Refurbished

Kees van Sante grew up in the Schilderswijk, the most notorious district in The Hague where survival was a daily lesson and street smarts were more valuable than a degree. He climbed to the top of the luxury hospitality industry, only to have the plug pulled by fate. Cancer, 43 radiation treatments, and the total loss of his hearing left him isolated in a world of silence. The doctors saw a permanent patient; the system saw a man who was "finished." They were wrong. From a single $25 repair for a crying girl in financial need, Kees sparked a revolution in his own life. Without being able to hear a single word, he built an e-commerce powerhouse reaching nineteen countries. Along the way, he faced legal battles, the chaos of a pandemic, and the shadows of his own medical history. Told with brutal honesty, Hague humor, and unbreakable determination, Refurbished is more than a memoir. It is a testament to the "Refurbished" man: broken, repaired, and now stronger than ever before. A story of survival, second chances, and the power of refusing to stay down.