A surfer bro prankster who previously called on a city council to erect a statue of Paul Walker now says that the late The Fast And The Furious actor should be honored with a giant Mount-Rushmore style monument.
‘Chad Kroeger’, whose real name is Tom Allen, on Tuesday petitioned the city council of San Clemente, California to consider his proposal to carve Walker’s giant visage into the San Clemente cliffs.
Kroeger, who shares his pseudonym with the lead singer of Nickelback, first petitioned the local body in March, when he asked the city to build a 12-foot statue of Walker.
‘Unfortunately division in our country has gotten worse since we last spoke,’ Kroeger said on Tuesday, alluding to the racial tensions surrounding monuments that have boiled over across the country.
Surfer bro Chad Kroeger on Tuesday petitioned the city council of San Clemente, California to consider his proposal to carve Walker’s giant visage into the San Clemente cliffs
Kroeger believes that the late actor Paul Walker could be an inspiring and uniting force for the nation. Walker (pictured in March 2009) died in a fiery crash on November 30, 2013
He was joined by sidekick J.T. Parr, who took up the mic after Kroeger’s time expired
‘The division made me bummed and I was worried I was going to stay bummed. What little bit of stoke I had in me made me watch the first drag race from “The Fast And The Furious” and my stoke meter filled right back up.
The bemused city council responded to Kroeger’s last plea with a one-foot-tall statue of Walker.
‘Paul was a giant among men, and a one foot statue is not gigantic enough to unify this nation. It’s obviously too small to create a global impact,’ Kroeger said.
He then unveiled his concept art for a 12-foot statue to go on the local pier. Two sketches showed Walker, one a large bust from the waist up and shirtless, the second full body and fully clothed.
‘Are you saying with legs or without legs?’ one city councilman asked.
‘With legs, I think preferably, and maybe Vans [shoes], or Converse,’ Kroeger replied.
The pair first present concept art of a shirtless Walker bust in the middle of the pier
A second artistic rendering appeared to confuse council members, who asked whether Kroeger proposed the statue with or without legs
The surfers unveiled their sketch of Walker’s face carved into the San Clemente cliffs to the laughter of the council members
Kroeger then ran out of time and called his bro J.T. Parr to the podium to present their grand vision.
‘One of the Dakotas has Mount Rushmore, we could have Mount Paul Walker,’ Parr said. ‘We really feel he could be a uniting force for the community.’
The surfers unveiled their sketch of Walker’s face carved into the San Clemente cliffs to the laughter of the council members.
Earlier this year, city councilman Tim Brown responded to Kroeger’s original proposal with a one-foot statue of Walker, which he says prompted him to return and up the ante.
‘We are huge fans,’ Allen told CBS Los Angeles. ‘We’re obviously playing characters. The dialogue is supposed to be comedic, but it comes from a real place.’
‘They really enjoy us, which is cool,’ he said. ‘They’re not annoyed – they were all sort of smiling, all the people there, too.’
In March, he told the council that the statue would serve as a ‘unifying figure’ in the ‘midst of gnarly times’.
Kroeger is seen in his first appearance before the San Clemente council in March. He told the council that the statue would serve as a ‘unifying figure’ in the ‘midst of gnarly times’
Bodhi Johnson (pictured), who shares the same name as Patrick Swayze’s character from Point Break, also made a speech that ended with him showing the council what the statue would look like by holding up a shirt
‘After interviewing hundreds of people, I’ve witnessed first hand the ever growing divide between Americans and families torn apart by political differences.
‘It’s in times like these we need a unifying figure we can all turn to, a beacon of headlights that can guide us down the dusty road,’ Kroeger told his audience.
Kroeger continued to say that ‘Paul’s onscreen legacy was unfortunately cut short’.
‘But that does not mean his impact on society must be cut short as well. Detroit has the Robocop. Philly has Rocky. We need Paul Walker. That is why I’m proposing that the city erect a 12-foot tall steel statue of Paul Walker on the pier.’
Kroeger was joined in March by, Bodhi Johnson, who coincidentally shared the same name as Patrick Swayze’s character from Point Break.
Johnson said the statue would pay tribute to the late Fast and the Furious star, whose ‘spirit encompasses what this town is all about’.
He told the council that he and Kroeger had been driving ‘to all the Council hangouts around SoCal trying to build the statue’.
The stunned council members had different opinions. One councilperson responded: ‘I’m a big fan of Paul Walker, don’t get me wrong, but… no. Sorry bro.’ While councilwoman Lori Donchak understood that the pair were trying to say ‘we need an inspiring figure’
Johnson told the council (pictured) that he and Kroeger had been driving ‘to all the Council hangouts around SoCal trying to build the statue’. And in fact they have. Earlier this month they presented the statue to the Burbank City Council using almost the exact same speeches
In his argument, Johnson said he’s ‘pretty sure Paul’s cousin went to St. Clemente High School, for at least for a couple semesters’, which would show that Walker had ties to the town.
The stunned council members had different opinions. One councilperson responded: ‘I’m a big fan of Paul Walker, don’t get me wrong, but… no. Sorry bro.’
While another member understood what the pair were trying to say.
‘Your point is we need an inspiring figure, and that’s a very powerful message, thank you for that,’ said Lori Donchak.
Johnson and Kroeger actually have been driving all over the area fighting for someone to install the statue.
According to 9 News the surfer bros made another impassioned plea to the Burbank City Council earlier this year, using almost the exact same speeches.