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Published on: 4/3/2003
Last Visited: 11/15/2007
Matt Collins gets loads of attention as a human ad
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BRENTWOOD - Taking up his post on one corner of the busy Brentwood intersection, Matt Collins pops a peppy dance tape in his Sony Walkman and cranks up the decibels.
"I need music with energy ...I need some really strong music to see me through," he explains.
He reaches for the tool of his trade, a giant yellow arrow emblazoned with "Shadow Lakes" in fire engine-red letters.
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"It's a weird skill, but I can admit that I'm the best there is at it," Collins says.
It's a mindless job that can send lesser mortals into a boredom-induced coma, but he turns it into a performance that has passersby doing double-takes.
Grasping his 6-foot-long plastic sign, he begins his shtick with a deep lunge.
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When a light changes from red to green, Collins points and beckons to oncoming cars with the dramatic flair and authority of a Times Square traffic cop.
As drivers draw abreast he greets them with a formal-looking, right-wristed rotation of the hand he's dubbed his "Lady Di" wave.
Now and then Collins even plays a little air guitar with the sign.
And like any actor, his reward is the audience's response.
Smiles, waves and honks are the usual currency -- Collins' genial personality tends to bring out drivers' better side -- but he's received other tokens of appreciation as well.
Collins was working in Pleasant Hill earlier this year when a pedestrian stopped to give him $1, and others have brought him beers and sodas.
But that's not all Collins gets.
Over the course of a weekend he typically will receive a one-fingered salute, and on occasion motorists even have tossed empty fast-food containers at him.
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"If I get a reaction, good or bad, I feel I've done my job," Collins says."I'm more bothered if I don't get a reaction."
Getting noticed
Collins began impersonating a billboard in February 1996 to make some extra money during a temporary layoff from his government job.
He saw an ad for a company that was looking for "human directionals" to advertise real estate and decided it might be a pleasant alternative to his sedentary desk job, a chance to listen to heavy-metal tapes as much as he liked without a boss breathing down his neck.
"I thought it was the perfect antidote," Collins says.
Within two weeks he was on the street swinging a sign for a Kaufman and Broad development.
Although Collins admits he felt a little foolish at first, the self-consciousness quickly wore off.
So, too, did the novelty.
About 11/2 hours into his shift that first day Collins already was checking his watch and thinking he better buy a portable tape player to help him pass the time.
After a few months Collins was developing his style and had started getting appreciative comments from real estate agents and others in the business of selling homes.
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After returning to his day job, Collins continued the weekend gigs, and seven years later he's a veritable dinosaur in a business where high turnover is a given.
Through winter rains and summer heat, he has stayed on the streets when others have bailed.
It's all a matter of perspective, he says, recalling the weeks of drills he had to do after enlisting in the Navy.
"If I can go through boot camp, I can easily go through a day doing this," Collins says."Five hours of holding a sign is nothing."
Although he makes $16 per hour, he seems to enjoy the limelight as much as the paycheck.
The self-described former "geek" who often appeared in high school plays has found another outlet for his theatrics.
"I feel like an ambassador," Collins says.
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