Zack Wickham never expected to find himself on a quirky treasure hunt when he walked into a Goodwill thrift store in Los Angeles this October. But that’s exactly what happened when he stumbled upon a collection of trophies with a name on them.
They just so happened to belong to a woman named Phoebe Kong. A reality star on Bravo’s The Valley, Wickham documented his surprising discovery on TikTok, unaware that this simple video would spark a nationwide search and capture the internet’s imagination.
Zack Wickham discovered a trophy at a local thrift store. Photo from TikTok
Wickham had stopped by Goodwill to search for a Halloween costume. As he browsed, something caught his eye: a group of about a dozen trophies, all awarded to Kong. They ranged from accolades for tennis to excellence in piano, each one marking a different achievement from Kong’s high school years.
Wickham, intrigued and amused, quickly grabbed his phone and started recording. His 53-second TikTok, in which he humorously speculated that Kong’s mother must have donated the trophies without her knowledge, went viral almost immediately.
@thezackwickham Pheobe Kong your mom cleaned out your room 😂 #fyp ♬ original sound – Zack Wickham
“Girl, you’re talented, but I think your mom just gave up all your trophies to Goodwill,” he joked in the video. By the time he went to bed that night, the video had racked up millions of views, and the comment section was filled with users eager to help track down Kong. The next day, Wickham returned to Goodwill with the intention of purchasing the trophies and returning them to their rightful owner. However, when he arrived, all but one of the trophies had already been bought.
My heart sank,” he said, recalling the moment he realized most of them were gone. “I was devastated.”
One employee guessed that the buyer might have been a designer looking to use the trophies as props for a movie or TV set. But Wickham soon learned the truth: Kong’s mother had been the one to purchase them. “She beat me by 30 minutes!” he said in another TikTok video. Despite his initial disappointment, Wickham managed to salvage one remaining trophy, which he bought for $5.99.
@feeeeeeeeeeeeeebe Pictured trophy now in @Zack Wickham ‘s collection #phoebekong #goodwilltrophy #shelives ♬ original sound – feeeeeeeeeeeeeebe
Kong, an artist living in Brooklyn, found herself unexpectedly internet famous as Wickham’s videos gained millions of views. She explained in her own TikTok that she had instructed her mom to donate the trophies, feeling that it was time to part with the physical reminders of her high school achievements. “I don’t know why I did,” she said. “I just thought it was time.”
Phoebe Kong with the trophy in a video from her TikTok account.
However, after the internet frenzy, Kong admitted that the trophies now held new significance. “Karmically, I don’t think I can get rid of them,” she joked. Wickham agreed, saying, “I think the universe had other plans for these trophies.”
Wickham said that he feels a cosmic connection to Kong after finding his way to her life. He said he’s “forever now a Phoebe Kong” fan who thinks they’re going to be “in each other’s lives forever.” “I’m open to kind of anything happening,” Kong said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this experience, it’s that this world is a really crazy, silly place.”
@thezackwickham You’ll never believe what Phoebe sent me 😂❤️ #fyp #phoebekong @feeeeeeeeeeeeeebe ♬ original sound – Zack Wickham
Sources: Washington Post | People
