Charles “CJ” O’Neal thought he was getting another spam call when his phone rang one ordinary day. Convinced it was a scammer, he hung up almost immediately—unaware he’d just blown off 717 Supply Founder Mike Hyssong, who’d decided to have a little fun by using a fake Russian accent.
“Who is this, Charles?” Hyssong asked, still in character. O’Neal didn’t hold back: “I don’t give a [deleted] who it is.” When the caller pushed again, O’Neal snapped, “Lose my number or I’ll send the police.” The standoff had Hyssong holding back laughter as O’Neal grew more irritated, thinking it was just another telemarketer.
Everything shifted when Hyssong mentioned an F-250 and $50,000. “No way,” O’Neal said, stunned. “Charles, this is Mike, buddy, it’s not a Russian man named Vlad. I’m here to tell you that you won our F-250 Limited plus 50 grand in cash.” O’Neal froze. “Oh my God,” he said over and over, trying to take it all in.