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An enterprising man has found a rather unconventional way to get rid of his smelly socks. Billy-Joe Gray, who lives in London, makes over R30 000 a month selling his stinky socks to online followers.
To get them extra pungent, the 25-year-old wears them to the gym – sometimes for up to three days – before selling them.
He isn’t bothered by those who turn up their nose at his job, though.
“I’m open-minded about people’s preferences. I support anything and everything that’s out there,” Billy-Joe says.
He discovered there was a market for his smelly socks after he shared photos of himself online and was bombarded with requests from fetishists who wanted to get their hands on his sweaty gear.
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Now, he sells worn socks for between R198 and R595 a pair, trading up to 12 pairs a week.
“I don’t wash them. People like them smelly and dirty so that’s how they get sold,” he says. “The sweatier and more stenched they are, the better.”
A lot of his customers are from the LGBTQ+ community. “They’re like my main audience. They help support my page and I do videos and content for them on my website as well as through TikTok and Instagram.”
His prices are flexible, he adds. “We talk about a price and how much they’d be happy to pay. It’s on an individual basis how much they sell for.”
To help preserve the stink, he packs them in Ziplock bags and wraps them before shipping to clients around the globe.
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“Americans love buying white Nike socks. I’ve found that my TikTok branches out more to them than it does to people in the UK,” he says.
You’d be forgiven for thinking he spends his days walking around barefoot considering how many socks he sells but he always has an extra pair at hand.
“The ones I wear for personal use, I keep in a separate drawer,” Billy-Joe says.
Sources: Instagram.com, mirror.co.uk, tiktok.com
