1/2 Leon Verheij in the basement between thousands of shirts.
Leon Verheij from Oudheusden started with 40 shirts from motocross riders, but he now has more than 2000. But also championship cups, dirt bikes, boots and helmets. You can’t imagine it so crazy or it can be seen in the heart of Heusden. Among all the beautiful things, Leon dwells on a shirt that has a lot of emotional value for him. “This boy died in an accident. His family has decided to donate his suit to me. Very special.”
Leon fell in love with motocross because a cousin raced at a high level in the amateurs. When he stopped working as a sailor after seven years, he ended up in motorsport, where he worked at Ferrari, among others.
He met a Swede with whom he shared his passion for motocross. Leon helped him day and night for almost four years to build up an impressive collection, but when the Swede opened a museum, he no longer saw Leon.
“I received beautiful things from all corners.”
“Our friendship ended in an annoying way, I was upset about that for a number of years. In the end, it was friends who motivated me to start collecting again. I had a small collection of shirts in boxes at home and decided to go for it again. I was offered beautiful things from all corners. Nice that people gave me that. Over time, my shed and attic were filled with stuff.”
There was no room left at home and a family member offered him the opportunity to move to an empty building in Heusden that once housed a bank. The entire building, including the basement, is now full of stuff.
“I got almost everything that is written here. From top riders such as Jeffrey Herlings, Glenn Coldenhoff or John van den Berk, but also from local riders, teams or fans. If people have something nice and are looking for a good place, they can visit me. I will never exchange or sell anything, even if they offer 3000 euros for a helmet, for example.”
“I have my collection mainly to show it to others.”
Leon finds it difficult to name his most valuable item. “A jewel in my collection is the first motocross bike from Suzuki, a unique example. What I would like to have? A shirt from the German motocross racer Ken Roczen is at the top of my wish list.”
In the middle of all the stuff is a bench. “No, I’m not going to sit here to enjoy all this beauty myself. I have my collection mainly to show it to others. For example, a group of twenty people will come here next week to watch. Then the stories of the past pass by and we spend hours chatting about our passion. That fun, that’s what I do it for.”
“My collection has everything it takes to become a museum.”
The collection is a very time-consuming hobby and he does not earn any money from it. “It has everything it takes to become a museum, but that entails too much hassle. I’m just ‘an ordinary working person’ and don’t have all the time. Suppose someone wants to invest with a lot of money, then I take it with both hands. It is the opportunity to further grow the collection.”
If you want to view Leon’s collection, you can find more information at his Facebook page.
