I went to see my primary care physician in July 2024 because my vision in my left eye was starting to deteriorate. Long story short: The next day, I was at the ophthalmologist’s office at the Antonius Hospital in Utrecht. I was told I had melanoma in my eye and was referred to the LUMC in Leiden. They specialize in ocular melanoma there. In consultation with the doctors in Leiden, I decided to have my eye removed in August 2024. After my recovery, I went to the Hague Artificial Eye Laboratory in September, where Rob Roeleveld made my first prosthesis.

We started talking because I had seen that the Hague Artificial Eye Laboratory had already made a Feijenoord eye once before. I came up with the idea of making a Harley-Davidson eye. I’m not at all ashamed of my artificial eye, and I’ve been riding motorcycles since 1978—the last 25 years of which on various Harleys. Rob was immediately enthusiastic, and within a week I had my first Harley eye, crafted with the same care and craftsmanship as my first custom eye.

Would you like something unique, too? A soccer logo, your company’s logo, or something else? I recommend you stop by Rob’s place sometime.