Here's a picture of the arm stilts without the jacket. These particular
arm stilts were made from a pair of wood crutches. I modified the hand grip
to pivot & twist. As the grips twisted, they moved a linkage bar up
at the foam hands. So, as you twisted the hand grips, the foam hands actually
waved. I got lots of laughts from these arm stilts.
THE STORY
This is Russel Wiley. He came to town to speak at our Macintosh Computer
User Group. As a member of the board of directors, I volunteered to pick
him up at the airport. When I brought him to my office and manufacturing
facility, he couldn't resist trying on some of my stilt stuff. After a few
minutes of trying on the Bigfoot Stilts (model #8) he was amazed how easy
my bending toe stilts were to master. After 10 minutes, Russel was wearing
the hat and the arms stilts too.
Russel was working for ProVUE Developement, makers of the excellent database
called Panorama. Later he went to work for Claris Software. Haven't hear
from him since. He has potential to be a circus performer.
I'm working at Bell's Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This couple, John & Leanne Zeigler III stopped by for a pose on July 4th. It seems like Stiltwalkers are a magnet for photos.
See the SkyRide in the background? I had a lot of fun with the arm stilts and this ride. At the beginning of the ride, before it increased in elevation above the park, I could actually reach the patrons legs and feet. By using both arms together, I could grab their shoes amd make them laugh and giggle.
Don't take this wrong, but the arms stilts allow you to grope total strangers and still be publically correct. It's because it's such a long extension away from the body & those big bulky foam hands. As situations arrived, I could touch total strangers anywhere, without offending them. Of course, being sensitive and in good taste is always important. But with the arm stilts, I could get away with being more touchy & feel-ly than without the arm extensions.
Also, with the arm stilts, I can sucessfully reach far away & tap people
on the shoulder and pull back fast enough, that some people never caught
on who was bugging them. It's always fun when other people get the blame,
ha.