1
00:00:04,943 --> 00:00:06,641
Okay. Ready?
2
00:00:14,222 --> 00:00:15,518
Cheers, you guys.
3
00:00:15,553 --> 00:00:19,258
♪
4
00:00:19,293 --> 00:00:21,821
Oh, ta-- tastes awful.
Oh, that's cold.
5
00:00:26,366 --> 00:00:29,499
I always say to you,
"Are you mad?"
6
00:00:29,534 --> 00:00:33,437
Doing a movie about Steve?
Okay.
7
00:00:33,806 --> 00:00:35,670
In my-- you know,
in my eyes, you are--
8
00:00:35,705 --> 00:00:37,705
you are making
a movie about a loser.
9
00:00:37,740 --> 00:00:39,641
So, uh,
why are you doing that?
10
00:00:47,651 --> 00:00:51,521
I met Steve Glew
about 20 or 25 years ago.
11
00:00:51,556 --> 00:00:53,853
I did not even know
what Steve was-- was doing.
12
00:00:53,888 --> 00:00:57,494
♪
13
00:00:57,529 --> 00:01:00,431
No one knew him.
No one knew where he came from.
14
00:01:00,466 --> 00:01:04,435
No one that you asked had
any idea who the hell he was.
15
00:01:04,470 --> 00:01:07,636
But everybody
wanted what he was selling.
16
00:01:07,671 --> 00:01:12,179
♪
17
00:01:12,214 --> 00:01:14,346
I mean,
I was handling amounts of money
18
00:01:14,381 --> 00:01:15,578
that I had dreamed of.
19
00:01:15,613 --> 00:01:18,878
And doing a deal
for $500,000...
20
00:01:18,913 --> 00:01:22,420
I had no idea that he had
made millions of dollars.
21
00:01:22,455 --> 00:01:24,158
I remember reading
something and thinking,
22
00:01:24,193 --> 00:01:25,786
is my dad a criminal?
23
00:01:28,461 --> 00:01:30,560
I learned
to protect my space.
24
00:01:30,595 --> 00:01:32,892
I saw people
follow me all the time.
25
00:01:38,741 --> 00:01:41,175
I was paranoid
beyond belief.
26
00:01:41,210 --> 00:01:46,246
♪
27
00:01:51,715 --> 00:01:53,319
When I'd get home,
28
00:01:53,354 --> 00:01:56,619
and open that bag,
it was diamonds.
29
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It was gold.
30
00:02:06,565 --> 00:02:07,630
Pez.
31
00:02:08,765 --> 00:02:09,830
I won the lottery.
32
00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:12,338
It's like printin' money.
33
00:02:15,970 --> 00:02:17,244
♪ Listen, Steve ♪
34
00:02:18,643 --> 00:02:20,973
♪ Got your loving, ha ♪
35
00:02:21,008 --> 00:02:23,844
Welcome
to the wonderful world of Pez.
36
00:02:23,879 --> 00:02:25,912
Those colorful little
candy dispensers
37
00:02:25,947 --> 00:02:28,915
many of us purchased
for pennies years ago.
38
00:02:28,950 --> 00:02:30,983
Well,
pennies make dollars, folks.
39
00:02:31,018 --> 00:02:35,460
♪
40
00:02:35,495 --> 00:02:38,760
♪ You nearly
made me throw my life away ♪
41
00:02:38,795 --> 00:02:40,564
What-- what is that,
a Pez dispenser?
42
00:02:40,599 --> 00:02:43,435
You want one?
43
00:02:43,470 --> 00:02:46,306
♪ You played a game
only you could win ♪
44
00:02:46,341 --> 00:02:47,736
Some Pez are quite rare.
45
00:02:47,771 --> 00:02:49,705
And how much is this worth?
46
00:02:49,740 --> 00:02:51,542
Between three
and four thousand dollars.
47
00:02:51,577 --> 00:02:54,842
♪ Your love
is like fool's gold ♪
48
00:02:54,877 --> 00:02:58,945
♪ Just like a mirage, baby ♪
49
00:02:58,980 --> 00:03:02,355
♪ And all
that I got from you ♪
50
00:03:02,390 --> 00:03:04,819
People inside
the Pez cell
51
00:03:04,854 --> 00:03:06,920
think that this thing
has already peaked,
52
00:03:06,955 --> 00:03:08,592
and it has not.
53
00:03:08,627 --> 00:03:10,957
♪ Fool's love,
oh yeah ♪
54
00:03:10,992 --> 00:03:15,302
♪ Nothing but fool's love
oh yeah ♪
55
00:03:15,337 --> 00:03:17,931
♪ Nothing but fool's love ♪
56
00:03:37,392 --> 00:03:38,457
That's good.
57
00:03:40,725 --> 00:03:44,595
I've been waiting to tell
this story for 20 years.
58
00:03:55,476 --> 00:03:57,872
When we moved out here,
we became back-to-earthers.
59
00:03:57,907 --> 00:04:00,512
We had goats,
we had chickens, we had pigs,
60
00:04:00,547 --> 00:04:02,613
we had a cow or two.
61
00:04:02,648 --> 00:04:04,582
♪
62
00:04:12,625 --> 00:04:14,724
Yeah, you couldn't imagine
living anywhere else.
63
00:04:17,927 --> 00:04:20,059
Right there.
It was where the grey barn was.
64
00:04:20,094 --> 00:04:22,567
-Silver barn is.
-Yeah.
65
00:04:56,768 --> 00:04:58,900
I wear three pair of socks,
66
00:04:58,935 --> 00:05:01,672
and I keep a paper towel
with me at all times.
67
00:05:02,207 --> 00:05:03,542
It just helps you cope.
68
00:05:09,616 --> 00:05:12,045
My whole life,
I'd been poor.
69
00:05:12,614 --> 00:05:14,883
Poor is when you don't have
enough money.
70
00:05:14,918 --> 00:05:19,426
When your house payment's
only $125 a month.
71
00:05:20,759 --> 00:05:23,430
Um, yeah,
we lived in a ratty old house
72
00:05:23,465 --> 00:05:26,928
that snow came in,
till we wrapped it in plastic.
73
00:05:26,963 --> 00:05:28,831
Literally,
a big sheet of plastic.
74
00:05:34,641 --> 00:05:37,675
The expectations
in my life were
75
00:05:37,710 --> 00:05:39,545
this guy
won't amount to nothin'.
76
00:05:39,580 --> 00:05:41,041
He's a joke.
77
00:05:41,076 --> 00:05:43,879
But I've always had
an inner person that...
78
00:05:44,783 --> 00:05:47,146
that knew
there was more.
79
00:05:48,820 --> 00:05:50,787
Uh,
that I could achieve more.
80
00:05:56,498 --> 00:05:59,466
At that point
in our life, um,
81
00:05:59,501 --> 00:06:00,731
we didn't have two pennies.
82
00:06:02,031 --> 00:06:03,833
And if you did have
two pennies,
83
00:06:03,868 --> 00:06:04,999
it was because you weren't
paying something else.
84
00:06:05,034 --> 00:06:08,134
♪
85
00:06:08,169 --> 00:06:11,170
There was never excess money.
86
00:06:11,805 --> 00:06:14,206
You used to make, like,
$11 an hour as a--
87
00:06:14,241 --> 00:06:18,210
as a skilled tradesman
who knew his stuff.
88
00:06:18,245 --> 00:06:21,686
♪
89
00:06:21,721 --> 00:06:24,986
My job
was mind-numbingly boring.
90
00:06:25,021 --> 00:06:28,726
I worked
for almost 25 years
91
00:06:28,761 --> 00:06:31,025
as a machinist
in a factory.
92
00:06:33,568 --> 00:06:36,899
I would set the cut, and, uh,
while the cut was running,
93
00:06:36,934 --> 00:06:38,835
I'd have
plenty of time to think.
94
00:06:38,870 --> 00:06:42,773
And I'd think about,
uh, something better.
95
00:06:45,976 --> 00:06:48,581
Tom Clancy
was his author of choice.
96
00:06:53,654 --> 00:06:56,919
He's in books, submersing
himself in that story and--
97
00:06:56,954 --> 00:06:58,591
and kind of living
that adventure.
98
00:06:59,220 --> 00:07:01,055
Because he hated his job.
99
00:07:01,090 --> 00:07:03,629
-Target acquired...
100
00:07:06,568 --> 00:07:07,798
I mean,
I suffered through it.
101
00:07:07,833 --> 00:07:09,162
Don't get me wrong.
102
00:07:09,197 --> 00:07:11,098
But I always wanted out.
103
00:07:11,133 --> 00:07:13,232
I always was waiting,
104
00:07:13,267 --> 00:07:16,235
every minute of every day,
105
00:07:16,270 --> 00:07:18,204
to figure anything out
106
00:07:18,239 --> 00:07:19,876
that would get me
the hell out of there.
107
00:07:19,911 --> 00:07:24,078
♪
108
00:07:32,594 --> 00:07:34,693
Yeah,
I was pretty miserable,
109
00:07:34,728 --> 00:07:36,959
until I found cereal boxes.
110
00:07:37,328 --> 00:07:38,829
And I just
really loved them.
111
00:07:46,168 --> 00:07:48,971
I'm a cereal box guy.
Always have been.
112
00:07:49,842 --> 00:07:51,842
Being compulsive obsessive,
113
00:07:51,877 --> 00:07:54,240
it's not the box,
it's the stack.
114
00:07:54,976 --> 00:07:57,243
There's a sense
of joy when you find
115
00:07:57,278 --> 00:07:58,915
something you hold special.
116
00:07:59,313 --> 00:08:00,983
There it is.
117
00:08:01,018 --> 00:08:05,185
The screwier a box is,
the better it is.
118
00:08:16,033 --> 00:08:19,265
♪
119
00:08:19,300 --> 00:08:20,838
I love cereal boxes.
120
00:08:20,873 --> 00:08:22,202
They're just fun.
Cap'n Crunch.
121
00:08:22,237 --> 00:08:24,039
And they're a part
of my childhood.
122
00:08:24,074 --> 00:08:28,109
We were the generation
that ate the sweet cereal.
123
00:08:28,144 --> 00:08:30,881
And I eat
the sweet cereal still.
124
00:08:30,916 --> 00:08:35,952
♪
125
00:08:58,372 --> 00:09:00,845
Steve, uh,
was never shy about things.
126
00:09:01,547 --> 00:09:03,650
He'd be running
up and down the aisles, like,
127
00:09:03,685 --> 00:09:05,278
"Oh,
look at this box variation.
128
00:09:05,313 --> 00:09:07,016
Look at this,
or look at that."
129
00:09:07,051 --> 00:09:09,755
And he was very
passionate about what he did.
130
00:09:21,296 --> 00:09:24,803
♪
131
00:09:24,838 --> 00:09:28,367
Steve figured out
a way of working the system
132
00:09:28,402 --> 00:09:30,171
of mail order premiums.
133
00:09:30,206 --> 00:09:33,240
Like, send ten box tops
for this free craft radio.
134
00:09:33,275 --> 00:09:35,308
♪
135
00:09:35,343 --> 00:09:37,684
Frisbees,
sports item, cars.
136
00:09:37,719 --> 00:09:40,049
I was getting
all kinds of stuff.
137
00:09:40,518 --> 00:09:42,854
I learned to take
those out and sell 'em,
138
00:09:42,889 --> 00:09:46,022
and it was generating
revenue back into the family.
139
00:09:46,057 --> 00:09:50,158
And it was thousands
and thousands of these items.
140
00:09:50,994 --> 00:09:53,293
He totally
skewed their system, and--
141
00:09:53,328 --> 00:09:57,165
and he did it often enough
that they actually changed
142
00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,904
corporate policy about--
about premium redemption.
143
00:09:59,939 --> 00:10:01,301
You know
that little disclaimer?
144
00:10:01,336 --> 00:10:03,941
They say "one per household."
145
00:10:05,472 --> 00:10:10,277
That's me. I did that.
146
00:10:10,312 --> 00:10:11,982
I mean, it--
it was the first
147
00:10:12,017 --> 00:10:15,183
effort of
"push it till it breaks."
148
00:10:17,253 --> 00:10:19,693
We started
going to toy shows,
149
00:10:19,728 --> 00:10:22,828
and I was yankin'
down 300 bucks a show.
150
00:10:24,832 --> 00:10:27,899
Thank you. One dollar.
Thank you. Just one.
151
00:10:27,934 --> 00:10:32,233
♪
152
00:10:36,910 --> 00:10:40,373
After they closed
the window on cereal premiums,
153
00:10:40,408 --> 00:10:42,177
it seemed
like the end of the road.
154
00:10:42,879 --> 00:10:46,346
But I had enough product
for one last toy show.
155
00:10:47,415 --> 00:10:50,086
That's when everything changed.
156
00:10:50,121 --> 00:10:51,758
Everything.
157
00:10:51,793 --> 00:10:53,958
It was very,
uh, film noire.
158
00:11:00,395 --> 00:11:02,329
I remember
the moment completely.
159
00:11:02,364 --> 00:11:07,400
♪
160
00:11:09,877 --> 00:11:10,942
Pez.
161
00:11:10,977 --> 00:11:12,438
Oh, my God, oh, my God,
162
00:11:12,473 --> 00:11:14,242
I want one of them,
I want one of them.
163
00:11:18,919 --> 00:11:20,479
Oh, my God.
164
00:11:20,514 --> 00:11:22,283
I could sell these and do
really, really well.
165
00:11:22,318 --> 00:11:27,321
♪
166
00:11:36,937 --> 00:11:41,973
♪
167
00:11:44,813 --> 00:11:46,274
Toy world is full of people.
168
00:11:46,309 --> 00:11:48,243
They go, "Shh, shh,
don't tell anybody."
169
00:11:48,278 --> 00:11:53,314
♪
170
00:12:02,864 --> 00:12:04,127
Where did you get those?
171
00:12:04,162 --> 00:12:07,867
♪
172
00:12:07,902 --> 00:12:09,363
Kolinska.
173
00:12:09,398 --> 00:12:11,266
It was--
it was haunting.
174
00:12:11,301 --> 00:12:14,940
'Cause it's like "Rosebud"
from, uh, Citizen Kane.
175
00:12:15,676 --> 00:12:18,878
-Rosebud.
176
00:12:18,913 --> 00:12:22,079
And she leaned over
and told me,
177
00:12:22,114 --> 00:12:23,850
"You want the good stuff?
178
00:12:23,885 --> 00:12:25,115
You gotta go to Kolinska."
179
00:12:26,085 --> 00:12:27,854
It was like the temptation
180
00:12:27,889 --> 00:12:30,450
of the pot of gold
at the end of the rainbow.
181
00:12:30,485 --> 00:12:35,521
♪
182
00:12:48,074 --> 00:12:49,436
The collectors loved...
183
00:12:51,011 --> 00:12:53,110
things that weren't available
to the open market.
184
00:12:53,145 --> 00:12:54,507
Things
that you couldn't go down
185
00:12:54,542 --> 00:12:56,344
to your grocery store
and pick up.
186
00:12:56,379 --> 00:12:58,445
They wanted
what was available in Europe.
187
00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:00,920
And so I was like, "Dad,
let's see what we can get,
188
00:13:00,955 --> 00:13:02,383
you know,
right from the factory."
189
00:13:03,518 --> 00:13:04,957
I don't go places.
190
00:13:06,620 --> 00:13:09,291
I mean, Europe--
Europe is this thing
191
00:13:09,326 --> 00:13:11,458
that rich people
only do, and...
192
00:13:12,967 --> 00:13:14,835
not something in my world.
193
00:13:20,601 --> 00:13:23,569
Welcome aboard.
Welcome aboard the spacious...
194
00:13:23,604 --> 00:13:25,142
I was about 20 years old.
195
00:13:25,177 --> 00:13:27,012
I had never
been out of the country.
196
00:13:27,047 --> 00:13:28,948
But there was no way
I was gonna just
197
00:13:28,983 --> 00:13:30,950
let that dream die anyway.
198
00:13:32,283 --> 00:13:34,085
I kind of took
the reins
199
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,956
and contacted a--
a local travel agent.
200
00:13:37,486 --> 00:13:39,222
This needs to happen
201
00:13:39,257 --> 00:13:41,488
in order to take
that next step.
202
00:13:41,523 --> 00:13:44,293
How bad
do you want that next step?
203
00:13:44,328 --> 00:13:46,460
A new concept
in air transportation.
204
00:13:47,166 --> 00:13:48,561
I don't know.
205
00:13:48,596 --> 00:13:50,497
I don't know, yeah, okay.
Let's go.
206
00:13:50,532 --> 00:13:53,500
-He got me a passport.
207
00:13:55,108 --> 00:13:56,437
Next thing you know,
we had tickets.
208
00:13:56,872 --> 00:13:59,308
Next thing you know,
we're on a plane.
209
00:13:59,343 --> 00:14:04,016
♪
210
00:14:08,550 --> 00:14:11,089
Well, I heard that
he was making a trip to Europe,
211
00:14:11,124 --> 00:14:13,619
and I thought he was insane.
212
00:14:13,654 --> 00:14:16,655
♪
213
00:14:16,690 --> 00:14:19,427
He didn't speak
any foreign language.
214
00:14:19,462 --> 00:14:22,562
There was no internet,
he had no contact people
215
00:14:22,597 --> 00:14:25,136
on the ground,
he was just some hillbilly
216
00:14:25,171 --> 00:14:27,435
from Michigan
who got on a plane...
217
00:14:28,237 --> 00:14:30,911
and then just
landed somewhere.
218
00:14:34,983 --> 00:14:37,643
You know,
the state of Europe
219
00:14:37,678 --> 00:14:41,988
was vastly different
back then than it is today.
220
00:14:43,255 --> 00:14:47,257
The Berlin wall
hadn't been down very long.
221
00:14:47,292 --> 00:14:49,721
The wall has
suddenly become irrelevant.
222
00:14:49,756 --> 00:14:52,427
Something, as you can see,
almost to party on.
223
00:14:52,462 --> 00:14:54,132
How do you measure
such an astonishing
224
00:14:54,167 --> 00:14:56,002
moment in history?
225
00:14:56,037 --> 00:14:59,434
He was operating
out of this capitalist scheme,
226
00:14:59,469 --> 00:15:02,404
but he had no idea
what he was doing.
227
00:15:11,217 --> 00:15:12,612
But, you know,
he has that,
228
00:15:12,647 --> 00:15:15,615
like,
magical little troll quality.
229
00:15:19,126 --> 00:15:22,094
When you're doing this,
and you're fully invested,
230
00:15:22,129 --> 00:15:23,359
it's either win or lose.
231
00:15:23,394 --> 00:15:24,723
Live or die, you know?
232
00:15:24,758 --> 00:15:28,166
So we always had
everything on the line.
233
00:15:28,201 --> 00:15:32,104
♪
234
00:15:32,139 --> 00:15:35,371
We had to take out a loan
from our credit union
235
00:15:35,406 --> 00:15:37,505
to make
this very first trip happen.
236
00:15:38,074 --> 00:15:41,476
Failure wasn't an option.
We had to find the factory.
237
00:15:41,511 --> 00:15:46,217
♪
238
00:15:46,252 --> 00:15:48,780
But here you are,
you know, these small-town guys
239
00:15:48,815 --> 00:15:50,518
going out into the world,
you know?
240
00:15:50,553 --> 00:15:52,586
It's-- it's the big
adventure of a lifetime.
241
00:15:59,766 --> 00:16:03,234
At this time,
the conflict and genocide
242
00:16:03,269 --> 00:16:04,631
in Croatia was going on.
243
00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,107
And we were right
on the southern border.
244
00:16:12,146 --> 00:16:13,673
So, we were driving around,
245
00:16:13,708 --> 00:16:16,445
you know,
trying to go off from a map,
246
00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,152
but at one o'clock
in the morning, in the dark,
247
00:16:20,187 --> 00:16:22,781
where you're not seeing every
sign or anything like that.
248
00:16:23,316 --> 00:16:26,455
And we got hopelessly lost.
249
00:16:30,197 --> 00:16:31,262
We screwed up.
250
00:16:32,826 --> 00:16:35,200
We were on an old
dirt road somewhere,
251
00:16:35,235 --> 00:16:37,532
and there was a chain
across the road.
252
00:16:37,567 --> 00:16:40,403
♪
253
00:16:40,438 --> 00:16:45,474
And it just basically
said, "Zagreb - X miles."
254
00:16:45,509 --> 00:16:49,247
♪
255
00:16:49,282 --> 00:16:51,084
We were out
in the middle of nowhere,
256
00:16:51,119 --> 00:16:53,581
looking in the dark
for any pops on the horizon.
257
00:17:11,898 --> 00:17:16,505
♪
258
00:17:17,673 --> 00:17:20,080
Well.
259
00:17:33,458 --> 00:17:35,458
-I don't know why...
260
00:17:36,494 --> 00:17:38,395
but Kathy's always
believed in me.
261
00:17:41,235 --> 00:17:43,367
We met at age 18.
262
00:17:56,679 --> 00:17:58,910
Kathy was one
of the flower children,
263
00:17:58,945 --> 00:18:00,516
uh, the beautiful people.
264
00:18:02,289 --> 00:18:05,257
I was just a guy.
Not worth a hill of beans.
265
00:18:05,292 --> 00:18:08,227
And yet, she sees the guy
that's-- that's there.
266
00:18:09,659 --> 00:18:10,757
The potential.
267
00:18:18,668 --> 00:18:20,668
The minute I saw her,
I knew she was it.
268
00:18:20,703 --> 00:18:22,241
Completely.
269
00:18:22,276 --> 00:18:24,210
And we've been together
every day since.
270
00:18:26,247 --> 00:18:28,841
Kathy allows me my dreams.
271
00:18:29,243 --> 00:18:33,846
Until I get too far off path,
then she reins me back in.
272
00:18:54,539 --> 00:18:57,672
She knows I get dangerous,
and careless...
273
00:18:58,906 --> 00:19:00,213
occasionally.
274
00:19:00,248 --> 00:19:02,446
But she supported me 100%
275
00:19:02,481 --> 00:19:03,909
on the--
the trip to Europe.
276
00:19:09,554 --> 00:19:10,850
I thought we were dead.
277
00:19:12,755 --> 00:19:15,492
But thank God I had Josh.
Thank God.
278
00:19:16,228 --> 00:19:19,463
-I mean-- .
279
00:19:21,929 --> 00:19:24,798
I truly began
to appreciate him.
280
00:19:24,833 --> 00:19:29,869
♪
281
00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:41,947
Our first trip to Europe
for Joshua and me was like
282
00:19:41,982 --> 00:19:44,785
our graduation from
childhood to manhood.
283
00:19:45,521 --> 00:19:50,527
I did lean on him to be able
to emotionally do this.
284
00:19:54,060 --> 00:19:57,028
The next day
we were supposed to be finding
285
00:19:57,063 --> 00:20:00,900
the factory, and still
we had no idea where it was.
286
00:20:02,805 --> 00:20:04,673
And then, I see it.
287
00:20:06,611 --> 00:20:08,974
It's printed, the address
is printed right on here.
288
00:20:10,210 --> 00:20:13,352
It's right there, and
you're just, like, holy crap.
289
00:20:13,387 --> 00:20:18,489
♪
290
00:20:19,191 --> 00:20:21,789
I'm-- I'm amazed
how an American
291
00:20:21,824 --> 00:20:23,560
is able to get
into the factories.
292
00:20:23,595 --> 00:20:28,400
♪
293
00:20:29,035 --> 00:20:33,834
We really get a long ways
by playing up "dumb American."
294
00:20:34,536 --> 00:20:36,639
"Came here for Pez?
Dumb American."
295
00:20:36,674 --> 00:20:37,739
You know what I mean?
296
00:20:37,774 --> 00:20:42,810
♪
297
00:20:47,685 --> 00:20:50,389
I couldn't make
out any sense of this.
298
00:20:50,824 --> 00:20:53,755
Uh, I don't want
to insult Steve now,
299
00:20:53,790 --> 00:20:57,495
because appearance-wise,
what is it-- like, a homeless.
300
00:20:58,729 --> 00:21:00,432
Yeah.
301
00:21:00,467 --> 00:21:02,632
Actually, he looks like a poor,
homeless guy.
302
00:21:02,667 --> 00:21:05,866
♪
303
00:21:05,901 --> 00:21:07,340
I got in.
304
00:21:08,838 --> 00:21:10,706
Looking
disheveled and crazy
305
00:21:10,741 --> 00:21:12,576
has always worked for me.
306
00:21:15,713 --> 00:21:17,779
Everybody
underestimates you.
307
00:21:19,420 --> 00:21:23,048
And that's when I met Marcos.
308
00:21:24,491 --> 00:21:27,360
And what he showed me,
it was overwhelming.
309
00:21:27,395 --> 00:21:32,431
♪
310
00:21:32,466 --> 00:21:33,993
It was exactly like
311
00:21:34,028 --> 00:21:35,929
Willy Wonka
& the Chocolate Factory.
312
00:21:35,964 --> 00:21:39,933
♪
313
00:21:39,968 --> 00:21:41,836
We had got
our golden ticket...
314
00:21:43,477 --> 00:21:46,544
and we were in there
to buy our heart's desire.
315
00:21:46,579 --> 00:21:49,976
♪
316
00:21:50,011 --> 00:21:52,484
I saw so much wonderful Pez.
317
00:21:53,253 --> 00:21:55,784
This is the stuff
people dream of.
318
00:21:55,819 --> 00:22:00,492
♪
319
00:22:00,527 --> 00:22:02,758
It was,
like, you hit the lottery.
320
00:22:02,793 --> 00:22:04,892
-It was unreal.
321
00:22:04,927 --> 00:22:09,732
♪
322
00:22:09,767 --> 00:22:12,130
Marcos's job was design.
323
00:22:13,771 --> 00:22:15,837
We had made a friend.
A soulmate.
324
00:22:15,872 --> 00:22:17,608
That truly appreciates
325
00:22:17,643 --> 00:22:19,544
the artistic talent,
the vision.
326
00:22:19,579 --> 00:22:22,613
I-- I got what he was saying
and how much he loved it.
327
00:22:22,648 --> 00:22:25,484
It was stuff that just
wasn't sold in the U.S.
328
00:22:25,886 --> 00:22:29,521
Pez USA rejected damn near
everything Marcos would do.
329
00:22:40,193 --> 00:22:41,929
My name is Bud Damberg,
330
00:22:41,964 --> 00:22:43,964
and I'm the former
marketing manager for Pez.
331
00:22:43,999 --> 00:22:45,801
And I was there
for about 15 years.
332
00:22:47,805 --> 00:22:49,442
I love working
in the candy industry.
333
00:22:49,477 --> 00:22:51,037
It's one of the sweetest
industries around.
334
00:22:52,612 --> 00:22:54,744
Literally.
335
00:22:55,246 --> 00:22:58,044
Back in the 1990s,
Pez USA
336
00:22:58,079 --> 00:23:00,750
and Pez International
out of Austria,
337
00:23:00,785 --> 00:23:02,917
operated
very independently.
338
00:23:02,952 --> 00:23:05,051
Pez International
had distribution
339
00:23:05,086 --> 00:23:06,690
throughout
the entire world.
340
00:23:06,725 --> 00:23:08,494
But not the United States.
341
00:23:09,063 --> 00:23:11,860
Because
of Pez USA's agreement
342
00:23:11,895 --> 00:23:14,192
with the parent company
in Austria,
343
00:23:14,227 --> 00:23:17,866
they have 100% control
344
00:23:17,901 --> 00:23:20,803
of everything Pez-related
in the United States.
345
00:23:21,505 --> 00:23:24,136
And the, uh,
president and CEO
346
00:23:24,171 --> 00:23:26,138
of Pez USA
was Scott McWhinnie.
347
00:23:28,714 --> 00:23:30,912
Also very fondly known
as the "Pezident."
348
00:23:31,981 --> 00:23:34,113
He was the ultimate
decision-maker.
349
00:23:34,148 --> 00:23:37,985
He ran a very tight
and very lean ship.
350
00:23:38,020 --> 00:23:41,692
"I love Pez" is a very common,
uh, statement.
351
00:23:41,727 --> 00:23:44,090
However, the kids of today
know nothing about nostalgia.
352
00:23:44,125 --> 00:23:45,597
They love Pez
for what it is.
353
00:23:46,633 --> 00:23:48,193
The people at Pez USA
354
00:23:48,228 --> 00:23:51,471
decided what came
into the US and what didn't.
355
00:23:52,106 --> 00:23:54,100
If Scott didn't want something
sold in the United States,
356
00:23:54,135 --> 00:23:56,102
it wasn't sold
in the United States.
357
00:23:56,137 --> 00:23:58,973
Europe would bust it's butt
and come up with a great idea,
358
00:23:59,008 --> 00:24:01,041
or get some
really good licenses,
359
00:24:01,076 --> 00:24:02,911
and Pez USA
would say no.
360
00:24:03,413 --> 00:24:05,914
No, stupid, we hate it, no,
361
00:24:05,949 --> 00:24:07,916
no, you're ignorant,
we hate it.
362
00:24:07,951 --> 00:24:11,557
But everything
unique and creative
363
00:24:11,592 --> 00:24:14,626
that they came up with,
I could not get enough of.
364
00:24:14,661 --> 00:24:16,859
And that endeared us to them.
365
00:24:17,528 --> 00:24:20,159
They loved us.
Just loved us.
366
00:24:24,165 --> 00:24:26,836
These people were hungry
for American dollars.
367
00:24:26,871 --> 00:24:28,640
They wanted to work with us.
368
00:24:28,675 --> 00:24:31,005
They wanted to do business
with us and everything.
369
00:24:33,944 --> 00:24:37,275
I was looking at the,
uh, cabinet, in the office,
370
00:24:37,310 --> 00:24:39,112
and they had a display
in there of--
371
00:24:39,147 --> 00:24:41,081
of dispensers that
hadn't even hit the market.
372
00:24:42,590 --> 00:24:44,755
Um, one of them
was the Bubble Boy dispenser.
373
00:24:48,794 --> 00:24:50,530
Our jaws
just dropped to the floor.
374
00:24:51,599 --> 00:24:53,324
Uh, especially once, uh,
375
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:55,799
he told us
the stories behind 'em.
376
00:24:57,099 --> 00:24:59,638
Bubble Man was a reject
377
00:24:59,673 --> 00:25:02,234
from an idea to sell gum.
378
00:25:03,776 --> 00:25:05,974
Now, I had heard
of the Bubble Boy dispenser.
379
00:25:06,009 --> 00:25:07,943
He wasn't going to
be released.
380
00:25:07,978 --> 00:25:10,077
Well, he gave me one
from the cabinet.
381
00:25:10,112 --> 00:25:12,211
I mean, that was--
that was the coolest thing.
382
00:25:12,246 --> 00:25:15,984
He also gave me a purple Dino
and a yellow Dino.
383
00:25:16,353 --> 00:25:18,888
Stuff that should
never have been out there,
384
00:25:18,923 --> 00:25:20,791
but it existed.
385
00:25:23,730 --> 00:25:25,664
It was just
really wonderful Pez.
386
00:25:25,699 --> 00:25:30,735
♪
387
00:25:32,937 --> 00:25:35,641
At that point, I was home free.
I had my product.
388
00:25:35,676 --> 00:25:39,909
All of the obstacles
had been hurdled.
389
00:25:39,944 --> 00:25:44,716
-All except one.
390
00:25:44,751 --> 00:25:47,851
Coming back through US
customs was the hard part.
391
00:25:48,620 --> 00:25:50,656
Here at Homeland
Security Investigations,
392
00:25:50,691 --> 00:25:52,658
we investigate
transnational crime.
393
00:25:52,693 --> 00:25:54,858
Uh, basically
any crime that touches,
394
00:25:54,893 --> 00:25:56,222
uh,
the United States border.
395
00:25:56,257 --> 00:25:58,290
Uh, either inbound
or outbound.
396
00:25:58,325 --> 00:26:00,094
It runs across the spectrum.
397
00:26:00,129 --> 00:26:02,767
It could be, uh, contraband,
in that-- in the--
398
00:26:02,802 --> 00:26:05,000
in the form
of narcotics, money,
399
00:26:05,035 --> 00:26:08,333
body parts, human heads,
of course, arms.
400
00:26:08,368 --> 00:26:10,676
You know, various animals.
401
00:26:11,145 --> 00:26:13,811
Unfortunately, sometimes
those animals don't make it,
402
00:26:13,846 --> 00:26:15,340
but other times they do,
and all of a sudden
403
00:26:15,375 --> 00:26:17,111
you're opening a,
you know, a suitcase,
404
00:26:17,146 --> 00:26:18,915
and there's birds in there
or something else.
405
00:26:18,950 --> 00:26:21,786
♪
406
00:26:23,823 --> 00:26:25,053
It can be entertaining.
407
00:26:25,088 --> 00:26:26,758
Uh, for a serious crime,
408
00:26:26,793 --> 00:26:28,793
you could be looking
at decades in jail.
409
00:26:28,828 --> 00:26:31,763
♪
410
00:26:31,798 --> 00:26:34,667
He just had
great big duffle bags
411
00:26:34,702 --> 00:26:39,232
full of thousands and thousands
of Pez, and I don't know what
412
00:26:39,267 --> 00:26:41,399
the customs people thought,
413
00:26:41,434 --> 00:26:43,401
or maybe they didn't even
really look at them.
414
00:26:44,036 --> 00:26:46,712
They must not have,
or he wouldn't have been able
415
00:26:46,747 --> 00:26:49,880
to bring 'em in without
all the proper paperwork.
416
00:26:49,915 --> 00:26:53,818
♪
417
00:26:53,853 --> 00:26:55,446
It was something I learned.
418
00:26:55,481 --> 00:26:58,284
You had to be methodical
about how you went about it.
419
00:26:58,653 --> 00:27:00,990
I had to appear to be...
420
00:27:01,993 --> 00:27:03,355
a fool.
421
00:27:03,390 --> 00:27:05,731
Disheveled. Crazy.
422
00:27:06,233 --> 00:27:10,395
So, I'd stay awake for 24
hours prior to hitting customs.
423
00:27:10,897 --> 00:27:12,463
Well, that's--
that's exactly
424
00:27:12,498 --> 00:27:14,399
what you don't wanna do.
425
00:27:14,434 --> 00:27:16,434
Uh, you know, the more odd
and the more you stick out,
426
00:27:16,469 --> 00:27:18,876
if you're disheveled
and don't sleep
427
00:27:18,911 --> 00:27:22,308
and you're acting a little,
uh, kind of out of sorts.
428
00:27:22,343 --> 00:27:24,750
If anything, that's gonna
attract more attention,
429
00:27:24,785 --> 00:27:26,147
and it certainly
would for me.
430
00:27:26,782 --> 00:27:28,479
Oh,
I knew it would work.
431
00:27:28,514 --> 00:27:31,988
Um, doing crazy things
that made no sense.
432
00:27:32,023 --> 00:27:35,486
-Because then I'm harmless.
-You should be honest.
433
00:27:35,521 --> 00:27:37,994
You're gonna have to declare
what you're coming in with.
434
00:27:38,029 --> 00:27:41,327
You needed to be
as honest as you could,
435
00:27:41,362 --> 00:27:44,099
without being
completely honest.
436
00:27:45,872 --> 00:27:48,136
Yes,
I was definitely doing
437
00:27:48,171 --> 00:27:50,402
something technically illegal.
438
00:27:50,804 --> 00:27:53,240
Did I care? Nah.
Not in the slightest.
439
00:27:53,275 --> 00:27:54,439
Not in the slightest.
440
00:27:54,474 --> 00:27:59,719
♪
441
00:28:08,158 --> 00:28:10,488
Um, the items that--
that Steve Glew
442
00:28:10,523 --> 00:28:13,326
was bringing over
were grey market items.
443
00:28:14,062 --> 00:28:16,395
Um, which were items
that were not manufactured
444
00:28:16,430 --> 00:28:18,034
for United States market.
445
00:28:19,235 --> 00:28:21,136
They were legitimate
Pez dispensers,
446
00:28:21,171 --> 00:28:22,940
but he did not have
the licensing rights
447
00:28:22,975 --> 00:28:24,040
to bring them in.
448
00:28:28,442 --> 00:28:31,278
Pez Candy Inc.
in the United States
449
00:28:31,313 --> 00:28:35,414
is the only licensed entity
to sell them in this country.
450
00:28:42,230 --> 00:28:45,325
Let me
think about that one.
451
00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:49,296
♪
452
00:28:53,104 --> 00:28:56,776
A snafu made
everything I did possible.
453
00:28:58,406 --> 00:29:01,473
There was one simple,
little thing
454
00:29:01,508 --> 00:29:03,442
that would have shut
me down.
455
00:29:03,477 --> 00:29:07,919
Pez USA contacting
international customs
456
00:29:07,954 --> 00:29:09,151
and registering...
457
00:29:10,451 --> 00:29:12,517
that they were
the sole importers
458
00:29:12,552 --> 00:29:14,288
of Pez products
from Europe.
459
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,061
My name's Julie Hilario,
I'm a special agent
460
00:29:18,096 --> 00:29:19,964
with Homeland
Security Investigations.
461
00:29:19,999 --> 00:29:22,461
Oftentimes,
we find that trademark owners
462
00:29:22,496 --> 00:29:24,166
may not be knowledgeable
463
00:29:24,201 --> 00:29:26,168
that they need
to record their trademark
464
00:29:26,203 --> 00:29:27,972
with U.S. Customs
and Border Protection
465
00:29:28,007 --> 00:29:29,875
for enforcement
at the border.
466
00:29:29,910 --> 00:29:32,537
One of the customs
agents that I dealt with,
467
00:29:32,572 --> 00:29:35,276
he said, "uh, you know,
uh, well, you know,
468
00:29:35,311 --> 00:29:37,014
you're not the importer
for this."
469
00:29:37,049 --> 00:29:42,085
♪
470
00:29:44,485 --> 00:29:47,189
And he got his sheet out,
and he was lookin',
471
00:29:47,224 --> 00:29:48,927
and he was lookin',
and he was lookin'.
472
00:29:51,492 --> 00:29:53,129
He said, "Oh, my God."
473
00:29:54,231 --> 00:29:56,165
Pez USA, I did check,
474
00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,134
and their trademark
is not recorded
475
00:29:58,169 --> 00:29:59,498
with Customs
and Border Protection.
476
00:30:01,172 --> 00:30:03,040
Yeah,
I wasn't aware of that.
477
00:30:03,075 --> 00:30:04,569
I mean,
I know that, um...
478
00:30:05,271 --> 00:30:07,473
they had some very expensive
lawyers in New York
479
00:30:07,508 --> 00:30:09,145
that spent a lot of time
and money.
480
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,983
They were supposed to make
sure that it was registered
481
00:30:12,018 --> 00:30:13,512
in all
the classes of trade.
482
00:30:13,814 --> 00:30:15,580
They have a US patent
483
00:30:15,615 --> 00:30:18,385
and trademark with USPTO,
um, but they didn't take
484
00:30:18,420 --> 00:30:20,651
the second step of actually
recording their trademark
485
00:30:20,686 --> 00:30:22,125
with Customs
and Border Protection
486
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,258
for enforcement
at the border.
487
00:30:23,656 --> 00:30:25,557
And he goes,
488
00:30:25,592 --> 00:30:27,130
"if they're that stupid...
489
00:30:29,299 --> 00:30:31,497
go ahead."
490
00:30:31,532 --> 00:30:36,568
♪
491
00:30:50,386 --> 00:30:53,354
When we got back from
Europe after the first trip,
492
00:30:53,389 --> 00:30:56,225
going back to work sucked,
big time.
493
00:30:56,594 --> 00:30:59,162
It was like being in prison.
494
00:31:03,003 --> 00:31:04,970
But not having any money,
495
00:31:05,005 --> 00:31:06,532
I had to
stick it out for a while.
496
00:31:06,567 --> 00:31:09,469
I guess my dad, uh,
had done some talking
497
00:31:09,504 --> 00:31:12,406
to, you know, the--
the Pez dealers,
498
00:31:12,441 --> 00:31:15,948
and one of them heard that--
that I had that Bubble Boy.
499
00:31:19,580 --> 00:31:21,118
Buyers appeared...
500
00:31:22,286 --> 00:31:23,450
through word of mouth.
501
00:31:23,919 --> 00:31:26,354
The phone chain
was people talking to people
502
00:31:26,389 --> 00:31:27,454
that talking to people.
503
00:31:30,525 --> 00:31:32,360
Honestly,
I was flabbergasted
504
00:31:32,395 --> 00:31:34,428
at the prices
that people would pay.
505
00:31:34,463 --> 00:31:35,968
They're like, you know,
506
00:31:36,003 --> 00:31:37,299
I'll buy that Bubble Boy
from you.
507
00:31:37,334 --> 00:31:40,038
-$1,250.
508
00:31:41,107 --> 00:31:42,403
I was like, what?
509
00:31:42,438 --> 00:31:44,273
I mean,
it was a gift from Marcos,
510
00:31:44,308 --> 00:31:46,275
so we didn't have the intention
at all of selling it.
511
00:31:46,910 --> 00:31:49,047
Here I am,
a college student
512
00:31:49,082 --> 00:31:51,016
paying for my own tuition
and everything...
513
00:31:52,184 --> 00:31:54,151
being offered 1,250 bucks
514
00:31:54,186 --> 00:31:57,616
for a piece of plastic
that was given to me for free.
515
00:31:57,651 --> 00:31:59,486
The last thing
in the world I wanted to do
516
00:31:59,521 --> 00:32:01,323
was sell Bubble Boy.
517
00:32:01,358 --> 00:32:03,061
But, hey, man, I gotta pay
some bills.
518
00:32:04,130 --> 00:32:06,460
Money talks.
Money talks.
519
00:32:10,169 --> 00:32:12,631
The collectors
bought pretty much
520
00:32:12,666 --> 00:32:14,699
everything I had,
overnight.
521
00:32:17,275 --> 00:32:20,738
I paid 27 cents each.
522
00:32:21,675 --> 00:32:22,740
300 bucks.
523
00:32:23,109 --> 00:32:26,282
Without those
early sales, I never
524
00:32:26,317 --> 00:32:28,251
would have been able
to quit my job.
525
00:32:30,491 --> 00:32:32,552
One of my last
memories in the shop
526
00:32:32,587 --> 00:32:36,490
was Enya
playing on the radio.
527
00:32:41,662 --> 00:32:43,002
And it was just floating.
528
00:32:44,533 --> 00:32:48,139
Through the whole shop.
Her voice. And echoing.
529
00:32:48,174 --> 00:32:53,210
♪
530
00:32:53,245 --> 00:32:57,544
♪ Let me sail, let me sail
let the Orinoco flow ♪
531
00:32:57,579 --> 00:33:01,515
Her music was,
like, a place I wanted to be.
532
00:33:01,550 --> 00:33:04,749
And traveling to Europe,
and my dreams,
533
00:33:04,784 --> 00:33:07,389
married perfectly well
with that.
534
00:33:07,424 --> 00:33:09,556
♪
535
00:33:16,268 --> 00:33:19,797
When I left the shop
for the last time, I went from,
536
00:33:19,832 --> 00:33:24,736
uh, working 79-hour work
weeks to doing my own thing.
537
00:33:27,213 --> 00:33:32,711
I went to selling toys
and Pez full-time.
538
00:33:32,746 --> 00:33:37,089
♪ Sail away,
sail away, sail away ♪
539
00:33:37,124 --> 00:33:41,192
♪ Sail away,
sail away, sail away ♪
540
00:33:41,227 --> 00:33:44,459
♪ Sail away,
sail away, sail away ♪
541
00:33:51,237 --> 00:33:55,140
At that time, the hobby
was kind of this small,
542
00:33:55,175 --> 00:33:57,175
closed group,
and we all knew each other.
543
00:33:58,739 --> 00:34:00,574
And Steve was like this,
you know...
544
00:34:02,347 --> 00:34:06,514
magical troll who just
sprung forth out of nowhere.
545
00:34:07,016 --> 00:34:09,748
But then he found out
about the Pez community
546
00:34:09,783 --> 00:34:11,717
and started
talking to all of us.
547
00:34:11,752 --> 00:34:14,621
The Pez community
was a smallish community
548
00:34:14,656 --> 00:34:17,129
that taught
me everything I-- I learned.
549
00:34:17,498 --> 00:34:19,593
Welcome to the wonderful
world of Pez collecting.
550
00:34:19,628 --> 00:34:20,693
You're hooked now.
551
00:34:20,728 --> 00:34:25,335
♪
552
00:34:25,370 --> 00:34:28,701
I mean, I like to drink
scotch, I like fast cars.
553
00:34:29,236 --> 00:34:32,606
But there-- there's nothing
that compares with the feeling
554
00:34:32,641 --> 00:34:35,774
you get when you get
a great find in Pez.
555
00:34:37,877 --> 00:34:39,118
So, this is my Pez room.
556
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:41,780
So, I've
been collecting about 20 years.
557
00:34:42,182 --> 00:34:45,421
Your Thors, you're gonna be--
$200-300 range.
558
00:34:45,456 --> 00:34:47,192
This Pony
would probably go about 1300.
559
00:34:47,227 --> 00:34:49,491
I have 53
covered grandstands.
560
00:34:49,893 --> 00:34:52,395
They each hold 80 dispensers.
561
00:34:53,662 --> 00:34:55,299
I have everything filled up.
562
00:34:55,334 --> 00:34:56,894
Every empty space
is filled up with junk.
563
00:34:56,929 --> 00:34:59,303
So, if you want to
give me a title,
564
00:34:59,338 --> 00:35:01,602
you can say to me I am
a crazy collector.
565
00:35:04,574 --> 00:35:06,508
I will say
that I've spent
566
00:35:06,543 --> 00:35:09,412
$2,500
for one dispenser.
567
00:35:09,447 --> 00:35:12,448
The most I ever paid
for Pez was $11,000.
568
00:35:12,483 --> 00:35:14,219
-For one?
-One.
569
00:35:14,254 --> 00:35:15,748
And so,
in the Pez world,
570
00:35:15,783 --> 00:35:18,223
the person who brought
the most new product
571
00:35:18,258 --> 00:35:20,555
to us was Steve Glew.
572
00:35:20,590 --> 00:35:25,428
♪
573
00:35:25,463 --> 00:35:27,793
With the prices
people were paying,
574
00:35:27,828 --> 00:35:29,630
Josh and me were itching
575
00:35:29,665 --> 00:35:31,632
to go back
and get more product.
576
00:35:31,667 --> 00:35:34,800
And I had heard
the real mother lode...
577
00:35:35,869 --> 00:35:37,671
was Hungary.
578
00:35:37,706 --> 00:35:42,181
And Gunther was a person
of importance there.
579
00:35:42,579 --> 00:35:46,482
♪
580
00:35:46,517 --> 00:35:49,815
He had been a person
within the upper echelon
581
00:35:49,850 --> 00:35:52,719
at Pez corporation
in Austria, in Linz.
582
00:35:52,754 --> 00:35:56,756
And he had been tasked
with the role
583
00:35:56,791 --> 00:35:59,495
of opening up the East.
584
00:35:59,530 --> 00:36:01,464
He had power.
He had power.
585
00:36:01,499 --> 00:36:04,401
♪
586
00:36:04,436 --> 00:36:06,436
First time I met him, I believe
587
00:36:06,471 --> 00:36:08,504
it was on our second
trip to Europe.
588
00:36:09,006 --> 00:36:10,803
I mean, like,
I walk in the door
589
00:36:10,838 --> 00:36:12,673
and I ask about Pez,
590
00:36:12,708 --> 00:36:16,413
and Gunther Leitner
came out in the most God-awful
591
00:36:16,448 --> 00:36:20,318
plaid sports jacket
I have ever seen in my life.
592
00:36:20,887 --> 00:36:23,255
He comes up to me
at the counter and he said,
593
00:36:23,290 --> 00:36:24,619
"I hear you're here
huntin' for Pez, eh?"
594
00:36:25,288 --> 00:36:26,819
And I goes,
"Yeah, I'm huntin' for it."
595
00:36:26,854 --> 00:36:28,458
He says, "Yeah,
I know, I know, I know."
596
00:36:28,793 --> 00:36:30,856
And he says, "Don't you--
don't you know who I am?"
597
00:36:33,597 --> 00:36:35,531
No,
I have no idea
598
00:36:35,566 --> 00:36:38,336
who you are and I don't really
give a damn.
599
00:36:38,771 --> 00:36:42,340
Gunther took a Post-it,
just a stupid little Post-it.
600
00:36:43,109 --> 00:36:45,277
Wrote a few words,
signed his name.
601
00:36:45,646 --> 00:36:47,939
He said, "Okay, take this.
Go over there."
602
00:36:48,810 --> 00:36:50,876
And I handed the post-it
603
00:36:50,911 --> 00:36:52,680
to the, uh,
the guard at the gate.
604
00:36:52,715 --> 00:36:54,682
I mean, he might as well
have hopped to and clicked
605
00:36:54,717 --> 00:36:56,915
his heels
and opened up the gate.
606
00:36:56,950 --> 00:36:59,489
I mean, really.
That little Post-it.
607
00:37:00,459 --> 00:37:03,361
Everybody did
anything we ask.
608
00:37:03,396 --> 00:37:04,758
People walked up to me,
609
00:37:04,793 --> 00:37:06,496
and every time
I showed it to 'em,
610
00:37:06,531 --> 00:37:08,696
"Yep, yep. Yep, yep.
Over here. Over here."
611
00:37:08,731 --> 00:37:11,369
Next thing I know,
they got a truck...
612
00:37:11,404 --> 00:37:12,535
for me to load.
613
00:37:13,170 --> 00:37:15,835
And take everything
off to the airport.
614
00:37:15,870 --> 00:37:18,442
And he truly
was that powerful.
615
00:37:19,676 --> 00:37:21,709
Just wished
I could have taken it all.
616
00:37:21,744 --> 00:37:24,349
I really wish I could've,
but I couldn't.
617
00:37:24,384 --> 00:37:28,353
I only had 4,000 bucks
maybe in my pocket, so, I mean,
618
00:37:28,388 --> 00:37:31,048
it was very disappointing
for Gunther, you know?
619
00:37:31,083 --> 00:37:33,655
Gunther didn't give
the money to Pez.
620
00:37:33,690 --> 00:37:35,327
He kept it.
621
00:37:35,696 --> 00:37:38,627
Oh, and the last thing he says
as he's getting out of the car.
622
00:37:38,662 --> 00:37:41,531
He leans back in and he goes,
"I don't know you.
623
00:37:41,566 --> 00:37:42,730
I don't know you."
624
00:37:43,634 --> 00:37:44,864
Oh, my God.
625
00:37:49,101 --> 00:37:52,872
♪
626
00:37:52,907 --> 00:37:55,446
So, now we're finding out
all these illegal dispensers
627
00:37:55,481 --> 00:37:56,810
are all over the place.
628
00:37:56,845 --> 00:37:58,647
Word came
out that somebody took
629
00:37:58,682 --> 00:38:01,078
some pre-production
samples and were selling those.
630
00:38:01,113 --> 00:38:04,323
Pre-production samples,
illegal, on the black market.
631
00:38:05,125 --> 00:38:08,118
And apparently somebody
would go over to Europe
632
00:38:08,153 --> 00:38:11,726
and meet up with some of the,
um, workers who worked
633
00:38:11,761 --> 00:38:13,431
in the factories
after hours
634
00:38:13,466 --> 00:38:15,532
and pay 'em a few
hundred U.S. dollars,
635
00:38:15,567 --> 00:38:17,567
and before
you know it you had all these
636
00:38:17,602 --> 00:38:19,503
pre-production
samples disappear.
637
00:38:20,737 --> 00:38:21,967
Well, my
reaction was...
638
00:38:22,636 --> 00:38:24,706
isn't anybody
watching the factory?
639
00:38:26,105 --> 00:38:27,775
It's not like
when you go on a vacation
640
00:38:27,810 --> 00:38:29,744
you bring
a dozen back with you.
641
00:38:29,779 --> 00:38:32,813
This guy was bringing thousands
and thousands of them over.
642
00:38:33,248 --> 00:38:35,079
Scott was furious
that this was happening.
643
00:38:36,423 --> 00:38:38,621
So,
his mission was to find out
644
00:38:38,656 --> 00:38:39,721
who was doing this.
645
00:38:39,756 --> 00:38:44,528
♪
646
00:38:57,202 --> 00:38:59,708
I was a police
officer for 20 years,
647
00:38:59,743 --> 00:39:03,877
and I started my newsletter,
Pez Collectors News, in 1995.
648
00:39:03,912 --> 00:39:06,011
As a collector,
the idea of the newsletter
649
00:39:06,046 --> 00:39:09,949
was to get the word out there
to other collectors and just,
650
00:39:09,984 --> 00:39:11,687
what's out there,
and what's real,
651
00:39:11,722 --> 00:39:14,151
and is-- is there any
fakes going around.
652
00:39:16,496 --> 00:39:19,497
In a lot of senses,
Richie was the number one spy
653
00:39:19,532 --> 00:39:21,433
for, uh, Pez USA
654
00:39:21,468 --> 00:39:22,995
No, I wasn't a spy.
655
00:39:23,030 --> 00:39:26,031
People thought
I was the Pez police, but no,
656
00:39:26,066 --> 00:39:28,440
I really
didn't tell them anything.
657
00:39:28,475 --> 00:39:30,541
Did he report back to Scott?
658
00:39:31,043 --> 00:39:34,171
Yes.
Not a doubt in my brain.
659
00:39:35,581 --> 00:39:38,747
Scott McWhinnie
absolutely had a reputation
660
00:39:38,782 --> 00:39:42,080
for kind of, "the Pez
company hates collectors."
661
00:39:42,115 --> 00:39:45,050
And he's not
a particularly likeable guy.
662
00:39:45,085 --> 00:39:47,987
He's a little pompous,
he's a little full of himself,
663
00:39:48,022 --> 00:39:49,593
he's a little insecure.
664
00:39:50,195 --> 00:39:53,025
I was told by many people
that-- that Scott McWhinnie
665
00:39:53,060 --> 00:39:55,632
had spies in the Pez world.
666
00:39:55,667 --> 00:39:59,163
That anything we would say
would get back to him.
667
00:40:00,606 --> 00:40:02,166
Scott was very aware
668
00:40:02,201 --> 00:40:03,805
of the growing
collectors market.
669
00:40:04,240 --> 00:40:07,611
He was also very well-aware
of the illegal activity
670
00:40:07,646 --> 00:40:09,008
going on
in the collectors market.
671
00:40:10,682 --> 00:40:12,583
So, one
of the first things we did
672
00:40:12,618 --> 00:40:14,211
to get information
out to them,
673
00:40:14,246 --> 00:40:17,115
was we invited Richie Belyski
up to the factory.
674
00:40:17,484 --> 00:40:20,723
He had a tour of the factory,
um, he interviewed Scott
675
00:40:20,758 --> 00:40:23,220
for an hour or two,
and we went to lunch.
676
00:40:24,564 --> 00:40:26,058
It was interesting.
677
00:40:26,093 --> 00:40:27,631
It was the first time
I was ever in there,
678
00:40:27,666 --> 00:40:29,226
and they don't give
tours to people.
679
00:40:29,261 --> 00:40:34,165
♪
680
00:40:37,274 --> 00:40:39,610
Um, yeah.
Yeah, he did.
681
00:40:39,645 --> 00:40:42,580
He was sort of a little bit
like a PR agency in a way.
682
00:40:42,615 --> 00:40:44,747
That one's worth about $700.
683
00:40:44,782 --> 00:40:46,078
There's another sticker
on the back.
684
00:40:46,113 --> 00:40:47,750
An original sticker.
685
00:40:47,785 --> 00:40:49,653
Wow, that's terrific.
686
00:40:49,688 --> 00:40:51,149
Well, thank you, Richard.
We appreciate it.
687
00:40:51,184 --> 00:40:52,821
We all love Pez,
and now we know why.
688
00:40:53,156 --> 00:40:56,594
I remember
when I went to the Pez factory,
689
00:40:56,629 --> 00:40:59,564
Scott McWhinnie pulled
one out of his pocket.
690
00:40:59,599 --> 00:41:01,599
He goes,
"Hey, you see this dispenser?
691
00:41:01,634 --> 00:41:03,260
-You know what this is?"
-And I said yeah.
692
00:41:03,295 --> 00:41:06,131
And he says, "Yeah,
I'm gonna be sellin' it soon."
693
00:41:09,642 --> 00:41:11,576
Bubble Man was designed
by Scott McWhinnie.
694
00:41:11,611 --> 00:41:13,237
He loved it.
695
00:41:13,272 --> 00:41:14,645
Absolutely,
he was passionate about it.
696
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:16,207
That was his.
697
00:41:20,587 --> 00:41:23,280
He had the character
developed and designed.
698
00:41:23,315 --> 00:41:26,756
Even went as far as having
the name, um, registered.
699
00:41:26,791 --> 00:41:31,695
♪
700
00:41:34,062 --> 00:41:36,733
Um,
and it was a project that Scott
701
00:41:36,768 --> 00:41:38,933
pretty much
worked on himself.
702
00:41:38,968 --> 00:41:42,167
And I-- I think he--
he cared very much about it.
703
00:41:42,202 --> 00:41:45,104
♪
704
00:41:46,745 --> 00:41:49,009
However,
that project was put on hold.
705
00:41:49,044 --> 00:41:51,814
And when Scott heard
that people were bringing
706
00:41:51,849 --> 00:41:53,882
Bubble Man over into
the United States
707
00:41:53,917 --> 00:41:55,851
and selling them for an obscene
amount of money,
708
00:41:55,886 --> 00:41:56,984
that burned him up.
709
00:41:59,219 --> 00:42:01,857
Most expensive one here
right now is this guy here.
710
00:42:01,892 --> 00:42:04,057
And he's not old.
He's from 1992.
711
00:42:04,092 --> 00:42:05,289
He's called
the Bubble Gum Man.
712
00:42:05,324 --> 00:42:06,598
He's a prototype.
713
00:42:07,167 --> 00:42:11,295
Scott McWhinnie was watching,
um, some news reel
714
00:42:11,330 --> 00:42:15,871
of a Pez convention,
and he saw the Bubble Man.
715
00:42:15,906 --> 00:42:17,972
Some girl had
one for sale.
716
00:42:18,007 --> 00:42:19,941
There's only about
20 known in the whole world.
717
00:42:19,976 --> 00:42:21,745
It was something they designed
718
00:42:21,780 --> 00:42:23,681
that they didn't have to
pay licensing for.
719
00:42:23,716 --> 00:42:25,342
Manufactured a few,
and looked at it and said,
720
00:42:25,377 --> 00:42:27,212
"what were we thinking
when we made this?"
721
00:42:27,247 --> 00:42:29,214
-And that was the end of that.
-It's butt ugly.
722
00:42:29,249 --> 00:42:31,249
- That's right.
723
00:42:32,956 --> 00:42:35,220
And Scott McWhinnie
had a fit.
724
00:42:35,255 --> 00:42:36,760
And right now
his asking price
725
00:42:36,795 --> 00:42:38,190
is $1200.
726
00:42:38,225 --> 00:42:40,632
Wow, $1200 for a Pez?
727
00:42:40,667 --> 00:42:41,732
That's amazing.
728
00:42:49,775 --> 00:42:52,974
At this point, when Scott
became aware of the-- the abuse
729
00:42:53,009 --> 00:42:56,912
that was going,
the best way of killing that
730
00:42:56,947 --> 00:43:00,685
was to take those dispensers
and put them into the direct
731
00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:03,248
marketing program, and sell
it to all the collectors
732
00:43:03,283 --> 00:43:05,316
at a reasonable price.
733
00:43:05,918 --> 00:43:07,692
Okay,
this is Bubble Man.
734
00:43:07,727 --> 00:43:09,254
It's worth nothing.
735
00:43:09,289 --> 00:43:11,289
Everybody shouted,
"Bubble Man! Bubble Man!"
736
00:43:11,324 --> 00:43:13,159
These are absolutely rare.
They will not produce it.
737
00:43:13,194 --> 00:43:14,798
And then it--
then they produced it.
738
00:43:15,233 --> 00:43:18,736
Maybe actually on purpose
to-- to-- to--
739
00:43:18,771 --> 00:43:20,100
to damage the collector scene.
740
00:43:20,469 --> 00:43:23,972
The reason that anybody
was willing to pay 1200
741
00:43:24,007 --> 00:43:26,073
to begin with was because,
at the time,
742
00:43:26,108 --> 00:43:28,108
they thought that
there were less than ten.
743
00:43:28,143 --> 00:43:29,681
I gotta tell you,
744
00:43:29,716 --> 00:43:31,210
when we put Bubble Man
out there,
745
00:43:31,245 --> 00:43:33,179
it was insane
the amount of orders we got.
746
00:43:33,581 --> 00:43:35,951
People want 'em, you know,
for a $1.99.
747
00:43:35,986 --> 00:43:38,085
You got
a $1200 dispenser.
748
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:40,120
So, it was like--
749
00:43:40,155 --> 00:43:42,452
They've sold more
Bubble Boy than any--
750
00:43:42,487 --> 00:43:45,092
probably any
damn dispenser ever,
751
00:43:45,127 --> 00:43:47,963
and it came out
of Scott being so mad
752
00:43:47,998 --> 00:43:49,833
that
he couldn't see straight,
753
00:43:49,868 --> 00:43:53,738
and ordering
the product to stomp on us.
754
00:43:54,873 --> 00:43:56,235
You deal with the devil.
755
00:43:57,909 --> 00:44:00,437
And in all honesty,
Scott McWhinnie
756
00:44:00,472 --> 00:44:02,406
was my arch-nemesis.
757
00:44:03,244 --> 00:44:04,441
Oh, I hated his guts.
758
00:44:05,010 --> 00:44:09,886
And that's when I decided
to become the Pez Outlaw.
759
00:44:13,023 --> 00:44:16,321
I needed a vessel.
A person.
760
00:44:18,226 --> 00:44:20,292
I needed to build him.
761
00:44:20,327 --> 00:44:23,933
So that I can draw him in
when I need him.
762
00:44:23,968 --> 00:44:27,772
I definitely viewed the whole
thing as an adventure.
763
00:44:27,807 --> 00:44:31,039
The money,
the travel, the quest.
764
00:44:31,674 --> 00:44:35,912
My goal from that point on
was for accumulation.
765
00:44:35,947 --> 00:44:39,410
I needed the product
so I could beat Scott.
766
00:44:39,445 --> 00:44:43,315
Every sale I could take away
from Scott McWhinnie
767
00:44:43,350 --> 00:44:45,218
was a nail in his coffin.
768
00:44:47,189 --> 00:44:50,058
As the Pez Outlaw,
ain't nothing stops me.
769
00:44:50,093 --> 00:44:51,895
I mean,
for good or ill.
770
00:44:54,196 --> 00:44:55,800
I will win.
771
00:44:56,435 --> 00:44:59,034
I will win.
In the end.
772
00:45:03,469 --> 00:45:06,041
At that point,
we were going to Europe
773
00:45:06,076 --> 00:45:08,846
about every three
or four weeks.
774
00:45:08,881 --> 00:45:12,278
And going to shows
in between that.
775
00:45:12,313 --> 00:45:14,379
Sometimes
even landing at shows
776
00:45:14,414 --> 00:45:16,249
and going directly to them.
777
00:45:22,422 --> 00:45:24,323
We had so much cash
778
00:45:24,358 --> 00:45:27,095
a-- after some of these
conventions that,
779
00:45:27,130 --> 00:45:29,526
you know, you-- you did
feel like a rock star.
780
00:45:29,561 --> 00:45:33,068
I had so much money
that I was absolutely drunk.
781
00:45:33,103 --> 00:45:35,367
And ta-da,
we have a basement.
782
00:45:36,876 --> 00:45:39,074
But I mean,
we bought a ton of things.
783
00:45:39,109 --> 00:45:41,043
We bought a new house.
784
00:45:41,078 --> 00:45:43,342
Well, guess what?
Here's my house in the ditch.
785
00:45:43,777 --> 00:45:45,949
My mom really was able
786
00:45:45,984 --> 00:45:48,182
to have the freedom with them
coming into a little more money
787
00:45:48,217 --> 00:45:50,789
to really pursue
what she wanted to do.
788
00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:01,327
She went to schooling
to become
789
00:46:01,362 --> 00:46:03,362
a therapeutic
horseback riding instructor.
790
00:46:06,598 --> 00:46:09,137
Steve had become
nouveau riche at this point.
791
00:46:09,172 --> 00:46:12,041
His Pez market was booming.
792
00:46:12,076 --> 00:46:15,044
He was making tons of money,
which he never had before.
793
00:46:15,079 --> 00:46:16,441
Hey, that's
how I was doing things.
794
00:46:16,476 --> 00:46:18,179
I just-- talk to my bank.
795
00:46:18,214 --> 00:46:19,378
Do this, do that.
796
00:46:19,847 --> 00:46:21,578
He was so generous
with his money,
797
00:46:21,613 --> 00:46:23,954
he paid his family
and all his helpers well.
798
00:46:23,989 --> 00:46:26,418
I benefitted,
'cause I got to go to college
799
00:46:26,453 --> 00:46:28,222
without having to pay
for any of it.
800
00:46:28,791 --> 00:46:31,093
It was magic.
The whole time was magic.
801
00:46:31,656 --> 00:46:32,930
I won the lottery.
802
00:46:36,496 --> 00:46:39,629
Pez Outlaw was
so dominant in the marketplace
803
00:46:39,664 --> 00:46:42,137
that Scott McWhinnie,
the Pezident...
804
00:46:43,569 --> 00:46:45,008
He was losing.
805
00:46:45,043 --> 00:46:47,274
They advertised nothing.
806
00:46:47,876 --> 00:46:52,015
I had two full-page ads
in one publication,
807
00:46:52,050 --> 00:46:54,886
a full-page ad
in another publication...
808
00:46:54,921 --> 00:46:56,349
every month.
809
00:46:56,384 --> 00:46:58,417
He was blatantly
advertising these things.
810
00:46:58,886 --> 00:47:01,189
There's the easiest way
to find out.
811
00:47:01,224 --> 00:47:02,861
Steve was his own worst enemy.
812
00:47:03,697 --> 00:47:05,655
You know, put a billboard up,
here I am, guys.
813
00:47:05,690 --> 00:47:08,163
Come after me.
So, it's like--
814
00:47:08,198 --> 00:47:10,132
Well, you gotta remember,
at the end of the day,
815
00:47:10,167 --> 00:47:11,430
Pez is a brand.
816
00:47:11,465 --> 00:47:13,234
It's a registered brand.
817
00:47:13,269 --> 00:47:15,104
You go over there
on vacation, you bring back,
818
00:47:15,139 --> 00:47:16,908
you know,
a dozen, yourself.
819
00:47:16,943 --> 00:47:18,470
You can sell them online.
Nobody cares about that.
820
00:47:18,972 --> 00:47:20,505
When you start selling
thousands of 'em,
821
00:47:21,140 --> 00:47:23,145
and you're running
full-page ads...
822
00:47:23,647 --> 00:47:25,279
now you become a business.
823
00:47:25,314 --> 00:47:27,380
Scott took it
very seriously,
824
00:47:27,415 --> 00:47:30,185
"I'm gonna protect my product,
I'm gonna protect my brand.
825
00:47:30,220 --> 00:47:31,615
They're not gonna get
away with that any longer.
826
00:47:32,959 --> 00:47:34,354
♪
827
00:47:48,667 --> 00:47:50,667
After I couldn't
go with him anymore,
828
00:47:50,702 --> 00:47:55,980
um, I wasn't scared for him,
but I definitely was surprised,
829
00:47:56,015 --> 00:48:00,578
uh, that, you know,
he was able to-- to go alone.
830
00:48:03,682 --> 00:48:05,253
It was very nerve-wracking
831
00:48:05,288 --> 00:48:06,551
headin' off on my own.
832
00:48:22,734 --> 00:48:27,341
I think his mental health,
uh, state of mind,
833
00:48:27,376 --> 00:48:29,640
ex-drug persona, has to--
834
00:48:29,675 --> 00:48:32,379
it-- it can't not
play into paranoias.
835
00:48:36,352 --> 00:48:38,484
I learned
to protect my space.
836
00:48:44,327 --> 00:48:48,296
Getting off the
highway, taking back roads.
837
00:48:49,530 --> 00:48:51,167
Totally paranoid.
838
00:48:51,202 --> 00:48:52,630
I saw people
following me all the time.
839
00:48:53,666 --> 00:48:56,700
If I thought there was somebody
behind me, man, I'd ditch 'em.
840
00:49:04,314 --> 00:49:06,743
He had things
to be paranoid about.
841
00:49:06,778 --> 00:49:11,484
So, I would imagine that
he didn't know who to trust.
842
00:49:13,554 --> 00:49:15,620
Coming
from the Midwest,
843
00:49:15,655 --> 00:49:21,428
I had never seen officials
with machine guns.
844
00:49:23,069 --> 00:49:26,532
So, every border crossing
was a threat.
845
00:49:28,536 --> 00:49:30,734
Not just the people
with machine guns...
846
00:49:32,705 --> 00:49:35,541
...but the biggest nightmare
would be losing the load.
847
00:49:37,413 --> 00:49:38,742
That mattered.
848
00:49:42,220 --> 00:49:44,583
Every bag
out on to the blacktop.
849
00:49:45,352 --> 00:49:48,455
Every bag open.
Every bag dumped.
850
00:49:51,130 --> 00:49:53,130
Could I have possibly
gotten arrested?
851
00:49:53,165 --> 00:49:55,099
Yes.
852
00:49:55,134 --> 00:49:58,333
Would traps have been laid?
Yes.
853
00:50:00,271 --> 00:50:02,700
Sometimes, all he really wanted
was a bribe.
854
00:50:04,275 --> 00:50:06,704
I learned, if something
happens of that nature...
855
00:50:09,544 --> 00:50:11,148
Hand out some money,
you're done.
856
00:50:17,618 --> 00:50:21,521
Being that close to illegal,
maybe illegal.
857
00:50:21,556 --> 00:50:23,358
Of course you're paranoid.
858
00:50:27,859 --> 00:50:29,397
Scott never,
ever went to Europe
859
00:50:29,432 --> 00:50:30,794
to go chase down Steve.
860
00:50:30,829 --> 00:50:32,466
So, there--
there's none of this,
861
00:50:32,501 --> 00:50:34,171
you know, Scott
in a dark suit, you know,
862
00:50:34,206 --> 00:50:35,667
trying-- you know,
hiding behind corners.
863
00:50:35,702 --> 00:50:37,240
You know,
"I got you, Glew."
864
00:50:37,275 --> 00:50:38,571
You know?
865
00:50:38,606 --> 00:50:40,177
There wasn't
any of that drama.
866
00:50:40,212 --> 00:50:41,343
None of that ever existed.
867
00:50:42,676 --> 00:50:44,511
Would Scott McWhinnie
have tried
868
00:50:44,546 --> 00:50:46,249
to have people follow me?
869
00:50:46,284 --> 00:50:47,811
Yeah, he would've done that.
In a heartbeat.
870
00:50:49,749 --> 00:50:52,156
But if they were following me,
I did shake 'em.
871
00:51:18,184 --> 00:51:19,348
Steve Glew
was standing here.
872
00:51:21,649 --> 00:51:24,386
This was the place-- the place
Steve Glew was waiting for me.
873
00:51:25,088 --> 00:51:27,785
I just decided
to go visit Johann.
874
00:51:27,820 --> 00:51:29,490
I don't know
how I had his address,
875
00:51:29,525 --> 00:51:31,855
where I got it,
I have no idea, but I did.
876
00:51:31,890 --> 00:51:33,560
He came to me
without appointment.
877
00:51:33,595 --> 00:51:35,463
He just was standing
in front of my door.
878
00:51:35,498 --> 00:51:38,499
All of a sudden,
a guy pulls up on a, uh...
879
00:51:39,304 --> 00:51:40,897
mo-- motorbike.
880
00:51:40,932 --> 00:51:43,207
And I said, "You are lucky,
I am Johann Patek."
881
00:51:43,242 --> 00:51:44,571
And he said,
"Oh, I am Steve Glew
882
00:51:44,606 --> 00:51:46,705
from America
and I want to buy Pez."
883
00:51:46,740 --> 00:51:48,311
I just wanted to buy Pez.
884
00:51:48,846 --> 00:51:50,676
My answer was,
"Oh, yes, let's do."
885
00:51:50,711 --> 00:51:53,382
Let's do some deals
and I will show you something.
886
00:51:55,683 --> 00:51:57,452
I ask him to wait outside,
887
00:51:57,487 --> 00:52:00,455
and then I went in
and brought him some Pez.
888
00:52:00,957 --> 00:52:02,622
I had to sit on the curb
889
00:52:02,657 --> 00:52:05,757
outside this house he owned.
890
00:52:05,792 --> 00:52:07,726
While he went in
and got the product.
891
00:52:13,404 --> 00:52:15,206
Johann Patek. Yes.
892
00:52:16,309 --> 00:52:20,310
I do not know very much
about him that I would tell.
893
00:52:23,744 --> 00:52:25,249
It's all very basic here.
894
00:52:30,949 --> 00:52:33,422
Johann
is a collector in Austria.
895
00:52:33,457 --> 00:52:34,918
You know,
is this off the record?
896
00:52:34,953 --> 00:52:37,327
-Oh, okay.
897
00:52:42,565 --> 00:52:44,598
"What's in there?"
I don't tell you.
898
00:52:45,997 --> 00:52:47,436
I will tell you later.
899
00:52:48,802 --> 00:52:50,637
There's not much
to tell there.
900
00:52:50,672 --> 00:52:54,542
I mean, he's basically
just been a competitor of mine.
901
00:52:56,480 --> 00:52:58,579
And now, something
dangerous will appear.
902
00:52:58,614 --> 00:52:59,976
Let me see. Uh.
903
00:53:00,011 --> 00:53:03,386
Hi, guys. Hands up,
or I shoot you.
904
00:53:04,587 --> 00:53:07,225
It's a genuine Pez shooter.
905
00:53:07,594 --> 00:53:09,755
Now, Zorro. Oho.
906
00:53:10,824 --> 00:53:12,362
I am fighting for the poor.
907
00:53:12,397 --> 00:53:14,364
I am taking
the money from the rich.
908
00:53:14,399 --> 00:53:15,893
I am Zorro and I--
909
00:53:15,928 --> 00:53:17,730
so everybody
could recognize me,
910
00:53:17,765 --> 00:53:19,864
I have Zorro
written on my stem.
911
00:53:19,899 --> 00:53:22,372
Otherwise, somebody would say,
"I am a bank robber."
912
00:53:23,408 --> 00:53:24,869
He knows everybody.
913
00:53:25,304 --> 00:53:27,278
But, yeah, he's a--
914
00:53:30,415 --> 00:53:32,580
Um...
915
00:53:32,615 --> 00:53:34,912
He was in the right
place at the right time.
916
00:53:34,947 --> 00:53:39,257
Steve happened in and kind of
got in that territory.
917
00:53:39,959 --> 00:53:43,294
Um, and I don't know
if they're friends.
918
00:53:52,833 --> 00:53:54,437
Can we go up there and film?
919
00:53:54,472 --> 00:53:55,999
-No.
-No?
920
00:53:56,434 --> 00:53:58,639
-Okay, well, why not?
-No.
921
00:53:58,674 --> 00:54:01,873
Because this will--
in-- affect my business.
922
00:54:01,908 --> 00:54:03,347
Oh, I have to...
923
00:54:03,982 --> 00:54:06,515
...be silent
because I'm on a tape.
924
00:54:07,452 --> 00:54:08,682
I have no business.
925
00:54:08,717 --> 00:54:10,552
I never was
a businessman.
926
00:54:10,587 --> 00:54:14,688
I always wanted to be
part of the collectors game.
927
00:54:16,527 --> 00:54:17,988
He just
didn't want me to see.
928
00:54:19,530 --> 00:54:22,630
If people knew
how much he actually had,
929
00:54:22,665 --> 00:54:24,665
like, if I had opened
my mouth to the world
930
00:54:24,700 --> 00:54:26,502
that he had one bazillion...
931
00:54:27,835 --> 00:54:29,703
uh, the value
would have plummeted.
932
00:54:29,738 --> 00:54:32,508
Then, all of a sudden,
he wasn't interested anymore.
933
00:54:32,543 --> 00:54:34,070
Because he thought
he-- he could get it
934
00:54:34,105 --> 00:54:35,874
for an apple and an egg.
935
00:54:35,909 --> 00:54:40,483
But this was not so,
and so we parted our ways.
936
00:54:42,718 --> 00:54:44,718
He did not even know
what he was doing.
937
00:54:44,753 --> 00:54:46,687
I mean,
every dedicated collector
938
00:54:46,722 --> 00:54:49,118
is crazy a little bit
in his mind.
939
00:54:49,153 --> 00:54:51,494
Because otherwise
he would not be a collector.
940
00:54:51,529 --> 00:54:53,463
Collecting is, um,
941
00:54:53,498 --> 00:54:55,630
more or less a-- a disease.
942
00:55:11,813 --> 00:55:14,418
I think
my symptoms of anxiety,
943
00:55:14,453 --> 00:55:17,553
depression,
the highs, the lows,
944
00:55:17,588 --> 00:55:21,458
where you-- you-- the minute
you've-- you get high,
945
00:55:21,493 --> 00:55:22,756
the immediate thought...
946
00:55:23,325 --> 00:55:24,956
is what you know is coming.
947
00:55:25,827 --> 00:55:26,859
The low.
948
00:55:27,328 --> 00:55:28,993
So, you don't even
get to enjoy it.
949
00:55:51,721 --> 00:55:53,083
In my brain,
950
00:55:53,118 --> 00:55:55,184
I decided that
what was going on--
951
00:55:55,219 --> 00:55:56,988
well,
I just made something up.
952
00:56:01,467 --> 00:56:03,401
I have a very good...
953
00:56:04,063 --> 00:56:05,634
imagination, and...
954
00:56:06,069 --> 00:56:08,967
my heart is in creation.
955
00:56:09,002 --> 00:56:10,067
Hah!
956
00:56:11,136 --> 00:56:12,410
It's actually straight.
957
00:56:53,079 --> 00:56:55,112
By that time,
I had my master's in business.
958
00:56:55,147 --> 00:56:57,213
And I'd always envisioned,
you know,
959
00:56:57,248 --> 00:56:59,754
coming and working
for my dad, uh, anyways.
960
00:56:59,789 --> 00:57:01,624
He had the momentum,
961
00:57:01,659 --> 00:57:04,627
he had the pockets,
he had the mechanism in place.
962
00:57:07,731 --> 00:57:09,159
We had six employees,
963
00:57:09,194 --> 00:57:10,732
Josh was on the team.
964
00:57:12,131 --> 00:57:15,132
And I continued
my adventures as Pez Outlaw.
965
00:57:15,934 --> 00:57:19,675
I enjoyed messing
with Scott McWhinnie.
966
00:57:19,710 --> 00:57:21,644
He'd go
into boardrooms in Europe,
967
00:57:21,679 --> 00:57:24,746
screaming and yelling
and calling everybody names.
968
00:57:24,781 --> 00:57:27,276
Here he is,
some president
969
00:57:27,311 --> 00:57:30,048
of an international
corporation.
970
00:57:30,083 --> 00:57:31,819
-I am Pez USA! I am--
-And yet,
971
00:57:31,854 --> 00:57:33,755
I'm the number one thing
on his mind?
972
00:57:33,790 --> 00:57:35,691
Oh, my God,
I think I love you.
973
00:57:36,193 --> 00:57:39,629
We could've, um, sued him.
Brought him to court.
974
00:57:39,664 --> 00:57:41,730
The time, the money,
the frustration,
975
00:57:41,765 --> 00:57:43,666
to sue this guy.
976
00:57:43,701 --> 00:57:46,130
I have other ways I could
do it for a lot less money.
977
00:57:51,236 --> 00:57:55,205
I doubt literally
that people were following me.
978
00:58:03,919 --> 00:58:05,655
Yeah, the Shadow.
979
00:58:05,690 --> 00:58:07,250
The Shadow was following him.
980
00:58:15,260 --> 00:58:16,567
That's fun.
981
00:58:16,602 --> 00:58:17,667
That's fun.
982
00:58:18,967 --> 00:58:21,264
It ain't paranoid
if it turns out to be true.
983
00:58:32,376 --> 00:58:35,113
Scott would call
his counterparts over in Europe
984
00:58:35,148 --> 00:58:37,588
and discuss
these illegal dispensers
985
00:58:37,623 --> 00:58:39,887
that Steve was importing
and selling,
986
00:58:39,922 --> 00:58:43,319
and about having a stop put
to it, and the Europeans agreed
987
00:58:43,354 --> 00:58:46,663
to hire a private investigator
to put an end to it.
988
00:58:46,698 --> 00:58:48,797
I don't know who that was,
'cause they're private.
989
00:58:50,768 --> 00:58:52,196
Did they find out anything?
990
00:58:53,065 --> 00:58:55,001
It-- it seemed
like there was pieces
991
00:58:55,036 --> 00:58:58,004
of the puzzle that
were hard to put together.
992
00:58:58,039 --> 00:59:00,270
I mean, I have
my own personal theories...
993
00:59:01,240 --> 00:59:02,877
that...
994
00:59:02,912 --> 00:59:04,681
you know, I think
that maybe there was
995
00:59:04,716 --> 00:59:06,650
some people with-- inside
the company at the time
996
00:59:06,685 --> 00:59:08,146
that were doing things
they shouldn't have been doing.
997
00:59:08,648 --> 00:59:10,313
Steve has told us that...
998
00:59:10,848 --> 00:59:12,920
Gunther Leitner was actually
999
00:59:12,955 --> 00:59:14,790
selling things
under the table to him.
1000
00:59:14,825 --> 00:59:15,989
No.
1001
00:59:16,391 --> 00:59:18,255
I mean,
my experience with Gunther,
1002
00:59:18,290 --> 00:59:19,861
he was always
an upstanding man.
1003
00:59:19,896 --> 00:59:21,390
Upstanding businessman.
1004
00:59:21,425 --> 00:59:23,865
Gunther was well-known
in the Pez organization
1005
00:59:23,900 --> 00:59:25,262
because he was in
charge of the factories.
1006
00:59:25,697 --> 00:59:28,771
You know, he was the--
the top guy, so...
1007
00:59:28,806 --> 00:59:31,334
that-- that would be
beneath him, to do that.
1008
00:59:39,311 --> 00:59:41,916
♪
1009
00:59:41,951 --> 00:59:44,182
-Dog, come here.
1010
01:00:30,197 --> 01:00:32,263
David Welch?
Do you know that name?
1011
01:02:30,383 --> 01:02:32,790
Steve Glew
became so notorious...
1012
01:02:33,419 --> 01:02:35,254
that even over there,
1013
01:02:35,289 --> 01:02:38,928
they had pictures
of Steve Glew in the factory.
1014
01:02:39,630 --> 01:02:43,097
And Pez even decided,
let's put video cameras
1015
01:02:43,132 --> 01:02:46,166
here-- there-- there,
24/7 on the lines,
1016
01:02:46,201 --> 01:02:49,532
so if somebody came in at night
or whatever, we can see them.
1017
01:02:58,510 --> 01:03:01,181
It was definitely
a cat and mouse game
1018
01:03:01,216 --> 01:03:02,380
between McWhinnie and I.
1019
01:03:02,415 --> 01:03:04,118
-I was a threat.
1020
01:03:06,254 --> 01:03:08,485
So, yes,
there were meetings a-- amongst
1021
01:03:08,520 --> 01:03:11,928
myself and Scott and other
people within the company.
1022
01:03:11,963 --> 01:03:13,160
But he was passionate
about it.
1023
01:03:13,862 --> 01:03:16,427
And-- and passionate
that, you know,
1024
01:03:16,462 --> 01:03:17,901
that he wanted 'em stopped.
1025
01:03:23,172 --> 01:03:25,106
I had to be very careful.
1026
01:03:25,141 --> 01:03:26,470
Very careful.
1027
01:03:26,505 --> 01:03:28,208
Where I went,
how much exposure
1028
01:03:28,243 --> 01:03:30,111
I gave myself.
1029
01:03:30,146 --> 01:03:33,114
They just knew who I was.
Everybody knew who I was.
1030
01:03:34,579 --> 01:03:35,611
♪
1031
01:03:39,386 --> 01:03:41,859
On one of the last trips
to Europe...
1032
01:03:43,060 --> 01:03:46,160
it's like visiting
this very special,
1033
01:03:46,195 --> 01:03:47,656
wonderful place.
1034
01:03:47,691 --> 01:03:50,934
And the door
to the factory offices
1035
01:03:50,969 --> 01:03:52,100
was wide open.
1036
01:03:52,938 --> 01:03:54,498
And Gunther...
1037
01:03:54,533 --> 01:03:56,104
...Gunther
happened to be there.
1038
01:03:56,673 --> 01:04:00,075
And he came running
out of the offices
1039
01:04:00,110 --> 01:04:01,670
into the parking lot,
1040
01:04:01,705 --> 01:04:04,442
and he just goes,
"You cannot be here!
1041
01:04:04,477 --> 01:04:07,511
You cannot be here!
I cannot be seen with you!
1042
01:04:07,546 --> 01:04:09,579
I don't know you!
I don't know you!"
1043
01:04:15,587 --> 01:04:18,357
After that,
I knew I was persona non grata.
1044
01:04:20,097 --> 01:04:22,064
And if I went near
the place--
1045
01:04:22,099 --> 01:04:25,562
I mean, poor Marcos saw me and,
you know, it's just,
1046
01:04:25,597 --> 01:04:29,269
big hearted wonderful Marcos,
who you love dearly.
1047
01:04:29,304 --> 01:04:31,568
Won't look at you,
won't say a word.
1048
01:04:32,504 --> 01:04:35,209
They were afraid of me
because I could get 'em fired.
1049
01:04:35,644 --> 01:04:38,179
Um, they were afraid
to lose their jobs.
1050
01:04:38,214 --> 01:04:39,378
Every one of 'em.
1051
01:04:39,913 --> 01:04:42,216
Even knowing me
or saying they liked me
1052
01:04:42,251 --> 01:04:44,482
could cost them
their job and their livelihood.
1053
01:04:44,917 --> 01:04:48,321
And eventually it did shut
their factories down.
1054
01:04:50,391 --> 01:04:52,622
Uh, Kolinska turned into a...
1055
01:04:53,057 --> 01:04:55,064
a ketchup factory, and soup.
1056
01:04:56,529 --> 01:04:59,101
Ormoz turned
into a dustpan factory.
1057
01:04:59,136 --> 01:05:02,203
And, uh,
I don't say it with a brag.
1058
01:05:02,772 --> 01:05:05,206
But I accept responsibility
1059
01:05:05,241 --> 01:05:08,176
for both being shut down
because of me.
1060
01:05:09,410 --> 01:05:11,113
It had nothing
to do with Steve Glew.
1061
01:05:12,710 --> 01:05:14,985
There wasn't
one decision made
1062
01:05:15,020 --> 01:05:19,583
regarding a factory that had
anything to do with Steve Glew.
1063
01:05:19,618 --> 01:05:21,255
Zero.
1064
01:05:23,787 --> 01:05:26,095
I could see
the writing on the wall.
1065
01:05:26,130 --> 01:05:28,295
I was headin'
down the tubes.
1066
01:05:28,330 --> 01:05:30,396
Scott McWhinnie was winning
at that point,
1067
01:05:30,431 --> 01:05:35,368
because when you make it
impossible for somebody
1068
01:05:35,403 --> 01:05:38,305
to buy the thing
that competes, you win.
1069
01:05:38,340 --> 01:05:41,011
Yeah,
it was deeply frustrating.
1070
01:05:41,046 --> 01:05:42,738
I got the hell
out of there and...
1071
01:05:44,181 --> 01:05:45,246
it was just sad.
1072
01:05:55,225 --> 01:05:56,389
Once I got home...
1073
01:06:00,230 --> 01:06:02,461
there really wasn't room
for old me anymore.
1074
01:06:11,439 --> 01:06:14,044
Kathy's hands
started twitching.
1075
01:06:14,780 --> 01:06:17,641
And, uh, the Parkinson's
started coming on.
1076
01:06:27,125 --> 01:06:28,223
I can't do that.
1077
01:06:28,258 --> 01:06:29,455
Not gonna do that.
1078
01:06:32,658 --> 01:06:33,723
Not doing that.
1079
01:06:36,794 --> 01:06:39,102
The whole story's about her.
1080
01:06:40,435 --> 01:06:41,500
I was busy.
1081
01:06:42,169 --> 01:06:44,074
Being what I call
Pez Outlaw,
1082
01:06:44,109 --> 01:06:46,670
and doing
what I needed to do
1083
01:06:46,705 --> 01:06:49,277
to earn what I thought
was being a man then.
1084
01:06:53,250 --> 01:06:56,614
But I knew
that I needed to be better.
1085
01:07:03,161 --> 01:07:04,820
It's okay, you'll be
all grown-up and spotted,
1086
01:07:04,855 --> 01:07:06,558
and we'll show
you these pictures.
1087
01:07:07,460 --> 01:07:10,661
As things became
more difficult for my mom...
1088
01:07:12,302 --> 01:07:15,765
he stepped up
to a new level of being
1089
01:07:15,800 --> 01:07:18,372
that I don't even think
the closest people,
1090
01:07:18,407 --> 01:07:19,736
you know, in our lives,
1091
01:07:19,771 --> 01:07:22,442
would've ever expected
to happen.
1092
01:07:22,477 --> 01:07:23,542
Um...
1093
01:07:24,578 --> 01:07:25,742
but that...
1094
01:07:27,317 --> 01:07:28,547
that's how much
he loves her.
1095
01:07:28,582 --> 01:07:29,680
My mom.
1096
01:07:36,590 --> 01:07:38,689
I used to think
I had to ride a horse...
1097
01:07:39,725 --> 01:07:41,494
to be the man
she could love.
1098
01:07:42,230 --> 01:07:44,596
She liked horses, so,
"Ooh, I gotta be a cowboy."
1099
01:07:44,631 --> 01:07:47,203
So, I tried to be a cow--
You ain't gotta be a cowboy.
1100
01:07:47,238 --> 01:07:49,733
Be useful. Be decent.
1101
01:07:49,768 --> 01:07:51,405
Be kind.
1102
01:07:51,440 --> 01:07:52,604
Tell her you love her.
1103
01:08:08,226 --> 01:08:11,227
I went out
and did this crazy thing
1104
01:08:11,262 --> 01:08:14,164
because this crazy thing
took care of my family.
1105
01:08:16,465 --> 01:08:18,729
But if I was gonna
continue with Pez,
1106
01:08:18,764 --> 01:08:22,172
I realized that
I had to take action.
1107
01:08:22,207 --> 01:08:23,899
We gotta find
other ways to do things.
1108
01:08:24,334 --> 01:08:26,572
And that is what led to...
1109
01:08:27,674 --> 01:08:29,278
the big decision.
1110
01:08:35,715 --> 01:08:38,914
Trying to find...
There we go.
1111
01:08:41,688 --> 01:08:45,822
After buying
all this product for so long,
1112
01:08:46,925 --> 01:08:50,794
i-- it finally occurred to me,
why don't I create my own?
1113
01:08:50,829 --> 01:08:54,765
Um, I had a lot of good ideas,
just like Marcos.
1114
01:08:54,800 --> 01:08:56,866
He's gonna hate me for this.
1115
01:08:58,639 --> 01:09:00,408
Steve was very creative.
1116
01:09:00,443 --> 01:09:01,871
He kept coming up with all
these different
1117
01:09:01,906 --> 01:09:03,576
interesting
color variations like, um,
1118
01:09:03,611 --> 01:09:06,678
crystal Pez
with see-through heads.
1119
01:09:06,713 --> 01:09:09,747
If the order was,
you know, large quantities,
1120
01:09:09,782 --> 01:09:13,751
anyone can get anything
directly from a factory.
1121
01:09:13,786 --> 01:09:17,491
I decided to create
my own designs.
1122
01:09:17,526 --> 01:09:21,363
I'd named 'em
the "Holiday Colors."
1123
01:09:22,132 --> 01:09:24,927
The half million-dollar order
was my attempt to come out
1124
01:09:24,962 --> 01:09:27,831
of the shadows,
and do business openly.
1125
01:09:30,605 --> 01:09:32,242
I was trying to go legit.
1126
01:09:32,277 --> 01:09:34,442
Yes, definitely
I was trying to go legit.
1127
01:09:34,477 --> 01:09:36,609
And not have to talk
in code.
1128
01:09:37,244 --> 01:09:41,251
And, uh, be able to say,
"Yes, this is my product."
1129
01:09:47,655 --> 01:09:49,655
I mortgaged my house.
1130
01:09:50,724 --> 01:09:52,427
I took out a line of credit.
1131
01:09:52,462 --> 01:09:54,990
-That got me 250 of it.
1132
01:09:55,025 --> 01:09:57,960
And then, believe it or not,
I had 250 cash.
1133
01:09:58,662 --> 01:10:01,403
You know,
we went from bringing it back
1134
01:10:01,438 --> 01:10:03,339
in, uh, duffle bags,
1135
01:10:03,374 --> 01:10:06,408
to importing it through
a broker in Grand Rapids.
1136
01:10:06,443 --> 01:10:09,510
And we were spending
huge amounts of money.
1137
01:10:14,649 --> 01:10:16,847
They created
all my product...
1138
01:10:17,416 --> 01:10:20,785
in the name that
it was going to, like, Taiwan.
1139
01:10:20,820 --> 01:10:23,491
And Taiwan packaging.
1140
01:10:24,593 --> 01:10:26,989
Rerouted it to me.
1141
01:10:27,860 --> 01:10:30,630
Legally. On paper, legally.
1142
01:10:41,940 --> 01:10:44,578
I laid out
the whole business plan, and...
1143
01:10:45,213 --> 01:10:48,010
I could afford to pay
just under five bucks
1144
01:10:48,045 --> 01:10:50,716
per to have them made.
1145
01:10:51,618 --> 01:10:55,523
And then sell 'em for 25
and be on a good profit margin.
1146
01:10:57,923 --> 01:11:00,528
And I'd been assured that
1147
01:11:00,563 --> 01:11:03,058
this was going to be
exclusive to me.
1148
01:11:04,831 --> 01:11:08,030
And I have faxes
of those assurances.
1149
01:11:13,873 --> 01:11:15,609
We were set.
1150
01:11:15,644 --> 01:11:18,876
Half a million dollars
was gonna turn into...
1151
01:11:18,911 --> 01:11:22,517
a minimum
of 2.5 million dollars.
1152
01:11:22,552 --> 01:11:25,047
And then Christmas time
rolls around,
1153
01:11:25,082 --> 01:11:26,950
and I was just so excited.
1154
01:11:30,461 --> 01:11:31,757
♪ What is Christmas? ♪
1155
01:11:31,792 --> 01:11:33,528
♪ Christmas is for living ♪
1156
01:11:33,563 --> 01:11:35,090
♪ What is Christmas? ♪
1157
01:11:35,125 --> 01:11:37,532
♪ Christmas is for love ♪
1158
01:11:37,567 --> 01:11:40,667
♪ Christmas
is for taking dreams ♪
1159
01:11:40,702 --> 01:11:43,637
♪ And making
dreams come true... ♪
1160
01:11:43,672 --> 01:11:46,376
Oh, my God.
Are you kiddin' me?
1161
01:11:46,411 --> 01:11:49,643
♪ ...everyone,
especially for you ♪
1162
01:11:49,678 --> 01:11:52,910
Everything I wanted
was in front of me.
1163
01:12:08,466 --> 01:12:10,763
This is the stuff
people dream of.
1164
01:12:10,798 --> 01:12:17,440
♪ Christmas is for everyone,
especially for you ♪
1165
01:12:18,641 --> 01:12:20,102
The best thing in the world.
1166
01:12:20,137 --> 01:12:22,610
And Scott McWhinnie,
I'm not done yet.
1167
01:12:40,124 --> 01:12:42,157
We started selling
it at conventions,
1168
01:12:42,192 --> 01:12:45,061
I started
selling it at toy shows.
1169
01:12:45,096 --> 01:12:47,470
Everybody wanted his colors.
1170
01:12:47,505 --> 01:12:49,604
You know,
he had five different stems
1171
01:12:49,639 --> 01:12:51,936
of a yellow snowman
and of the red snowman.
1172
01:12:52,405 --> 01:12:54,675
You could only buy them
from Steve.
1173
01:12:54,710 --> 01:12:57,612
It was so different
than what Pez was putting out.
1174
01:12:57,647 --> 01:12:59,713
So, this is Pez's version
of the skull.
1175
01:12:59,748 --> 01:13:01,913
Right?
So, this is his variation.
1176
01:13:01,948 --> 01:13:04,080
You know, he did the black face
with the yellow eyes.
1177
01:13:04,115 --> 01:13:05,587
It just popped.
It looked cool.
1178
01:13:06,323 --> 01:13:09,118
Steve Glew had so many
color variations of things,
1179
01:13:09,153 --> 01:13:12,561
that I was in shock when I saw
those all out at one table.
1180
01:13:12,596 --> 01:13:14,530
They were
selling like a madman.
1181
01:13:14,565 --> 01:13:17,225
And it was more
than I could dream of.
1182
01:13:17,260 --> 01:13:20,668
To have my own product line
that I was proud of.
1183
01:13:20,703 --> 01:13:23,132
And I was,
I was extremely proud of it.
1184
01:13:23,167 --> 01:13:26,905
That was the year
that I did a million bucks.
1185
01:13:27,274 --> 01:13:28,643
It was magic.
1186
01:13:31,274 --> 01:13:32,944
Going legit had worked,
1187
01:13:32,979 --> 01:13:36,519
but it was the briefest
moment ever because,
1188
01:13:36,554 --> 01:13:38,785
oh, man,
did the shit hit the fan.
1189
01:13:44,595 --> 01:13:46,023
Steve and David Welch
1190
01:13:46,058 --> 01:13:50,225
and I were walking
from our rooms upstairs
1191
01:13:50,260 --> 01:13:52,095
down to the convention floor.
1192
01:13:53,164 --> 01:13:55,802
And we walked
through the door,
1193
01:13:55,837 --> 01:13:59,740
and the first thing we see
is this huge display.
1194
01:14:03,944 --> 01:14:06,978
I had a job to do,
and I executed the job.
1195
01:14:07,013 --> 01:14:11,114
And the job
was to help stop this.
1196
01:14:24,701 --> 01:14:27,768
This is what Pez did
with the Misfit.
1197
01:14:27,803 --> 01:14:29,638
This is how
they packaged it.
1198
01:14:29,673 --> 01:14:32,234
To them, it was misfit,
it was ugly.
1199
01:14:32,269 --> 01:14:35,303
The ones that Steve had done
were on Pez cards.
1200
01:14:35,338 --> 01:14:37,041
They were made
at the factory.
1201
01:14:37,076 --> 01:14:39,714
They were on the--
a stripe candy card.
1202
01:14:39,749 --> 01:14:42,178
But then when we walked
into the ballroom that day,
1203
01:14:42,213 --> 01:14:44,114
they were
on a completely different card,
1204
01:14:44,149 --> 01:14:47,689
and they were actually labeled
on that card as Misfits.
1205
01:14:49,022 --> 01:14:50,956
Scott came up
with the name Misfits
1206
01:14:50,991 --> 01:14:53,222
'cause they didn't fit into
the rest of the assortment.
1207
01:14:53,891 --> 01:14:55,994
The Misfits
were manufactured
1208
01:14:56,029 --> 01:14:58,964
as a way to put
him out of business.
1209
01:14:59,333 --> 01:15:02,671
Where he was selling them for,
say, 20, 25 dollars,
1210
01:15:02,706 --> 01:15:04,805
we're selling
them now for $1.99.
1211
01:15:05,307 --> 01:15:09,205
He sold for less
than I paid to have it made.
1212
01:15:11,176 --> 01:15:12,978
So, basically...
1213
01:15:13,547 --> 01:15:15,013
pulled the gas
right out of him.
1214
01:15:15,515 --> 01:15:17,114
Scott used the marketplace.
1215
01:15:17,149 --> 01:15:20,051
He used the market
to-- to kill him.
1216
01:15:23,353 --> 01:15:26,156
The Pez company decided
to put him out of business.
1217
01:15:26,191 --> 01:15:27,993
Steve and David
turned around
1218
01:15:28,028 --> 01:15:29,324
and they went back
to their room,
1219
01:15:29,359 --> 01:15:30,897
and they never came back
that day.
1220
01:15:41,778 --> 01:15:43,173
It was horrible.
1221
01:15:43,208 --> 01:15:45,373
It was just horrible.
They hurt him.
1222
01:15:45,408 --> 01:15:48,783
They hurt him financially,
really bad.
1223
01:15:53,251 --> 01:15:55,053
Yeah. Yeah.
1224
01:15:55,088 --> 01:15:57,154
A little--
a little satisfaction.
1225
01:15:59,059 --> 01:16:01,763
The man
was broken that day.
1226
01:16:04,933 --> 01:16:06,801
I dropped my prices,
1227
01:16:06,836 --> 01:16:09,804
pushed it out into the market
as cheap as I had to.
1228
01:16:09,839 --> 01:16:11,201
It didn't work.
1229
01:16:14,041 --> 01:16:15,139
Worthless.
1230
01:17:12,396 --> 01:17:14,165
I didn't realize
how devastating it was
1231
01:17:14,200 --> 01:17:15,397
to him,
though, initially.
1232
01:17:15,832 --> 01:17:17,839
This was right
around the time my wife
1233
01:17:17,874 --> 01:17:20,039
and I got married, and Steve
was supposed to drive up
1234
01:17:20,074 --> 01:17:22,470
from Michigan for our--
for our wedding.
1235
01:17:22,505 --> 01:17:25,946
And, uh, he just was a no-show,
and I didn't know why.
1236
01:17:30,051 --> 01:17:33,250
We lost contact after that,
and Steve stopped calling.
1237
01:17:33,285 --> 01:17:36,088
I think he-- I think
he stopped taking phone calls,
1238
01:17:36,123 --> 01:17:38,288
too, because of what--
of what happened to him.
1239
01:17:42,525 --> 01:17:45,768
That's when he went into his--
his period of seclusion.
1240
01:17:47,332 --> 01:17:48,903
Where he just, like,
dropped off of the,
1241
01:17:48,938 --> 01:17:50,399
uh, off of the map.
1242
01:18:05,284 --> 01:18:07,482
You know, he just
sort of went off the radar.
1243
01:18:07,517 --> 01:18:10,287
Which is exactly
what the plan was.
1244
01:18:34,214 --> 01:18:35,378
I lost all my money
1245
01:18:35,413 --> 01:18:37,787
and went
$250,000 in debt.
1246
01:18:39,252 --> 01:18:41,417
You know, you fight for--
to pay your bills.
1247
01:18:42,153 --> 01:18:45,894
You damn near lose your house
so many times it's tiresome.
1248
01:18:54,070 --> 01:18:57,939
Josh had to slowly let go
of all four of the employees,
1249
01:18:57,974 --> 01:18:59,402
including my son-in-law.
1250
01:18:59,437 --> 01:19:01,107
And his last job...
1251
01:19:02,143 --> 01:19:03,472
was he fired himself.
1252
01:19:26,035 --> 01:19:28,497
Yeah, I went through
some pretty bad years.
1253
01:19:28,532 --> 01:19:30,334
Financially and mentally.
1254
01:19:32,239 --> 01:19:33,909
But I think that...
1255
01:19:34,611 --> 01:19:37,506
the crash was
important to find me.
1256
01:19:43,349 --> 01:19:46,251
I had a decade
of what I call a primal scream.
1257
01:19:47,155 --> 01:19:48,583
Scott McWhinnie decided...
1258
01:19:49,285 --> 01:19:51,993
that he finally
had the way to kill me.
1259
01:19:52,428 --> 01:19:54,996
And he was right.
He did.
1260
01:19:57,264 --> 01:19:59,264
Okay.
1261
01:20:02,267 --> 01:20:05,501
After the crash,
the story was all I had left.
1262
01:20:06,003 --> 01:20:07,943
And that's when
I wrote my blog,
1263
01:20:07,978 --> 01:20:09,373
Pez Outlaw Diary.
1264
01:20:10,574 --> 01:20:12,376
You don't just
create a product.
1265
01:20:12,411 --> 01:20:13,476
You create a story.
1266
01:20:15,645 --> 01:20:18,019
When Steve
started writing his blogs...
1267
01:20:18,588 --> 01:20:21,484
nobody knew
any of that about him.
1268
01:20:23,191 --> 01:20:26,489
Steve feels
that this is his legacy now.
1269
01:20:26,524 --> 01:20:28,227
He wants people
to know what happened.
1270
01:20:28,262 --> 01:20:30,064
He wants
the story to be out.
1271
01:20:30,099 --> 01:20:32,495
It validates it.
It says, "Yes, this happened."
1272
01:20:34,400 --> 01:20:36,906
I think everyone
wants to be remembered in life.
1273
01:20:36,941 --> 01:20:38,468
They wanna make their mark.
1274
01:20:38,503 --> 01:20:40,470
And they wanna
get it right.
1275
01:20:40,505 --> 01:20:42,043
At least once.
1276
01:20:42,712 --> 01:20:46,113
Honest to God,
if it wasn't for Pez Outlaw,
1277
01:20:46,148 --> 01:20:48,115
nobody would remember
Scott McWhinnie.
1278
01:20:48,684 --> 01:20:50,986
He's a plot point
in my story.
1279
01:20:52,385 --> 01:20:55,386
If I can get this character
of Pez Outlaw...
1280
01:20:56,554 --> 01:20:58,257
deeply ingrained enough
1281
01:20:58,292 --> 01:21:00,127
into the history
of Pez, then...
1282
01:21:01,361 --> 01:21:02,690
that will be enough.
1283
01:21:02,725 --> 01:21:04,197
It's a good story.
1284
01:21:05,365 --> 01:21:07,035
It's a good story.
1285
01:21:12,977 --> 01:21:15,637
It was 20 years
before I saw Steve again.
1286
01:21:15,672 --> 01:21:18,343
And he swore he'd never go
to another convention.
1287
01:21:23,988 --> 01:21:25,416
I said, "Steve,
1288
01:21:25,451 --> 01:21:27,682
everybody wants to know
about you, Steve.
1289
01:21:27,717 --> 01:21:30,322
Everybody wants to hear
your story."
1290
01:21:33,690 --> 01:21:35,525
Nowadays,
I think that, you know,
1291
01:21:35,560 --> 01:21:37,725
with all the new collectors
coming into the hobby,
1292
01:21:37,760 --> 01:21:40,068
they-- they don't know
of the backstory.
1293
01:21:40,103 --> 01:21:42,730
They don't know-- they weren't
there when it happened, and...
1294
01:21:42,765 --> 01:21:45,007
For a guy like
me who wants to collect
1295
01:21:45,042 --> 01:21:48,142
everything Pez,
his history was--
1296
01:21:48,177 --> 01:21:51,046
was part of the influence
of-- of even why I collected.
1297
01:21:52,577 --> 01:21:54,181
Steve Glew
was a featured person
1298
01:21:54,216 --> 01:21:55,677
at the convention,
1299
01:21:55,712 --> 01:21:57,448
and he hadn't been
heard from for years.
1300
01:21:57,483 --> 01:21:59,549
And I mean,
there was many, many,
1301
01:21:59,584 --> 01:22:01,320
many people that
wanted his signature.
1302
01:22:02,289 --> 01:22:05,753
He definitely
has a great cult following.
1303
01:22:05,788 --> 01:22:07,722
He-- he was just this...
1304
01:22:07,757 --> 01:22:09,427
I don't know,
Pez God.
1305
01:22:09,462 --> 01:22:10,967
I mean, how--
how else do you say it?
1306
01:22:15,105 --> 01:22:18,568
I think everyone
wants someone just to say,
1307
01:22:18,603 --> 01:22:20,306
"I see
what happened to you
1308
01:22:20,341 --> 01:22:22,275
and it-- and it matters."
1309
01:22:23,311 --> 01:22:25,014
It's-- it's a huge thing
1310
01:22:25,049 --> 01:22:26,741
to find out
that you're not alone.
1311
01:22:27,577 --> 01:22:30,349
Everybody
wants their story told.
1312
01:22:30,384 --> 01:22:32,054
Everybody wants
to be remembered.
1313
01:22:33,651 --> 01:22:35,222
The story of Pez Outlaw
1314
01:22:35,257 --> 01:22:38,588
is an act out
of my mental issues.
1315
01:22:39,023 --> 01:22:42,361
Learning to cope
with anxiety, depression...
1316
01:22:43,331 --> 01:22:44,396
and...
1317
01:22:45,232 --> 01:22:48,301
the voices in your head,
so to speak.
1318
01:22:48,336 --> 01:22:50,666
And in some cases,
some of the things
1319
01:22:50,701 --> 01:22:53,438
that you have
are actually tools.
1320
01:22:53,473 --> 01:22:55,275
They are not burdens.
1321
01:22:56,044 --> 01:22:59,312
Honestly,
I think his story is good,
1322
01:22:59,347 --> 01:23:01,776
and it's fun,
but I think the human side
1323
01:23:01,811 --> 01:23:05,516
of Pez Outlaw
is way more valuable.
1324
01:23:08,158 --> 01:23:11,126
I can be who I am
and be miserable...
1325
01:23:11,722 --> 01:23:13,524
or I can be who I am...
1326
01:23:15,165 --> 01:23:17,033
and try
and find the good in it.
1327
01:23:19,202 --> 01:23:21,466
And if you're lucky,
like me,
1328
01:23:21,501 --> 01:23:23,237
you married your therapist.
1329
01:23:43,688 --> 01:23:45,193
She's been
everything to me.
1330
01:23:45,789 --> 01:23:47,096
Everything.
1331
01:24:05,281 --> 01:24:07,248
I hope you have success.
1332
01:24:07,283 --> 01:24:09,646
I wish-- I wish you-- because
you're very sympathetic man.
1333
01:24:09,681 --> 01:24:12,319
But I think
you picked the wrong topic.
1334
01:24:12,354 --> 01:24:13,452
That's my impression.
1335
01:24:13,487 --> 01:24:14,816
Let's see...
1336
01:24:14,851 --> 01:24:16,389
if you--
if you also have to take out
1337
01:24:16,424 --> 01:24:17,852
a mortgage for your house.
1338
01:24:17,887 --> 01:24:20,426
Then I-- I-- I--
I keep right.
1339
01:24:20,928 --> 01:24:22,494
You picked the wrong person.
Anyway.
1340
01:24:23,497 --> 01:24:28,533
♪
1341
01:25:22,655 --> 01:25:27,691
♪
1342
01:26:22,715 --> 01:26:27,751
♪