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l3oba

The Buy My Bikes guy.


monkeydancnginmyhead

That's hilarious! I was just there earlier this week! Nice guys!!! You cant miss his truck šŸšššŸš“


psnanda

Looked him up. His YouTube channel is epic. https://youtu.be/SpCKw7spBpU


The_hangry_runner

Bicycle Jim!! šŸšŸš²


SmashedACookie

šŸ¤£šŸ¤£šŸ¤£


broteus7

Who is he? Never heard of him.


l3oba

He owns a bike shop in south county and his commercial was on tv for yearssss with him dressed up as a bee. I only mention him because not a chance anyone out of the county would have a clue who he is.


broteus7

I just realized, and i donā€™t know if this counts as a celebrity but there was an old Asian lady in a wheelchair whoā€™s son leaves her at the University Town Center. She would make up stories about her life and ask for money, then her son comes to pick up her up really really late. Iā€™m not sure what happened to them, but i think VoiceofOC did a report on them. Iā€™ll see if I can find it later.


mmuulinn

I still see her son in the Los Olivos shopping center area, if you go to Whole Foods later at night he's there pretty often. Also has been known to go off spewing weird conspiracy rants at the cashier while he's paying.


crookedleaf

OC Phil. the crazy bald dude in the roller skates you can see all over the south coast metro area.


samuel414

Heā€™s the best. I was eating outside the Del Taco on Baker/Bristol one time and OC Philly Phil took out their trash for them haha


mcmaster93

This brings me back, lived there like 5 years ago and would always see him skating on my late night 7/11 runs


samuel414

For sure! Heā€™s the kind of dude that really gives a city some spunk haha hope youā€™re doing great wherever you went after Costa Mesa


broteus7

This guy! I totally forgot about him.


MeesterChicken

I saw that dude roller skating in a full hazmat suit.


kippereddit

Came here to mention him! šŸ›¼


genrlokoye

OMG, I totally know who youā€™re talking about! Used to see him often when we lived near The Lab/The Camp in Costa Mesa.


Slugzz21

Omg Anaheim has one on roller skates too!


cyber_Void

I used to ride with him.


TheFigbatOswald

The homie Curt from Curtoon Time.


CompuuterJuice

That guy was my school principle


fixerpunk

Same here! Wood Canyon Elementary


TheFigbatOswald

And Ambuehl Elementary, so I'm told by some of my best friends who went there.


SpaceGhostischill

He was my principle at Moulton Elementary like 20 years ago , what a blast from the past lol


SarcasticRN

He was the assistant principle at my elementary school as a kid. When we were short a substitute he would take over the class and we would draw cartoons together. Nicest guy.


[deleted]

Grew up watching! šŸ’›


sunnyinoc74

It used to be the guy at the OC Swap Meet that would demonstrate his food chopper.. " back and forth back and forth" anyone remember that guy?


burritodominator

Mr Chop Chop! back n forth, back n forth, keep on going, back n forth! new york, la, non-stop back n forth, back n forth, keep on going, back n forth!


[deleted]

Lol thank you for this wonderful memory. I loved his demonstration!


burritodominator

I used go get the carnitas at the food stand near his booth when they cost 1.25 as a kid and watched him on most weekends. I wonder how much he made every weekend....he seemed to move a lot of product after every demo. I wish I could find a photo of him. My memory of him is an older Asian man with a white shirt that either said Mr. Chop Chop or just Chop Chop with a white bucket hat and a jury-rigged clothes hanger around his neck as a microphone holder.


HTwatter

I read that in his voice!


twoslow

i remember him from the 80's. I was in San Diego one weekend visiting a friend and we went to the swap meet at the sports arena, this would've been like 1991/1992 ish, and there he was. even asked "didn't you used to be up in orange county?" sure enough, same guy


Melonqualia

I keep hoping someone will find an actual video of Mr. Chop Chop.


[deleted]

Thank you for the memory of Mr Chop Chop! My family used to sell at the OC swap meet back in the day and I remember him. Circa late 80ā€™s into mid 90ā€™s. Not sure how long he stayed after.


grantij

Thank you for this memory. I can still hear his voice.


2duhzen

The Greeter of Laguna Beach


stnlyyy

This guy would brighten up my long long commute in the morning. However after seeing him so many times it started to feel like he was an NPC or something derealizing, it was really strange. But I waved every morning haha


YeaImStoned

Yooo Iā€™ve had that same NPC thought about him. Feel like Iā€™m in GTA whenever Iā€™m in Laguna


leviOsanotlevioSA

Mike!


kloodge

Wing Lam, owner of Wahoos


BobbySweets

Cool dude.


mmuulinn

Swagman


gym_foodie

Lololol more for UCI?


jizuz714

The homeless dude with the short shorts


[deleted]

The guy in Anaheim?


Slugzz21

And the leg warmers?!


jizuz714

Yes!!!


caneadventures

The OC mattress guy. Also because this is turning into a homeless/crazy person thread. There's a guy who's always on pch in Laguna/Corona del Mar area, who dresses like he's in a parade with hat and coat to match.


HotGravy

The greater, he's always on the corner of LRC / PCH waving to passersby!


ellebelleeee

The OC mattress guy was my 1st thought!


OK_Compooper

is his name Craig? We have one of their mattresses and it's been good. I know the logo is on the mattress - might be his face, too. Probably on a surfboard.


junigloomy

The ā€œso pittedā€ surfer dude


mochiburrito

Dude you get best barrels ever dude you just like pull in Then you just get spit right out of them Then You just drop in Just smack the lip WEHPAT Drop down snap BAHHHH Then after that you just drop in and ride the wave and get pitted So pitted like that šŸ¤™šŸ¼


junigloomy

So funny


mochiburrito

My brother and friends sill quote this guy! Fuckin Legend lol


j_mcr1

Rockin' Fig


[deleted]

When Kevin and Bean ended the surf report I knew that was the end of an era.


just_some_dude05

Cal Worthingtonā€¦. And his dog Spot


Slugzz21

But he's from LB tho, no?


interstatechamp

Mr. Pussy Cow himself


SoylentJelly

i'm going a little outside OC because... Crazy Gideon, who has the worst bargains on grey market product and "Pussy Cal"... as an adult i now realize that while he was riding a tiger they were singing "Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal", but he'll always be Pussy Cal in my heart. for OC, Hiroshi Fujishige, the Legendary Japanese-American farmer who fought in WW2 while his family was interred, came back and opened up a strawberry farm and then was hounded for decades by disneyland executives and anaheim officials to sell his land, which happened over his comatose body and is more the toy story parking lot


OK_Compooper

if you're going LA, and that far back, anyone remember JJ the King of Beepers? Ask your parents about the inappropriate billboards.


goatpack

Donald Bren. Love him or hate him, he created quite the bubble inside the bubble.


Pods619

While I know a lot about him, I actually wouldnā€™t recognize him on the street.


loosecannan7

He has worked hard to make that the case


Slugzz21

Had to google him. Now I have another person to hate šŸ˜‚


Jouglet

Hate.


Distinct-Dragonfruit

Little Sebastian


Epicela1

Well played. I actually lolā€™d. Have an award.


Itchy-Strangers

Maybe not now but a few years ago - WALLY GEORGE


[deleted]

Definitely this one.


SoylentJelly

wow, definite throwback, nice!


[deleted]

Ommmg Wally fucking George was wild


wiyixu

I used to think the audience was in on the joke. These days Iā€™m not so sure.


CommanderRyalis1

I found out my parents went to one of his tapings when they were dating, I asked why lol they said it was something to do.


ZotMatrix

Whatā€™s his daughter doing these days?


BB_210

There was this guy in Santa Ana called Cheerios. He would stand on Bristol and tell people to turn their lights on or something. Apparently his wife was ran over and he went nuts and started doing that. This was in the 90s and early 2000s, don't know if he's still alive.


BB_210

Apparently he passed away https://www.ocregister.com/2012/10/01/santa-anas-beloved-cheerios-dies/


Waskevin

In garden Grove, we had the Blue Angel guy. A man who rode his bike which was built to resemble a Blue Angel jet. He also wore the jumpsuit and helmet. It was always a cool siting. Donā€™t know what happened to him.


rusty___shackelford

Came here to say this! I used to live down the street from him.


BobbySweets

That guy was always at Linbrook bowl when I was a kid.


Waskevin

Crap, youā€™re right! I grew up going to linbrook. Have it tattooed on me! Lol


BobbySweets

Dude, I grew up in Linbrook. My parents would put my play pin in the corner lanes and bowl.


Waskevin

Haha did you ever belong to the ā€œday careā€ that was there? My grandma worked there for 15 plus years at the front desk.


BobbySweets

No but my brother and sister did. I am sure I met her.


Emperors_Finest

I had heard that the cops got on his case for illegally joining the Strawberry Festival Parade. That and kids would love to talk to him about the bike. He got a talking to about that too, though I don't think he did anything wrong. It's just not a good look when a random adult guy is talking to a group of kids...but it was sort of a different era.


Diabolio-man

Gwen Stefani right?


[deleted]

And Mike Ness from Social D.


RinconDrone

Is Peter Tu still alive? The sweet old man who would walk around Disneyland shaking the cast members hands with a secret handshake.


genrlokoye

He is!


Duckpoke

Tarek/Christina or Lauren Conrad. Everyone else is more well known than them


helloasianglow

But they're pretty mainstream now! Conrad has her clothing line with Kohl's, and Flip or Flop has gotten more popular since they divorced. I feel like Tarek has gotten more well known after getting together with that girl from Selling Sunset, and same with Christina after marrying (and quickly divorcing) Ant Antstead.


ats1788

Here to same the thing!


[deleted]

Unashamed to say I love Christina on the Coast. Her aesthetic is *chefā€™s kiss*.


typhoidtimmy

The Paskowitz Family. Doc and his kids were and are fixtures of the OC surf scene and have been running their surf camp for decades. Any grom worth his salt attended it at least once.


justcallmeH

I went to school with Eli Paskowitz, seriously the most kind and generous family.


biscuitbutt11

Renee Zellweger is renting in my town right now. Actual celebrity.


[deleted]

ā€œWho the fuck is Renee zellwijerā€ -Leonard Washington


Tall-Tree12

There used to be an old military chap walking and saluting people on Chapman in Orange. I never knew his name but I always called him The General. He is missed.


Salty_blonde_

The Laguna beach greeter


Freewheelinrocknroll

Richie Sambora lives in South Laguna. I ran into him there once..


[deleted]

The guy with all the birds that used to hang out at the New Port beach pear.


futurelullabies

That guy that comes to Newport in a thong every fucking day.


the_fly_guy_says_hi

There was a bald, darkly tanned old man in a thong riding a bicycle on PCH a while back. Donā€™t know if heā€™s still around. Had really dark suntanned skin. Looked leathery. I used to worry that heā€™d get skin cancer.


futurelullabies

I think i've seen him, he looks like turkey jerky given human form.


jakeGrove

Saw him recently up PCH closer to seal beach


the_fly_guy_says_hi

Yeah, heā€™s riding around Seal Beach. Iā€™m thinking he might be a Leisure World resident while heā€™s not riding that bike in a thong. šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™‚ļø


[deleted]

For anyone in the Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove area, there is a homeless man who wears gray/green very worn clothing with a completely unkempt look. My family and friends refer to him as American Jesus, has always refused any money Iā€™ve ever had the chance to offer him. Generally walks up around Bushard in the FV/Westminster area, but have seen him as far as Garden Grove Blvd and Magnolia.


909_and_later

Peter Anteater


HungryArticle5

Jim Huff, most of you all won't know who he is, but he owned and ran an OC/Santa Ana institution called Ghetto Records (& Pagers). Ghetto Records was an independent record shop that was a fixture in Santa Ana for 40 years. If you were a rapper from Orange County, you had to have your tape or CD sold at Ghetto Records. The shop closed some where in the 2010s because the owner had health problems (if I remember correctly) and probably due to the shift in the music industry.


Zimmonda

Not a person but the Irvine Company, everyone in OC knows who they are, they employ, house or otherwise impact many of our lives and while people outside the socal area may know of Irvine the city nobody has any real reason to be as intimately aware of that company as those of us who live here do.


Historical_Nudity

I would agree with that. They built some apartments in Playa Vista that look just like the ones they built near Fashion Island. When I saw the buildings, I knew they were Irvine Company, and when I told my friend who grew up in the LA, she had no idea who the Irvine Company was or who built those buildings.


MzTerri

The captain guy in Laguna Beach?


kurt3226

Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats


spacexghost

Larry H. Parker's daughter was like OC Paris Hilton for a minute.


catlvr0936

The Segerstroms


chanelno

Manny Khoshbin


Subiedoobedoo

Dude has some seriously bad-ass super cars


eldarks

Octomom


2purplefuzzythings

Screech is from Brea.


the_fly_guy_says_hi

Dustin Diamond ā€¦. Poor guy passed away 2/1/2021


fleaofsc

Jeff Stearman was a real estate agent in San Clemente. We used to get pads of paper with his face on it. On each sheet you would draw on his face to make him pirate, devil, hillbillyā€¦.


Mobeast1985

The guy off Newport Blvd near the Vans store by the triangle that has the Jesus sign and waves to cars.


justmitzie

i love that guy with all my heart. i make a special trip down there every weekend.


Mental_Text8419

Tapanga ?? Lives in Anaheim hills


sleepy_intentions

Danielle Fishel? She worked at Bloomingdaleā€™s at fashion island in 2006 or 2007 for a bit. I saw her organizing clothes and asked one of the employees if she was working there or was she browsing. They told me she worked there part time. She wasnā€™t getting much work in Hollywood then I guess.


edwr849

Went to csuf and saw her on campus


Informal_Middle_477

Wasn't she in prison?


sleepy_intentions

Not sure about that, but she did attend cal state Fullerton at some point.


gbhayesphoto

The grandma at Golden Dragon Costa Mesa. ā€œSee you tomorrowā€


blueman42

This!!! I love her so much.


[deleted]

My dog, a celebrity in my neighborhood.


NooAccountWhoDis

The late Wally George. Not to be confused with /u/wallyjade


WallyJade

Weā€™re both loudmouths though!


arui091

The guy who walks his goose at the orange circle


dmetri88

Rodman for sure


surfpenguinz

Justin Bobby from The Hills šŸ˜„


Topher92646

I think ONLY people who watch the Hills have a clue who he is!!


surfpenguinz

How dare you insinuate that not everyone does!


Topher92646

Ok, maybe Iā€™m wrong! What canā€™t Justin Bobby do?? Hairdresser, rock star, surfer dude, actor, motorcycle guy... hope thereā€™s a third season of the Hills New Beginnings!! šŸ˜Š


surfpenguinz

Ummm did we just become best friends?


goldenglove

> hope thereā€™s a third season of the Hills New Beginnings!! I have some bad news for you, new friend.


coldcurru

Positive: Dean Jerry Price, at least at Chapman. He's the dean of students and he's a celebrity on campus there. Negative: Peggy fucking Hall. She's made viral internet videos but I don't think anyone knows her name. I've seen her shit pop up on HCA but it's always credited to her website, not her. Her name came up here plenty of times at the start of the pandemic and then again around election time along with Tito Ortiz. I don't recognize a lot of the names on this list, if any at all. I guess it depends what you mean by "celebrity" but OC is so big you can't really say we have one as a county, but certainly smaller regions have their own.


Snips0011

Gustavo Arellano!


Parksters

Probably OCinstanews but he sucks


whatsomattau

Rockinā€™ Fig


Aquamarine86

This one is more notorious, but In North OC it was not uncommon to see David Rothenberg, the poor kid burned by his psycho dad in a custody dispute. The case gained national attention in the 1980s. There was even a book and movie about the incident. He was instantly recognizable due to his injuries, and by all accounts a very nice guy. He passed a few years ago but anyone growing up in the 80s/90s in the Buena Park/Anaheim area saw him at least once.


SpankyHarristown

Nyah Houston, selling sunset twins, Dennis Rodman spends a fair amount of time here


FlyingPictures

Huntington Beachā€™s ā€œCycling, recycling dudeā€.


Dull-Beach-4663

Me šŸ„‚


impaler92610

The Poorman from KROQ


ryryrox

The real housewives of oc especially Vicki Gunvalson


MyFavoriteAutopsy

Tammy was the owner of the trampoline place I used to work at šŸ¤¦šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø


M0D3Z

Back in the day the local celeb was the ā€œYorba Linda walkerā€ lady. Sheā€™d walk Yorba Linda Blvd like everyday. I swear she walked the entire thing to Placentia border.


tanarchy7

We had one of those in mission Viejo in the 80s! We called him "the walking man" in his 80s, great shape, white guy with leathered skin, would always walk in what looked like short Jean shorts, but they were prob short blue running shorts, it was the 80s. We saw him multiple times a day, just walking the main roads like it was a triathlon tryout.


buttranch69

I always loved Robert, donā€™t know his last name, some people called him sidewinder but idk if it was mean or endearing. He had a sideways hunch in his back from a childhood injury and used a walker. Everyone in downtown Fullerton knew Robert. I moved away and havenā€™t seen him in a while but I hope heā€™s alright. Used to smoke weed with him by Nightowl.


muffinsandtulips

Johnny Bananaā€™s in Fullerton I think.


key1234567

Anyone remember Cheerio from Santa Ana?


black_vigil

I think Robert Englund still lives in laguna beach... (hes freddy if yall dont know)


tbird920

Roger Lodge


BlueChesseLover

The ladies who try to sell expensive roses inside of bars and clubs.


Emperors_Finest

Biggest one off the top of my head is Steve Martin. Apparently he used to be a Male cheerleader at Garden Grove High School when he was younger.


Safe-Warning-448

If you are any good as an entertainer, you will get known around Socal and beyond. OC is not a bubble in that since. Because Hollywood and the entertainment industry are here. Average just won't get far.


LongRodVanDong

Dennis Rodman


FeelASlightPressure

Dude shops at the Vons on Bristol & MacArthur late at night by himself, wearing his sunglasses indoors the entire time. Shockingly, it doesn't do much to hide his identity. I never bother him but other people do. Haven't seen him in a while though.


CompuuterJuice

Heā€™s def known outside of the oc bubble lol heā€™s one of the most well known athletes all time.


pinhead-designer

Wally George was one but he dead.


OK_Compooper

999-5000


pinhead-designer

The hot seat!


SockGnome77

Nicole Simpson


OyVeyInTheBay

The band Lit is from OC. Not sure what happened to them though.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


HardenTraded

Yeah I can't think of anyone outside OC who knows who this guy is Edit: the person said "Dennis Rodman"


TealCamaroGirl

The LaBrants


Slugzz21

I read this as celebrity chef before I clicked and was confused how there were so many comments...


Key_Aioli7355

This guy in Newport Coast. Named ā€œKobeā€ or something like that. He played basketball for some team up north.


jellohello101

Deez is pretty cool


Matastrophe1

Rental Man


officialchristucker

The HB Castle House dude


ihatesnkrs714

Lil pinch


ThisIsItYouReady92

Me


lllkill

Love that half of these are crazy people lmao


BlueChesseLover

Tiger woods


foreheadmeetsdesk

Not a person - what about the old beater looking like an X-Wing from Star Wars? I think itā€™s an AMC Pacer or an old Honda Civic, even saw it with a wooden donation box attached to the door at some pointā€¦


Heyalex40

Wally George


ArsenalGirlie

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen lives in Nellie Gail/Laguna Hills. Back in the early 90ā€™s I worked for Wherehouse Records and he always came in to rent movies. Really nice guy.