Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi helped memorabilia geek launch his own sports collectibles empire
Ever dreamed of meeting Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo and getting a selfie or autograph? Peter Johnson did just that – and became a millionaire in the process!
The memorabilia nerd was £10,000 in debt when he founded his company, Firma Stella, with the ambition of selling autographed gear, photos and artifacts to sports-crazy gamblers.
We can trace his life ambition back to Worcestershire CCC as a nine-year-old who met Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh and ‘got the buzz’.
“Instead of a paper route as a teenager, I went after autographs and collected stuff to sell. I loved the buzz of selling them for a lot of money,” he says Sports mail in his huge warehouse in Hartlebury, Worcestershire.
“I started traveling the world chasing things. I went to F1 in Asia, the Rugby World Cup in Japan, Manchester City pre-season tours. Then I decided, “Let’s make an empire out of this”.
Peter Johnson was £10,000 in debt before starting sports memorabilia company Firma Stella
Johnson has become a millionaire since building his collecting empire
His Firma Stella facility, which sells a wide variety of signed sporting goods, is bustling with life
‘I owed £10,000… Now I’m a millionaire. All with four and a half years of work.’
Firma Stella’s facility is bustling with life, with 12 full-time employees and a morale dog, Leo, who patrols the floor as staff work hard to frame, package and collect certificates of authentication.
From £10 photos to £5,000 autographed shirts, the website has something for everyone, covering a mix of sports and levels from League Two to Champions League clubs.
The shop has photos of the likes of Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and Mo Salah signing gear – but meeting Messi and Ronaldo is more important than fate.
“Real Madrid played against Manchester United and I heard about Ronaldo’s flight,” says Johnson. ‘I followed their bus from the airport to a hotel and quickly booked a room.
“I knew they were staying on the top floor and their squad room on the second floor. I saw the elevator was on the top floor so I waited for it to come down.
‘No kidding, the first elevator that opened… imagine Ronaldo just standing there! So I jumped in and he said “what the heck?”. He drew some things and we went from there.”
There are currently four signed No 7 Manchester United shirts with Ronaldo’s name on the back and none go below £1,400 – and that’s with a sale in progress!
He launched the company after chasing Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi (right) during their time at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively
From £10 photos to £5,000 autographed shirts, Johnson’s hit website has something for everyone
He also sells autographed cricket bats, including those of current England captain Ben Stokes
Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk’s signed shirt is another fantastic item to get your hands on
So rare are they after Argentina’s World Cup victory, there are currently no Messi jerseys on sale – but Johnson has met the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
“With Messi I had to take a big risk – this whole game is about risk,” he says. ‘I found out that Barcelona flew from a public airport, so I flew there from Birmingham.
‘Then I booked a “fake flight” from Barcelona to get into the terminal. Suddenly the team just walked through security – Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez… they signed all our stuff.
We took a risk and it paid off. It all comes down to research, knowing where the players and team will be, and then hedging your bet a bit, that usually pays off.”
Johnson is a shining character and his office contains motivational slogans about becoming a millionaire.
“What we do well is that we have something for everyone. We’ve got a £10 player poster for a kid, up to £5,000 Diego Maradona shirts for the millionaire CEOs looking to outfit their offices!
“League Two teams have 10,000 fans – they are as many in our market as Kevin De Bruyne fans.
Johnson is a shining character and his office has motivational slogans about getting rich
His initiative to track down some of the biggest sports stars has changed his life
“We have autograph-hunting scouts, but we have partners like Ben Stokes, Manu Tuilagi, Warren Gatland — and another famous person on the way that I can’t tell you yet!
“Our biggest sale is a signed 1966 England shirt which fetched £10,000 and a lot of Maradona equipment has gone well, while iconic names such as Michael Schumacher and Irish rugby shirts are selling for big bucks.
‘There are 12 permanent employees, but we have six vacancies outstanding. We’re big on culture and have a “No d***heads” policy!
“Our recipe for success is already there. Everything needs to be scaled up by 10, we want to expand to the United States and beyond.”