstring a few months ago when I was skating. Just getting old, hahaha. It is what it is. I still love it and I still consider myself a skateboarder. I’m a skate nerd till the day I die.

Willy Party is wearing Sharp Simon

Click here to return to the homepage