A Brecon man found London’s streets to be truly paved with gold when he arrived in the capital for a night out with friends and ended up coming home with a new job.

Reuben Blakebrough, 22, set out for the capital with his girlfriend Shanon after hearing a Swedish friend was visiting the city with his partner. 

After sampling London’s nightlife, Reuben and Shanon went for a stroll in Leicester Square the next day before heading back to Wales. It was there they chanced upon a bizarre event which was about to change Reuben’s life. 

A man was sitting on a makeshift desk on the street with a sign reading ‘Job interviews here.’

Reuben was curious, but reluctant to get involved as he felt hung-over from the previous night. There was also just one job up for grabs and around 30 people had already formed a queue. 

Reuben felt under dressed in his jeans and casual jacket, but instantly changed his mind about competing for the customer services job when he recognised the man conducting the interviews. It was Samuel Leeds, a multi-millionaire property entrepreneur with a huge social media following and Reuben was a big fan. 

As the owner of Property Investors, a training company, the businessman’s net worth is estimated at around £20m.

“I’ve watched loads of his videos online as I’ve been interested in the world of property investing for quite a while now,” said Reuben.

As he waited his turn to be grilled, he saw that the interviews were clearly not being carried out along conventional lines.

The entrepreneur was asking some very tricky and distinctly odd questions. One candidate was asked what he would do if he saw him ‘trying to drag a dead body away.’ Other job hunters were told to throw a glass-framed portrait of the businessman with his wife and young children onto the floor. One man refused and was reprimanded for being weak. A woman candidate who later smashed the frame on the pavement got a different response. 

“That’s the most precious thing I owned – It’s my family!’

The event was being filmed for Samuel Leeds’ YouTube channel and Reuben’s interview was equally bizarre and demanding. He impressed on Samuel that he had a degree in politics and was abruptly told the £60,000 he had spent on his education at Plymouth University was a ‘waste of money.’

Reuben, who grew up in Llanishen, near Trellech before moving to Brecon with his girlfriend, described himself as a natural leader, excelling at face-to-face communication.

“This is all on computer – you’ll be dealing with a lot of emails,” Samuel snapped.

Reuben, a Lance Bombardier in the Army Reserve, explained that his full-time job in Brecon was all about training officers on military manoeuvres. Even this failed to impress the man he hoped to work for.

“You talk too much,” was the response. He was then instructed to sit in silence for several awkward minutes before being asked how he felt about making coffee for colleagues.

Reuben confirmed he had no problem with mucking in like that. He was told to immediately go and fetch his potential new boss a cup of coffee.  

A few minutes later, he returned with four different kinds of coffee on a tray for Samuel to choose from. His next task, however, was the toughest he would face.

“I’ll have the latte thanks – now go and sell the other three coffees to people on the street!’

Reuben managed to flog a left-over coffee to a stranger and soon found out that Samuel had been secretly won over by him from the start.

“Why would you consider quitting your current job for this one?” he was asked.

“Coming from rural Wales I want more experiences. I also want to provide better for my girlfriend,” said Reuben, whose passions in life include reading, running, powerlifting, gaming, building computers and playing war games. 

“I want more experiences like coming to London. Just look around. This place is amazing. I would regret it for the rest of my life if I was offered a job and didn’t sign on the dotted line.”

“So, you’re ready to sign on the dotted line, are you?” replied Samuel. “You’ve got the job my brother!’

Reuben’s girlfriend was in tears as he agreed the contract. Samuel also announced his success to a cheering crowd which had gathered to hear the outcome.

“He’s signed the job contract – he starts on Monday!” 

After his impromptu success, Reuben reflected on one of the most extraordinary days of his life.

“It was certainly the strangest, most random job interview I’ve ever had, but I’m made up," he said.

“Samuel has agreed that I will be able to continue as a reservist and that was important to me. I can work from my home in Brecon, but as part of my customer service role I’ll be regularly travelling to events in London and other major cities where I’ll be put up in hotels.

“I’m really excited and will strive to be the best I can. As well as progressing with Property Investors, I want to further my interest and knowledge about property investing in general. This is a fantastic opportunity to do that. I can’t believe that I set out from mid Wales to meet a friend in London for a night and came back home with a new job. 

“When life unexpectedly throws an opportunity like this so hard in your face, you just have to take it.”

Samuel is also delighted to have him on board, predicting a great future for his new employee.

“He’s smart, he’s sophisticated, and he’s learnt to be disciplined in the Army," he said.

"He’ll have a lot of opportunities to advance with my company. I think he’s got a good future in front of him.

“We’ve never recruited anyone in this way before. We just set up a desk in the street to see if any random strangers have got what it takes to join my property and education company. Reuben came up trumps.”