A Colorado Legend: Air Guitar Man

I grew up in Arvada, but my old stomping grounds involved cruising the loop around the Westminster Mall as soon as I turned 16. I have fond memories of the Westminster and Thornton areas, and one of the highlights involves a man who walks everywhere and plays the air guitar. The first memory I have of him was seeing him jam out while I was driving west on 92nd Ave. The man looked like he was playing for a sold-out crowd at Red Rocks, all the while walking to wherever he was going. There was some serious multitasking going on. If you have ever seen him, you know exactly what I am talking about.

A few years passed since my first sighting of Air Guitar Man and hundreds of passing air guitar solos later, it was time for me to move on. Life has a way of taking you to places you've never thought you'd be, but you somehow end up there. Numerous cross-country moves took me to the West Coast, Gulf Coast, East Coast and back to the West Coast again before finally returning me home in 2015. Every time that my wife and I would come back for a visit, we would see Air Guitar Man and he would make us smile. We would throw up the "rock fist" at him and smile. Occasionally he would smile back, but more often than not, he would be too deep into a solo to notice.

Last night while scrolling through Facebook, a post caught my eye. An old high school friend by the name of Crystal posted a video of The Legend of Air Guitar Man. The short video answered a couple of questions about Air Guitar Man that I have always wondered about throughout the years. What was his name? Was he ever in a band? Why is he always walking? Air Guitar Man's name is Clark and he was a member of two bands in the past. Clark has never driven a car and has no desire to do so, as his wife and two sons were killed in a car accident. You might have some nostalgic feelings when watching the video as I did, or it might shed light on the rockin' walkin' man if you live in the area. Either way, I couldn't be more happy to stumble upon this short documentary.

Whenever I see Clark - Air Guitar Man, which I know will be soon, I'll do what I always do when I spot him... Throw him the rock fist as I am driving past and say rock on, brother.