Oh, so it was a scam?
I might just have blanked it out

Sorry mate, I hope you don't stress yourself out too much about this.
There were so many crypto scams that thrived in the early days of bitcoin. They were pretty successful because many people were less informed and knowledgeable about bitcoin. And they used the their psychological tricks and emotional manipulation to have their way. They were the ones who gave bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies a bad rep in the public.
Of course not, because BTC is a cryptocurrency, and this was shown by the example of buying those famous pizzas that would be worth millions today - but instead of regretting it, the same man celebrates every year with a new pizza.
He grew from the experience and made something out of it. I like it for him as nothing anyone can say about that event that can hurt him any more. We should learn from him.