I am easily freaked out when it comes to certain things: clowns, wax statues, twins under the age of 10 (because of The Shining), ghosts, babies, and scary stilt-walking tree people.
I was about to take another photo of him when he turned his face in our direction, but his glowing eyes made me scared that if I took that picture, he would steal my soul.
There are a few videos on YouTube about these guys. (Warning: Tourist Video. Turn the volume down before clicking.)
6 responses so far ↓
1 yo! lauren! // Jun 30, 2008 at 10:39 pm
i will never drive on washington again.
2 spiegs // Jul 1, 2008 at 10:18 am
as a new resident of venice beach, this was one of my first encounters with one of my neighbors this past weekend. although that leaf-clad freakshow totally scared the shit out of me, it brought back hazy memories of hippie music festivals without ever having to leave my ‘hood.
… love my new home.
3 keri // Jul 1, 2008 at 11:41 am
Welcome to Venice!
So…there is a purpose to the walking tree men, of course. I assumed it was an environmental awareness thing, and it is:
http://www.walkingtreeman.com/
I don’t know if there are a few walking tree guys (you tube has several videos) or if this guy was the original…but it is an interesting idea.
Still creepy though.
4 ariel // Jul 1, 2008 at 4:23 pm
i saw him for the first time about a month or two ago and WOW…took me back for a second. it seems like i see him all the time now. yeah, he may be creepy looking, but that’s what makes it fabulous. he seems harmless enough. i may be imagining this, but i could have sworn i saw him in a different costume one time, though.
5 jayfader // Jul 4, 2008 at 3:54 pm
oh this guy is not only scary, but he’s really rude to boot. Now he’s out on the bwalk, stilting for cash. also recently spotted walking up and down rose avenue.
6 personanongrata // Aug 15, 2009 at 4:35 pm
puhleeze….not scarey, not strange, just a really gifted performance artist…makes his own costumes…yes, he has been in different ones, such as a robot etc….the “walkingtreeman” website posted in this discussion is NOT him….the guy you saw is named Lionel Powell and can be contacted at LonePow@yahoo.com…he also has a webpage http://www.treemanshow.com …however, at the moment the only active part of it, the videos, are down….the guy is TREEmendously talented as a dancer, entertainer, costume designer etc….and, yes, he DOES accept tips…so did Charley Chaplin (who also used to work the boardwalk before his success), Eddy Cantor, etc etc etc…
he now has a storefront on the boardwalk called “The World’s Smallest Art Gallery”…can’t miss it…just north of Dudley pagoda…near Rose Ave…the doorway is trimmed in pink…check it out…tree ya later…..
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