Somizi On How Bathu Shoes Founder Theo Baloyi Surprised Him With A Million Rand In Cash. From alcohol to shoes and everything in between, local brands are making it big competing with global brands that have been around for decades. Some of the success of local brands can be attributed to the big names in showbiz associated with them or the stars they make brand ambassadors.
Despite all the controversy surrounding him, Somizi has remained one of the biggest celebrity brands with almost everything he touches or endorses turning to gold. For the past couple of years, Somizi has been one of the faces of shoe brand, Bathu founded by entrepreneur Theo Baloyi. He’d tell you himself that his endorsement for the local brand contributed immensely to the growth and where Bathu is now.
In a recent episode of his reality show, ‘Living The Dream With Somizi’, the entertainer detailed a story on how Theo Baloyi surprised him with a million Rand hard cash. Somizi shared how he had been skeptical at the beginning when Baloyi approached it at Metro FM with a pair of Bathus asking him to post them to his millions of followers on Instagram. “I was so irritable, he gave me a pair of shoes, he wanted me to wear it and post it. I said ‘no, I’m not going to wear it’. I hate it when people tell me to post,” Somizi detailed.
The media personality said he took the shoes but only wore them three months later. He revealed that prior to him wearing the shoes, the brand was selling between five hundred and a thousand pairs each month but sales skyrocketed following his endorsement.
On the day he was blessed with a million Rand by his now friend he had initially brushed off, Somizi said he had helped a stranded woman he now believes was a “test” and not real, moments before he got a phone call from Theo.
“10 minutes later, Theo calls. Theo says, ‘Somizi can I see you today?’ I’m like okay cool. I go to Theo’s office.Theo says, ‘I want to thank you, you’ve made my brand big’…. Theo gives me a million Rands, cash,” a still excited Somizi shared.
It has to be true when they say, ‘money loves money’.
