A man who paid $9,000 for a pair of gold sneakers signed by President Donald Trump says he has been invited to meet the former president and has already been offered more than twice the price of the kicks.
Roman Schaaf, founder and CEO of luxury watch dealer Luxury Bazaar, said: told Piers Morgan On Wednesday, he said he was shocked by the outrage over the purchase.
“First and foremost, I never expected the internet and media to go crazy over sneakerheads buying sneakers,” Scharf said.
“I’m a sneakerhead, I’m a huge Trump fan, and I put those two together and said nine grand isn’t too bad,” he said, adding that he’s already been offered $20,000 for the limited edition. He added that he was wearing sneakers.
Schaaf said he was also angered by early reports that he was a Russian oligarch, when in fact he was born in Ukraine and is a U.S. citizen and veteran.
“The Daily Mail UK, which called me a Russian oligarch, has since apologized and changed its title to ‘Ukrainian businessman,'” Scharf said of the British tabloid.
“I’m just a sneaker guy who likes Trump and bought a pair of sneakers and the world went crazy,” he said.
“The worst thing about this whole drama is that it once again shows how divisive we are over political issues,” Schaaf added.
Mr. Scharf sold Mr. Trump’s gold Never Surrender high-tops for $9,000 at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia on Saturday.
The former president made a surprise appearance at the event to announce the launch of sneakers that are part of a new shoe line.
Mr. Schaaf has since been invited by Mr. Trump to visit his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. He was driving to the mansion while talking on the phone with Morgan.
He doesn’t plan on wearing the shoes during the meeting because they don’t fit, but he brings them in a box.
“They’re very, very Donald Trump,” Schaaf said as he performed a dizzying kick to the camera.
Schaaf said he “will be speaking regularly” with Trump and will ask him what his strategy is to defeat President Biden in November.
Regular shoes with American flag detailing on the back cost $399.
Limited to just 1,000 pairs, the sneakers sold out within two hours.
President Trump’s shoe line also includes low-top styles in “T-Red” or “POTUS” white, both with a gold “45” on the side, retailing for $199. .
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” the Republican front-runner told the audience.
“I have some great people working on things with me, and they came up with this, and this is something I’ve been talking about for 12, 13 years. I think it’s going to be a huge success. Yo.”
