Jaadiee, as Jannik Diefenbach calls himself on his Instagram channel, is the grandson and creator of probably the most famous grandpa on all common social media platforms. In our podcast, Jannik tells us how the success story "Gramps" came about, how he perceives the work of himself and his grandpa, and which projects are still to follow in the future.
"I'm Jannik, grandson of a cool grandpa".
Christmas 2016: Jannik, has the "stupid idea", as he says himself, to put on his grandpa's clothes and photograph it. Five years later, this idea has evolved into an Instagram account with a million subscribers, where Jannik's grandpa Alojz, known to most only as "Gramps", shows himself in the most hyped outfits and most expensive brands, resulting in collaborations with Dior, Mercedes, Coca Cola, Zalando, Samsung, Mastercard, Jägermeister, among others.
Jannik is now 24 and currently in the master of his studies in business law. On his Instagram channel, he describes himself as a personal photographer of "Gramps", his 75-year-old grandpa Alojz Abram. For an account that combines a million followers, this almost seems a little low-key. "It's lowkey, but it's basically what I do. I take pictures of my grandpa and show him at his best. That's what I'm known for," Mainzer tells us.
Photo: Jannik Diefenbach
Jannik's affinity for streetwear, which his grandpa can be seen in most of the time and which he also likes to wear in his private life, is no coincidence. "I was in the sneaker game before. In 2013, it clicked with me with the Jordan 4 "Varsity Red" and I moved away from skateboarding to cool shoes," says the then sneaker freak, about his hobby, which naturally favored the start of the grandpa-grandson duo. "At some point, however, it became too stupid and grandpa started picking out shoes himself and now has his own small collection." This small collection contains around 30-40 pairs, as Jannik tells us. However, if you look at the Instagram account, you quickly realize that it is never the normal sneakers. Between Off White Jordans, Nike Dunks and Louis Vuitton sneakers, one brand has become the absolute favorite brand of "Gramps": Dior. That's why one of the highlights was being invited to Paris Fashion Week for the Dior show.
Photo: Jannik Diefenbach
"We didn't do it to become successful".
Jannik and his grandpa could not have imagined that the journey would go so far, and it was not planned. "We didn't do it to become successful or to make money," says Jannik, but he sees that as the success of the whole project. "It's precisely because we didn't chase success that it ended up being successful and I hope you can tell."
However, Jannik is even more pleased about all the collaborations and all the attention about another effect that the whole project brings. "My grandpa has developed extremely in his self-confidence. He's actually very introverted and has simply gained in self-confidence through the whole thing, and it's nice to see that he can still blossom like this at his advanced age," says the 24-year-old, visibly proud of this development. It is precisely this self-confidence that "Gramps" aims to convey to others. "It's never too late to rediscover yourself and it's about showing the older ones "Hey do what you want, it doesn't matter what people say, the main thing is that you feel good" and that's how you can inspire and motivate people," says Jannik, who sees his grandpa in this role as a kind of role model.
Photo: Jannik Diefenbach
"Gramps" as a fashion brand
In the future, of course, it will continue to be about "Gramps." But other projects are also planned, as Jannik tells us. "The main project remains Gramps, of course. But I'm also trying to play on my private accounts a bit more, in a casual light way. Otherwise, besides Gramps as a person, the plan is to pull up a fashion brand called Gramps," Jannik says.
Besides all the inspiration Jannik and his Gramps Alojz are to others, Jannik gives a personal take on what inspiration is to him at the end. "It's all the different influences from skateboarding, sneaker scene, designer fashion, vintage, architecture, the whole life, just everything is inspiration. All that is then bundled and expressed in my creativity," Jannik said at the end of our conversation.
If you want to learn more about Jannik and his grandpa, listen to the full episode of our "Normal Gets You Nowhere" podcast.