You’ve probably seen the video. It was one of those moments that makes you blink twice just to be sure your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. A professional tennis player, Kamil Majchrzak, walks toward the stands at the 2025 US Open to hand a signed cap to a young kid. Before the boy’s fingers can even graze the brim, a hand reaches out from the side. A grown man in a suit—a millionaire, no less—snatches the hat and tucks it into his wife’s bag.
That man was Piotr Szczerek owner of Drogbruk company.
Honestly, the internet didn't hold back. Within hours, the clip went nuclear across X, TikTok, and Reddit. People weren't just annoyed; they were furious. It wasn't just about a hat. It was the optics of a wealthy CEO taking a souvenir from a child named Brock that felt like a gut punch to the collective sense of fairness.
Who Is Piotr Szczerek?
Before he became the "most hated man on the internet" for a week, Piotr Szczerek was known in Poland as a classic self-made success story. He and his wife, Anna, started Drogbruk back in 1999. They’re based in Błaszki, a smallish town in central Poland.
Basically, they built an empire out of concrete.
Drogbruk isn't some tiny mom-and-pop shop. It’s a massive player in the Polish construction industry. We’re talking about a company that produces paving stones, concrete slabs, and complex fencing systems. If you’ve walked on a modern sidewalk or seen a high-end driveway in Poland, there’s a decent chance the materials came from Szczerek’s factories.
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A Business Built on "Hard" Assets
- Paving Stones: Their bread and butter.
- Concrete Fences: High-end architectural stuff.
- Decorative Stone: For gardens and landscaping.
- Infrastructure: They supply large-scale urban development projects.
The guy is a millionaire. He lives in a "village of millionaires" in a historic Polish village, complete with a private lake and, ironically, a private tennis court. He’s not just a suit; he’s a runner, an aspiring Ironman, and a massive tennis enthusiast. He even sponsors the Polish Tennis Association.
That’s why the US Open incident was so bizarre. Why would a guy who owns a tennis court and sponsors the sport steal a hat from a kid?
The US Open Fallout
The backlash was swift. It wasn’t just "mean comments." It was a full-scale digital siege. Drogbruk’s Google rating plummeted to 1.3 stars almost overnight. Trustpilot had to put a closure notice on their page because they were getting hammered with thousands of one-star reviews from people who had never even bought a paving stone in their lives.
"One of the most recognizable Polish businessmen," a Polish MP called him, though she added it was for all the wrong reasons.
Szczerek eventually broke his silence. He issued a "grovelling" apology on the company website. His defense? He claimed he thought Majchrzak was "passing the hat" to him specifically.
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Kinda hard to buy when you see the video, right?
The Real Impact on Drogbruk
Business-wise, this was a nightmare. There were rumors and claims that the company lost 15% of its value in the week following the scandal. While those specific numbers are hard to verify for a private Sp. J. (General Partnership) company in Poland, the reputational damage was real.
Polish forums like Gowork.pl, which are usually for employees to complain about coffee machines, became battlegrounds. Users called him "entitled" and a "scammer." People threatened to boycott their products, which is a big deal when your primary customers are local developers and homeowners who care about a brand's "reliability and professionalism."
What Most People Get Wrong
People think these "viral" moments just blow over. They don't. A year later, when you search for Piotr Szczerek owner of Drogbruk company, the first thing you see isn't their new line of eco-friendly pavers. It’s the hat.
He deactivated his social media. He went into hiding, essentially. But the company still has to run. They still have to bid for government contracts. They still have to sell to people who now associate their logo with a snatched cap.
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Actionable Insights: Lessons in Reputation
If you’re a business owner or a leader, the Szczerek saga is a masterclass in what not to do.
- The Camera is Always On: In 2026, there is no such thing as a "private" public moment. If you're in the front row of a Grand Slam, you are on camera.
- Personal Brand = Company Brand: You cannot separate the CEO from the logo. When Piotr took the hat, Drogbruk took the hat.
- Speed of Response Matters: The silence from Szczerek in the first 48 hours allowed the narrative to be written by angry Redditors. By the time the apology came, the "villain" label was already permanent.
- Action Over Words: Notice what the tennis player did. Kamil Majchrzak didn't just tweet; he found the kid, met him, and gave him a new hat. That’s how you fix a PR disaster. Szczerek’s apology felt like legal damage control, not a genuine "I messed up."
Ultimately, Piotr Szczerek remains the head of a very successful, very wealthy company. Drogbruk continues to pave the roads of Poland. But the incident serves as a permanent reminder: it takes 25 years to build a reputation and about three seconds to snatch it away.
Next time you’re at a game, maybe just let the kid have the souvenir. It’s cheaper than a 1.3-star Google rating.
Next Steps for Business Owners:
Check your own digital footprint. Search for your name and your company together. If the first page of Google doesn't reflect your current values, start a content strategy that highlights your community involvement and professional achievements before a "hat moment" defines you forever.
Next Steps for Consumers:
If you're looking at Drogbruk for a project, look past the viral reviews. Check the actual product specs and local contractor feedback. Sometimes a bad person runs a company that makes a decent paving stone, and you've got to decide if that matters to your bottom line.