Budweiser Super Bowl commercial features pizza mogul who used to be homeless
Champion Pizza founder Hakki Akdeniz immigrated to pursue the American Dream
During Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, Budweiser aired a commercial called "Typical American," which featured dozens of people who are anything but "typical." Some people were performing random acts of kindness like helping a person whose car was stuck in the snow while others were fighting ferocious wildfires.
One person who appeared in the ad was Champion Pizza founder and CEO Hakki Akdeniz.
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Akdeniz grew up in a small village in Turkey before moving to Montreal, Canada, to help his brother in a pizza shop. Knowing he wanted to pursue the American Dream, he went to America in 2001 with very little money. Unfortunately, he ended up homeless, sleeping in New York's Grand Central Station.
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But he had a dream, and one day when he overheard someone speaking in Turkish, he struck up a conversation and that kind soul helped him land a job in New York City.
He is now the founder and owner of seven Champion Pizza shops and is also a world champion of pizza acrobatics.
He hasn't forgotten his roots, however. Every week, Akdeniz hosts a program that helps the homeless. It was that philanthropic effort that caught the attention of Budweiser.
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"We have about 300, 400 homeless people standing in line," Akdeniz told FOX Business' Liz Claman on Monday about his weekly events. "I guess they saw me on social media. One of my videos hit, like, over 400 million views on Instagram."
Akdeniz remembers what it's like to live on the street and because of that, he wants the homeless community to know that he knows what they are going through.
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"We should not forget where we come from," Akdeniz said on "The Claman Countdown." "When I do that, it makes me so ... happy. Believe me, it gives me, every day, like positive energy, every single day. When I wake up, I pray, I say 'Thank you, God.' I'm always thankful to God because we have to be grateful."
And grateful he is. Akdeniz admitted he works seven days a week, often 18 or 19 hours a day and sometimes even sleeping on the floor of his stores. But he wanted to remind people if they want the American Dream, they have to never give up.
"I believe in myself; I believe in God," Akdeniz noted. "And I know I [went] through a lot of struggle, and all the struggle will be temporary for me. And I just didn't give up. I do my best."
Akdeniz plans to open more stores soon.
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