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  • benenglish

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    Community activist? Father figure? Puh-leeeze.

    How does he pay his bills?
    Notice that he included his phone number in the video. His "merch" is prominent in the video. Given sufficient, successful attention devoted to creating a brand, sales of t-shirts and other disposable crap can begin to pay the bills. Once someone has become famous for being famous (famous enough to be sought out for featuring in a short documentary film, for example), appearance fees can begin to come in. And you know there are people who look on him as either homeless or "doing good and should be supported" who simply give him cash.

    I'm not saying he's not on the dole. I'm simply saying that, like youtube personalities and some other folks who have hooked into the new media in creative ways, he may have diverse revenue streams that are not obvious to old farts like me.
     

    benenglish

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    I didn't notice any of that Ben, lol....
    Phone number is at 01:23. He's wearing his branded t-shirts in most of the video. It's entirely possible that that smartphone on his bicep is the locus of a thriving social-media-based business. Listen to the guy talk; he's smart enough to make his efforts pay.

    And it's also possible that he makes his money in nefarious ways. I really have no idea.
     

    benenglish

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    Thanks, Southpaw.

    According to that second link...

    James has drawn a few sponsorships from local businesses, and his "Power of Hope" movement even has backing from The Way to Happiness Foundation, ... They offered support, he accepted, with the goal of promoting "Power of Hope."

    ...he's managed to pull in at least some money without really trying. Somewhere, he managed to get the money to get those t-shirts made, a point that the article doesn't address. While this article goes on to say he "lacks...business savvy", in this article: Rundberg Running Man entertains traffic as he gets a workout | www.austin360.com he tells the interviewer:

    "Don't forget my world-class signature gloves," he says, yanking them on. "This completes the Running Man swag..."

    So he's pimping his swag, usually in a very low-key way, pretty much every time we see him in the media. (Yes, I realize the gloves may not bear his logo and that he might have been speaking generically but the t-shirts with the logo are obviously his.) Add to that 234K followers on his Facebook page and the fact that he's done this same shtick in 3 other cities and I have to imagine he's managed to come up with at least a reasonable facsimile of a business plan.

    I'm willing to guess that he's eking out an income from his notoriety. It may not be large (and, tellingly, I can't find any place online to purchase his swag) but it's a sure bet he's at least partially monetized his street corner antics.
     
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