Hurricane Florence made landfall on the coast of North Carolina early Friday morning as a downgraded Category 1 storm, but it was mighty nonetheless. Most residents had been advised to evacuate, even if it took convincing from a mildly terrifying Weather Channel green screen, and rescue efforts quickly went underway to help those who were trapped in rising waters from the massive storm surge.
In others words, most reasonable people, if able, attempted to get out of the storm’s path. And then, there’s Lane Pittman.
Pittman, who likes to refer to himself as “Florida Man,” traveled all the way from his home in Jacksonville Beach to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, so he could personally take on Florence—wearing nothing but a pair of blue shorts, holding the American flag and rocking out to Slayer’s “Raining Blood.”
Stupid? Reckless? Perhaps. But one could also argue that Pittman is the true American hero we need right now.
This wasn’t his first time in the spotlight, however, as Pittman went viral for pulling the same stunt in the middle of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and again for Hurricane Irma in 2017. His original “Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer” video has since been viewed more than 3.7 million times.
But this time, since the storm didn’t come to Pittman, he started a GoFundMe campaign to help him get to South Carolina—raising nearly $1,000 of his $150 goal.
Lol buy my gas/coffee and I’ll fight ol’ Flo in Charleston: https://t.co/AdTnmYkuAd via @gofundme
— Lane Pittman 🇺🇸 (@TheBigGuy904) September 13, 2018
“Pay for my gas/coffee and I’ll go fight Hurricane Florence,” he wrote, in the brief description, adding “MERICA BABY!!! We stick together.”
In addition to going viral on his own accord, the bro king also ran into cameras for the Fox Business Network while on his quest to take on Flo.
“You’re naked, and the audience wants to know … what is in your head to be in this weather right now, not wearing any clothes?” asked reporter Kristina Partsinevelos.
“Just being free and American, man,” Pittman responded, quite reasonably. “I don’t let anything oppress me, especially no dang-gone freakin hurricane.”
When asked if he was pulling the stunt to get famous or go viral, Pittman modestly told Partsinevelos, “Look, I’ve already been viral, you look up ‘hurricane headbanger’…” before chivalrously running after her hat when the wind blew it off her head.
Hey, if nothing else you have to give the guy credit for sticking to his #brand. Speaking of which, Pittman even has an Etsy shop where he sells T-shirts with his image emblazoned on them, in his full hurricane glory. ‘Merica indeed.
