This may surprise you how can a homeless destitute who doesn’t even have enough food and clothing to comfort himself is one of the leading brand name these days? Yes this 56 year old homeless man who spends his days dancing on roller skates on streets is the newest style icon. Robertson Boulevard, West Los Angeles’ trendiest shopping corridor, has had John Wesley Jermyn as its fixture for more than 20 years now. Probably nicknamed after the street as ‘The Crazy Robertson’ and ‘The Robertson Dancer’ now has a clothing label named after him. The clothing brand “The Crazy Robertson” has T-shirts and sweatshirts, created by a trio of 23 year olds, featuring stylized images of Jermyn, including one design available for $98( that has a graphic of him dancing and the phrase “No Money, No Problems” on the back). This brand sells at the largest of Kitson’s three boutiques on Robertson, alongside famous brands like ‘Victoria Beckham’ jeans and baby shoes designed by pop star Gwen Stefani.
MySpace page created by the owners for Mr. Jermyn doubles as an ad for the clothing brand and their nightclub-promotion venture, which is also named ‘The Crazy Robertson’. The young entrepreneurs spent months trying to build a relationship with Mr. Jermyn and have also consulted him on design decisions and have a photographer shoot him for publicity images. All this entitles Jermyn to 5% of net profit from clothing sales, which he prefers to be paid in food, liquor and paper for his art projects. But according to Jermyn’s sister, Beverly (who has made countless attempts to provide him with shelter and therapy and still visits him twice a week with food) believes that the brand founders are re exploiting her brother’s condition to build their brand.
I think these guys saw an opportunity and they took it. I am not happy with the arrangement.
But Mr. Hirsh and Vic Ackerman, one of the other founders of the clothing line, who view Jermyn as a business partner and make sure he’s aware of how his image is being used, are very sensitive to Ms. Jermyn’s concerns about her brother and clarified:
Mr. Jermyn specifically asked them not to contact her about the clothing line or the contract.
Raised in Hancock Park, a historic L.A. neighborhood that’s home to some of the city’s wealthiest families, Jermyn’s father managed one of L.A.’s largest Chevrolet dealerships. For the record, he has been arrested more than a dozen times since 1986 for violations such as trespassing and jaywalking. In the past he roamed throughout Beverly Hills and West L.A. but now most of his skating takes place near Robertson Boulevard. At Kitson’s boutiques the first shipment of ‘Crazy Robertson’ women’s clothes sold out in three days. According to owner Fraser Ross:
Many of the online buyers were not from Los Angeles and presumably not familiar with Mr. Jermyn, he says. The brand may have appeal beyond L.A. because its name includes ‘Robertson’ which like Rodeo Drive is a destination associated with glamorous shopping.
Well keeping in his sisters concern for her defenseless brother we really hope that the man doesn’t gets exploited in the process but in turns gains and becomes the next big style icon.
Via: Wsj
