Katherine Johnsen has lived in the same building in Toronto for three and a half years

• Katherine Johnsen buys about 15 pairs of sneakers every week

• When he’s out of town, he relies on concierge Ridge Levene, with whom he’s become a close friend over the years, to manage his packages.

• In August, Levene helped Johnsen open a package containing Nike Air Max 95 Toronto shoes. Months later, he surprised her with his own couple

Katherine JohnsenThe co-founder of sneaker startup Common Ace buys about 15 pairs of sneakers every week.

The Toronto native, who is also a partner of an agency called Counter Culture, has been living in the same building in Toronto for three and a half years. He travels frequently and takes an average of 70 flights a year. When he’s out of town, he relies on the building attendant. Ridge LeveneWho he has become close friends with over the years to help him manage his packs.

“Ridge is incredibly helpful when I receive too many packages while I’m away and they start filling up the mailroom,” Johnsen, 31, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He’ll bring them to my house and let his friends in if they need to stay there. He’s so supportive and kind. He also loves his sneakers, so most of the time when I get new pairs, I unwrap them. He shares the excitement with him in the lobby and is great to have around.”

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Johnsen shares with PEOPLE how Nike re-released the Nike Air Max 95 Toronto in August. In addition to a special box that tells a beautiful story, the shoes are a tribute to the city with the contributions of many talented artists.

He remembers opening the shoe package sent to him with Levene, who is also an artist. “He was really excited about it,” she says. “He loved it. He knew some of the people who were interested in shoes, and I thought, ‘Okay, that would be exciting for him.'”

That’s when Johnsen decided to order Levene a pair of shoes for his birthday. After searching everywhere, she found a pair that suited her and bought them. He came up with a plan to surprise her in October: He wrote a card, put it in his sneaker box, and went to the lobby to give her the package.

He filmed Levene’s reaction throughout the surprise and posted it on social media after gaining his consent; it has since gone viral, garnering more than 1.2 million views and almost 1,200 comments.

“I worked at the Starbucks next door. We all love Ridge! He gets free drinks for life,” one comment reads.

Another user wrote, “Ridge burst into tears before she even knew what was in the box. We love her! She’s totally our doorman now!” he said.

Another comments: “This isn’t the doorman, this is family .”

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“The sweetest thing about Ridge was that he read the entire card from start to finish and got really excited,” she says. “It’s been fun for me. He really appreciates people taking the time to acknowledge him, I think, because he feels like a fixture. A lot of people accept people like that in their lives for who they are.”

“Ridge couldn’t buy herself a pair of shoes, but I think it was touching for her to remember that what someone said meant something to her,” she adds. “I could have bought her any pair of shoes, but she noticed how much she liked them, and I was really excited to do them for her. I think this one was more meaningful because it showed that she was seen and heard. It was two or three months ago, and that’s what made it so meaningful.” I remembered that’s what it was.”

Johnsen says that after giving Levene the shoes, he immediately wore them. He later created a reaction video to TikTok, which he described as “the sweetest thing in the world.”

“Thank you sooooo much

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She also notes that since she’s been posting videos with Levene for a while now and has made him a regular on her account, she’s especially excited to see how surprised her followers are.

“It was kind of special to show up, but I was honestly really surprised,” he continues. “I had no idea it would go viral.”

“I always say, ‘If I had known this video was going to be this successful, I would have worn makeup!’ “I had just finished a workout and couldn’t wait to give these to him,” he adds. “I wasn’t expecting a response. I think it’s important to show appreciation to the people in your daily life who make your day special. It doesn’t have to be through a gift; even just a card is important. Most of the time, when I get back from meetings, I’ll buy coffee for Ridge because I know he works hard.”