Meet the man who changed his name to ‘iPhone Seven’

Apple fans willline up for days in anticipation of the latest smartphone release. But Ukrainian Alexander Panin went one step further by changing his name to iPhone Sim (Seven) Stanislavovich, after an electronics store offered the phone for free to the first five people to legally register their name as iPhone Seven. Now the 20-year-old Panin, who has saved himself $850 and gained a ridiculous name, is set to go to Kiev to prove his new passport is authentic and collect the gadget. Panin — aka iPhone Seven — explains why he went to such extreme lengths to get his hands on the new model.

Why have you decided to change your name?

The whole day I was wondering whether I should do it, and then decided to live a new experience. At first everyone was laughing and thinking it was a bad idea to participate. But later, when everything turned out well, people began to support me.

What do your parents think about it?

My parents supported me too, but by their tone I can feel they are not so happy with the idea.

Anyone else unhappy?

Yes. Many people write negative things, like “moron” and “idiot” But I do not care what anyone thinks.

Now that you are iPhone Seven, has anything changed in your life?

People are screaming to me from cars, greeting me on the street. I really enjoy it!

But do your friends actually call you iPhone?

Mostly girls in social media call me “Ayfonchik,” “Sim,” “iPhonya.” But my friends refer to me by my old name.

Are you planning to change your name back?

Frankly, I did not go to church and did not renounce my name. I just changed the passport. If I want, I can change it back at any time. I think I’ll do it when my girlfriend and I decide to have children. In the meantime, I am okay with being iPhone Seven.

What will happen with the iPhone you won?

I will raffle it off on my YouTube channel among the subscribers. I like my iPhone 5!

-Stanislav Kupcov