Ever since news flooded worldwide media about Southern Cross Hotel front office manager Mike Royston's identity being stolen by one of the FBI's most wanted criminals, his friends and colleagues have been singing the Eminem song to him in jest.
"People keep asking me if I'm the real Mike Royston."
United States conman Brent Farris (48) stole Mr Royston's identity in Mexico in 2005, and during the past four years, Farris has used it to travel through 14 countries and avoid a global manhunt.
Mr Royston (39) said he was in Mexico at the same time as Farris, working at a bed and breakfast just a few miles away.
While there, he used a Mexican facilitator to help him fill out immigration documentation in Spanish, and believed his British passport details were later sold to Farris.
Farris was able to get a passport in Mr Royston's name by reporting it lost to authorities, and supplying appropriate information to get a new one with his own photo and signature on it.
While he was laughing about the experience now, Mr Royston said the repercussions could have been very serious.
"Just thinking about what could have happened is frightening.
"I feel quite lucky that I wasn't in an inhospitable country and detained by customs for having a forged passport. I could have been detained for months without help."
While on the run, Farris worked as a headhunter in China, earning about $NZ520,000. It allowed him to live a champagne lifestyle while the FBI tried to find him.
Agents finally caught up with Farris when Mr Royston applied to renew his passport and officials found his details had already been used to get a passport to travel through Asia.
Farris was placed behind bars this week after being seized from Mexico.
He is facing charges of absconding, and is already serving 20 months for an oil painting fraud.
Despite the experience, Mr Royston said it had not put him off travelling.
And he had laughed off suggestions to get even by stealing Farris's identity.
"I wouldn't like to swap identities with him - just his income."
