Autograph hunter Peter Johnson was £10,000 in debt when he founded his sports memorabilia business, but it is now an empire, with the Englishman a millionaire.
Johnson set up his Firma Stella business to provide fans with the chance to buy a range of memorabilia, from signed shirts to pictures and artefacts from the world of sport. The company has been built from the ground up and now employs 12 people.
They have signed deals with several top sports stars and have also been able to 'ambush' the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to secure lucrative autographs. Based in Worcestershire, it is a stunning turnaround for Johnson, who just five years ago was thousands of pounds in debt.
"Instead of a paper round as a teenager, I would chase autographs and collect stuff to sell it. I loved the buzz of selling them for a lot of money. "I started travelling around the world to chase stuff," he told the Daily Mail.
"I went to the F1 in Asia, the Rugby World Cup in Japan, Manchester City pre-season tours. Then I decided, 'Let’s make this an empire'. I was in £10,000 debt… Now I’m a millionaire. All with four and a half years’ work."
Firma Stella sell memorabilia from across the world of sport, including international football teams, Premiership rugby and Moto GP. But the most lucrative remains top football stars such as Messi and Ronaldo.
And Johnson has come up with novel methods to secure their valuable autographs. He has met both of the superstar duo, convincing them to sign shirts and other items before selling them on for a massive profit.
" Real Madrid were playing Manchester United and I found out about Ronaldo’s flight. I followed their bus from the airport to a hotel and quickly booked a room. I knew they were staying on the top floor and their team room was on the second floor," Johnson said.
"I saw the lift was on the top floor so I waited for it to come down. No joke, the first lift that opened… imagine it, Ronaldo is just standing there! So I jumped in and he was like, 'What the hell?'. He signed some stuff and we went from there.
"With Messi, I had to take a big risk. I booked a 'fake flight' from Barcelona just to get into the terminal. All of a sudden, the team just walked through security - Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez… they signed all our stuff."
Stella Firma currently have 17 Ronaldo-related items for sale on their website. That ranges from signed shirts from his first spell at Manchester United, to jerseys from his time at Real Madrid and Juventus.
Some of the items have price tags approaching £5,000, while a signed shirt from his second spell at Old Trafford, which ended last November, is on sale for £2,499.99.
