TikTok's Taroni takes 'quirky' English concept to USA and is even 'knighted'
They went viral for their huge car boot markets in the West Midlands, earning thousands of TikTok views and appearing in a TV documentary.
Now, Birmingham's 'Car Boot Kings' have taken their concept all the way to the United States of America.
James Taroni, aged 49, flew out to California on Tuesday morning (March 13) to open a car boot at Coachella Valley High School on Saturday (March 17).
READ MORE: Meet Birmingham's Car Boot Kings whose idea has become a TV hit - and made them £3m
Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join
Dad-of-five James, alongside his business partner Andrew Walsh, 49, has been paid by Tomes PR to take the quirky English concept across the pond.
Together, the pair run E-Boot Markets and Car Boots, which draw in thousands of customers at a time in north Birmingham. The pair were featured in a documentary called Car Boot Kings last year, which aired on Channel 4.
James travelled to the US alone, with Andrew holding fort back home. The event on Saturday proved a huge success, with James also appearing on daytime US TV for an interview.
Speaking ahead of his flight out, James told BirminghamLive: "After our Channel 4 documentary last year, we were approached by a PR company to open a car boot sale for a high school, Coachella Valley High School.
"In the States, it is all garage sales. They don't do car boot sales. There are markets and things, but not second-hand goods.
"They want to bring the idea to America. They want us to franchise it, school by school, state by state, to raise funds and establish a car boot over there.
"They want to use our brand, what we've created here in the UK. With all expenses paid, they are flying me out to Coachella in California so that I can do the first official UK car boot sale.
"So it's mega. It's literally first class (on the plane); they are really serious about it. They have created this board of governors to go forward and do a monthly charity fundraising.
"They want me to front it. They love our idea, they love the concept, and they love recycling and reusing. There's not really a negative with it at all.
"And they chose me from Sutton Coldfield and my best pal Andy. He is staying here and holding the fort, and I'm flying out to do it.
"They are going to film me arriving, officially opening the event, speaking to the people about operating it and running it, and just being able to relax and what I get up to in my own free time.
"They kind of want this quintessentially English tea and biscuits, so I have got to take some biscuits. They want to do, like, a picnic.
"I dress up as this king. They love the King over there.
"When I arrive, I will ride a horse into the place and jump off my steed. Then, there are people who are going to wave flags, and there will be cheerleaders.
"It's going to be a big affair. They are going to be videoing it."
James said the response before opening had been "really massive, wonderful," and about 100 traders were lined up.
On Saturday, James cut the ribbon at the event.
He arrived resembling the character of a 'king', and was given a red carpet.
A brass band also welcomed him by playing the English national anthem, God Save The King, while onlookers cheered and waved Union Jack flags.
James also 'knighted' one of the school's teachers, John Zembo, for his hard work in organising the event.
He was also filmed for a show with Monica Price, with the first episode set to air in May.
Meanwhile, James took part in an interview on US TV, appearing on US10 Radio and NBC TV Palm Springs, alongside Barry Tomes from Tomes PR.
Barry added: "The event was absolutely amazing; the greeting for Car Boot King James Taroni had the most spectacular greeting."
All proceeds raised from the event have gone to the school. However, there are plans to franchise E-Boot Markets and Car Boots in the future.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
How Leeds' transfer process will work as they look to survive back in the Premier League
On the big nights, you can stand in the West Yorkshire countryside, miles away from Elland Road, and hear the soul of Leeds United. In February last year, when second-placed Leeds beat Championship leaders Leicester City, videos of this phenomenon surfaced. Anyone in the club's 38,000-capacity home stadium that night will remember their out-of-body experiences as Leeds scored in the 80th, 83rd and 94th minutes to complete a 3-1 comeback. Clips of that night's latticed limbs, post-match playing of Kaiser Chiefs' club anthem I Predict A Riot and rural noise pollution are taking on fresh importance. Advertisement When sporting director Adam Underwood and head of recruitment Alex Davies, with occasional help from managing director Robbie Evans, pitch to prospective signings, they boot up video from February 23, 2024. Those clips are just a small fraction of the presentations they are making to players, but that night, and Leeds' Championship title parade through the city just a few weeks ago, cut to the chase on what a behemoth this club is. Evans, Underwood and Davies have a critical summer ahead of them — for Leeds, and for their own careers at Elland Road. They were all involved in last year's close-season dealings too, but this is the first summer they will all spend in positions of such seniority — and they do so ahead of a return to the Premier League. Leeds sources, speaking under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, like all of those spoken to for this article, admit the trio can anticipate where fingers may be pointed if manager Daniel Farke's side struggle back in the English top flight next season. Chairman Paraag Marathe is backing them to succeed, and they are not in these roles by accident. For the past 20 years, Evans has worked across banking, consulting, operations and strategy with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, among other businesses. More specifically, his duties involved the 49ers' salary-cap calculations, the hiring of their head coaches and the building of their 68,500-seat home, Levi's Stadium. Underwood has come through the ranks at Leeds' youth academy, strategising across the age groups in recruitment, agent negotiations and coaching hires. Sources at the club feel he can take that experience of dealing with youth players and agents into the first-team arena. Davies has long been highly-regarded by insiders at Leeds, predominantly because of his eye for a player from his scouting and analysis background. His voice quickly became one Marathe wanted to hear more of in meetings following the 2023 takeover by 49ers Enterprises, the NFL team's investment arm. Advertisement Alongside Marathe and Farke, these are the key decision-makers during a pivotal transfer window for Leeds. Evans, who was the club's chief strategy officer until chief executive Angus Kinnear departed to become Everton CEO last month, has led an overhaul of the data operation, which was virtually non-existent before his appointment in November 2023. This five-person department, which will expand to eight by next season, is led by Bikash Deb. Sources at Leeds suggest that 98 per cent of the past two years, effectively since relegation from the top division of English football, has been spent planning for the Premier League. Whether it is finding the right players, establishing what it takes to stay up, set-piece maximisation or how other promoted clubs survived, sources at Leeds say these analysts have left no stone unturned. This stretches as far as having an analyst working on tracking-data analysis — which involves a player's location and movement across a game of football. Leeds are also recruiting people with specialisms in biomechanics — how a person moves when playing football — to be able to do more body-specific analysis. The data is one side of the equation, but there are nuances in the decisions the key voices in the club need to make. Gretar Steinsson, technical director at 49ers Enterprises having had that role at Elland Road and been performance director at Tottenham Hotspur, and Kevin Thelwell, now sporting director with 49ers Enterprises-owned Scottish giants Rangers following previous similar positions with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton, are experienced heads the executives at Leeds can go to for advice. Leeds have been pursuing transfer targets since April, and in that time, a clear process for the summer has emerged. Sources say it begins with the data team, scouts and coaches (mainly Farke) each putting names forward. The data team's suggestions are then assessed by the scouts and vice versa, to ensure everyone proposed gets analysed. For example, Evans may ask an analyst to find every left-back in the world with a defined set of characteristics, which the data shows can work in the Premier League. Advertisement Those traits would obviously generate a long list of names, and the club's scouts might then knock that down to 20 for video review. Every player eventually put to Farke as a possible signing will have already had a data and scouting report compiled. As for Farke's own suggestions, they are all given a deep dive because of his importance in the overall process. Leeds sources have been at pains to point out no player is forced on the manager, and neither does he force one on the club. Every signing must have agreement from scouts, manager, strategy, planning and finance. If one of those boxes is not ticked, the player concerned is not signed. Once that list of targets is established in each position, Underwood, who was mentored over the past 12 months by Nick Hammond before the latter followed Kinnear to Everton, takes on the vast majority of the process. Club sources have explained the next stages. Underwood approaches agents, players and their clubs, to establish whether a deal can be done. If he hears positive noises on a target, the club dig deeper on him with Farke, while Underwood and Davies make their pitches to agents. Beyond those aforementioned Leicester videos, these presentations aim to show the club have done their homework on a player, with analysis of where they will fit on the pitch, but also how their lives, and their families' lives, will look off the field if they come to Leeds. If the process continues, a personal call from Farke to the player is one of the latter hurdles to clear. Senior sources say the German is always brutally honest in those conversations. If they are nailed-on to be starters should they sign, they are told that, but if they are likely to begin their Leeds careers on the bench and have to overthrow existing players to get in the team, he does not lie. If the player does not like what they hear, Leeds move on. Club sources have also said there will be a clear similarity between the names on Leeds' shortlists for each position. For example, every striker will have similar attributes. The same with every left-back or every goalkeeper. They have a clear vision of what each position needs to deliver next season. Advertisement Last time Leeds were in the Premier League, their relegation was followed by extra pain as it emerged that most of the players signed during their three seasons back in the top flight had clauses included in their contracts allowing them to leave on loan, in the event of relegation. Sources have insisted such clauses, put in place by the previous ownership, will never be used again. If a target is anxious about joining a promoted side at risk of a swift return to the second tier, they will be reassured using the recent examples of Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha. Both were allowed to leave Leeds when they wanted moves, and were signed by Manchester City and Barcelona respectively. If that is not enough, then sources admit release clauses for permanent fee-bringing transfers might be considered. For example, if a player was bought for £20million and Leeds were later relegated, they could have it in the language of their contract that they would be sold if a club offered £25m or £30m for them. Leeds want control, and a financial incentive, to include clauses like these. The plans and shortlists are in place. Leeds know they need to have as many new faces as possible in the building for the start of pre-season on July 7. (Top photo of Farke, left, and Marathe:)
CNBC
37 minutes ago
- CNBC
Where can equity investors hide as Israel and Iran take aim at each other?
As equity markets broadly declined after Israel and Iran took aim at each other – some sectors and stocks are bucking the trend. The attack, which reportedly killed senior Iranian military and scientific figures, prompted an immediate flight to safety in financial markets. Brent crude , the international oil benchmark, jumped 7% to $78.50 a barrel, its highest level since April. The move rippled across sectors, punishing airlines while rewarding oil tanker owners on bets of imminent supply disruptions. The market turmoil reflects uncertainty over whether Iran will retaliate in a way that further escalates the conflict. Oil and shipping "The increased likelihood of an extended regional conflict means that the market will price in a greater risk to supply," wrote Kristoffer Barth Skeie, an equity research analyst at Arctic Securities, explaining an 8.5% surge in the shares of U.S.-listed oil tanker firm Frontline , the most o f Stoxx Europe 600 index companies. Skeie noted that oil companies and traders will rush to move cargoes out of the region as quickly as possible, shifting pricing power to tanker owners as fewer ships will be willing to enter a potential war zone. "However, the tanker market's standard practice of giving the charterer a few days leeway before confirming a fixture means that the initial reaction may be overdone," Skeie said. If Iran's oil exports of 1.5 million barrels per day — which are currently transported by a sanctioned fleet — came under pressure and were offset by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations, then companies such as Frontline would benefit further, Skeie said. "So the dynamic here is positive for the compliant market," he told CNBC. Shares of Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk also climbed 4.5%, with analysts at Sydbank noting that fears of disruptions to the Suez Canal could keep global freight rates elevated. "Only A.P. Moller-Maersk's earnings will be seriously affected by high fuel prices, but if the consequence of more tensions in the Middle East is that sailing through the Suez Canal is postponed, it could keep freight rates higher than otherwise," said Jacob Pedersen, head of equity research at Sydbank, according to a Danish to English translation by Google. Shipping firms rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope at the bottom of Africa, as Iran-allied Houthi rebels attacked naval activity in the Red Sea, shutting off access to the much shorter route through the Suez Canal. That pushed up shipping prices temporarily in 2024. Wind and pharmaceuticals More broadly, the Danish stock market is also "resilient" to rising oil prices, according to Pedersen. "The high proportion of oil price-unaffected pharmaceutical companies and companies with wind energy activities shields against serious negative effects," Sydbank's equity research chief said, referring to drug companies Novo Nordisk and Zeeland Pharma , as well as wind energy firms Orsted and Vestas Wind Systems , whose shares have bucked the downward trend. "In a tense situation where massive oil price increases are slowing global growth, a defensive Danish stock market with high resilience in terms of earnings is also well equipped," Pedersen said. In contrast, European airline stocks were hit hard by the dual threat of soaring fuel costs and the potential for a war to depress travel demand. Airlines Shares of pan-European carriers Wizz Air and Ryanair were off by 5% and 3.5%, respectively. Analysts at JPMorgan suggested Wizz is the most exposed, with a 15% hit to its estimated earnings for every 10% rise in jet fuel and 2.2% of its flight capacity in the immediate conflict zone. Better-hedged carriers like Ryanair were projected to see a more modest 3% earnings impact, according to the Wall Street bank's analysts. The risk-off sentiment extended beyond equities and was starkly evident in credit markets, where assets tied to regional stability came under immediate pressure. Middle East real estate JPMorgan downgraded several Dubai real estate bonds to "Underweight," including those issued by Damac Properties and Arada. Analysts at the bank warned that the fallout from a war between Iran and Israel would disproportionately expose Dubai's property sector, given its heavy dependence on foreign investment, which is underpinned by the UAE's reputation as an "oasis of stability." However, the central question for markets is whether the conflict will escalate to threaten the Strait of Hormuz , the chokepoint for nearly a third of the world's seaborne oil trade. JPMorgan had previously estimated that a full blockade could send oil prices surging to the $120-$130 range. @LCO.1 5Y line Others took a more cautious view. Citi suggested the probability of Iran striking regional energy facilities remains low, citing Tehran's recently improved diplomatic relations with Gulf neighbors like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. "We believe that energy flow disruptions should be limited. Heightened geopolitical tensions may well remain, but we don't expect energy prices to stay elevated for a sustained period of time," said Citi analysts led by Anthony Yuen in a note to clients. That view was also echoed by Arctic Securities' Skeie. Iran's oil exports, which are at their highest levels since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, meant there was considerably more downside risk for Tehran than upside. "Somewhat paradoxically, the risk of Iran trying to leverage its power to influence shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the oil market's biggest chokepoint involving more than 20 mbd, may have gone down, not up, if Iran sees the conflict as confined to Israel," Skeie said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Real Madrid reassure ex-academy talent that they will do ‘everything' to sign him after Club World Cup
Real Madrid reassure ex-academy talent that they will do 'everything' to sign him after Club World Cup Xabi Alonso has arrived at Real Madrid with a clear plan and mental blueprint in place of how to take the team forward. Taking over after a season where the club failed to win any of the three major competitions, the pressure is on the manager to turn things around fast and he has thus wasted no time in communicating his requirements. Advertisement Two of his requested signings have been completed while the Franco Mastantuono deal is also all but complete. As relayed earlier today, however, the manager still has a list of three signings that he demands after the FIFA Club World Cup, and Alvaro Carreras is one of them. In constant contact Alonso sees Carreras to be an important cog in his plans for the season ahead and all signs point to the club accelerating his signing after the upcoming tournament. The initial idea was always to sign him before the Club World Cup, but Benfica's high asking price and tough negotiations complicated matters for Real Madrid. As relayed by MARCA, however, the club remain calm. Carreras' operation on hold for now. (Photo by) Advertisement The Merengues' representatives have even called Carreras to tell him that the club will do everything possible to sign him after the Club World Cup and to thus remain calm about his future. It has, after all, not been an easy set of weeks for the player who has been waiting for the call from Madrid confirming his move and immediate incorporation into the team. Instead, he is now playing the same event but for his current employers. From Manchester United's buyback clause to the clause in his contract that deemed the English club recipients of a bonus in case of a transfer, there have been numerous hurdles in Real Madrid's pursuit of Carreras. The hope, however, is that the steam will cool down after the Club World Cup and that a solution can be worked out. Real Madrid do not have plans for any alternatives and are fully focused on landing Carreras. But everything will have to wait until next month.
