Scott McWhinnie, who plays Steve Glew, allegedly plays the latter in his weird outburst in the 1990s, when he began smuggling PEZ dispensers from Eastern Europe in bulk to enthusiastic collectors. He was eventually headed in the United States by Scott McWhinnie, better known as The Pezident.
Scott McWhinnie, who is he?
PEZ Candy Inc. established its operations in the United States in 1952, although the candy were initially manufactured in European factories and imported to the United States. Nevertheless, the colorful candy dispensers with character heads became a popular item worldwide, with many becoming big-scale collectors. In 1983, Scott McWhinnie was named the CEO and President of PEZ Candy Inc. in the United States.
Steve Glew, a Michigan native who became fascinated with the PEZ craze, found a Slovenian store that produced rare dispensers and traveled there in 1994 to obtain them in bulk. As a result of this circumstance, he would smuggle thousands of PEZ dispensers into the United States every month and sell them at collectors' conventions.
As Steve's business grew, it became more concerning for Scott. It was not that surprising until the Bubble Man-themed PEZ dispenser began to circulate in the US markets. Scott was the one who designed the character head, and he only ordered the prototypes to be manufactured until then.
Scott was reportedly enraged by the news that his original idea had been stolen. According to some of his colleagues, he was uneasy with the collectors as he believed they would thwart PEZ US sales. By 1998, the Michigan native devised his own PEZ dispensers and got them manufactured in the company's factories through a middleman.
Scott and his company at PEZ Candy Inc. took a drastic measure to eliminate competing collectors like Steve. The company copied his designs and launched the dispensers at a much lower price than he was charging. Scott eventually lost a $250,000 debt, leaving him with hordes of unsold stock.
What happened to Scott McWhinnie today?
Scott McWhinnie was CEO and President of PEZ Candy Inc. for 20 years before he retired in 2003. According to Steve Glew, he was his arch-nemesis who was avidly following him around, and he has never acknowledged or commented on his statements. However, when Steve began blogging his life story online in 2010, he continued to mention the former president of PEZ Candy Inc.
Scott has stated in his blog that he hated Scott's guts and that he was the one who orchestrated his downfall. From what we can tell, Scott is now in his 80s and apparently lives in Venice, Florida, with his family.
