USF bikeman has taken unlocked bicycles and scooters and put them in trees as a striking reminder to lock your transportation. ORACLE PHOTO / ELLIE FROST
I was simply passing by USF’s Castor Beach on my way to my dorm when a turquoise bicycle hanging from a tree branch made me stop in my tracks.
I thought it would be a one-time occurrence, but this suddenly became a common sighting across campus.
Look, seeing bikes and scooters hanging from trees like giant Christmas ornaments is hilarious at first. But imagine actually being the person who owns them.
You walk out of a two-hour lecture, you’re tired, you’re late and suddenly your only ride home is dangling six feet in the air. If you’re on the shorter side or just having a bad day, it is definitely not just a funny prank.
My first honest suspicion was that it was Spiderman. Like many USF students, I questioned who the real person behind the bikes was.
Until eventually I came across the @usfbikeman account on Instagram, whose first post was uploaded on Sept. 11 and showcased several videos of bikes and scooters placed in trees which were numbered and labeled as “victims.”
The account quickly gained a lot of attraction, drawing thousands of followers eager to see what was coming next.
The name behind this scheme is Owen Thompson, a freshman business analytics major, more popularly known online as the “USF bikeman.”
The USF Police Department can send us all the safety emails they want and even do events showing how to register and protect your belongings, but it took a guy putting unlocked scooters in trees for anyone on campus to actually talk about theft.
His methods were definitely not ideal, but he kind of proved a point. Traditional warnings just get ignored, and apparently, it takes a viral stunt for people to finally go buy a basic bike lock.
RELATED: Stolen e-scooter arrest puts spotlight on campus theft
Thompson describes his motivation sparking when he got his $500 scooter stolen not even a week into the start of this semester.
“I locked it up to the bike rack outside of Castor, and it got stolen that same day. And I didn’t even have time to register it or get an airtag on it or anything like that.”
Later on, he spotted an unlocked bike while on the phone. “I was like wait, should I mess with this person? Should I put it at a different bike lock or a rack area? Or should I just flip it up or something?” said Thompson.
After deciding to put it up onto a tree, he saw a USF student post about it on Yik Yak, a social media app that allows college students to communicate and post anonymously. Which immediately led him to the thought, “Wait, I should make an Instagram for this.”
At that moment he decided to start his account.
“I’m going to start trying to spread awareness for theft, because mine got stolen. So I want to try to make people aware of it,” Thompson said.
USFPD found this cause to be worth bringing attention to and even offered to be part of these videos in support of the message of theft prevention, Thompson said.
“I’ve talked to campus police and they agree with my movement. They like what I’m doing. They’ve even offered to be in a video,” he said.
RELATED: Here’s how USF Police can help recover your stolen bike, scooter
Victoria Eason, a freshman health sciences major, shares her takeaways from these acts as one of the many students who uses a scooter to get to class.
“I found it funny, and then I wondered how he or she managed to do all this in a span of time and not be caught in the act,” said Eason. “It really shows that you need to lock your bike up. I always lock my scooter up. I don’t play about that.”
USFPD involvement has taken place. The physical act of putting bicycles and scooters in trees has been formally asked to stop as it is seen as inappropriate.
After receiving a letter and speaking to the USF disciplinary officers, Thompson is now cleared as long as he doesn’t do it again.
“He said that it’s not that crazy of a thing. It’s not like I’m out here hurting people or stealing stuff. So I’m not in a ton of trouble. I’m on disciplinary probation,” he said.
That same week the letter got delivered, Thompson stopped posting videos to avoid further trouble. Now, he has begun posting videos again.
His latest video is of himself putting his own bicycle in the tree and stating “The latest victim is me.”
What added to this disciplinary action was actually something completely unrelated to the bikes. The window in the USF Pinnacle Hall was shattered and broken after Thompson accidentally punched through it.
“I think the main thing that I was getting in trouble for is that way, without the bikes. They said that if I do anything else, then I’m going to get kicked out, but for now I’m chill. It’s only $1,200 for the door,” said Thompson.
Although at first it seemed like a hilarious sight to see people’s transportation up in the air, I soon thought about the inconvenience of having to take your bike down from a tree after placing it in the rack it normally resides in.
Especially for those who might not even reach the height of the trees.
However, even though the days of putting bikes in trees are over, Thompson plans on continuing to grow his social media platform to bring awareness to this issue.
With over 4,500 followers and majority being USF students, he said he is considering offering free bike repairs and tuning to those who need it in the future. As college students who live in a shared space with thousands of other students, ensuring your property is secure should become a standard priority.
That is where the giveaways come into play. Thompson announced on his @usfbikeman account that he would be giving away free locks after reaching a certain number of followers. A simple item that some USF students haven’t been using.
We as students also have the ability to register our scooters and bikes in USFPD. By having an official university sticker on your transport, USF police can ensure they can identify your vehicle.
In this way if theft does occur, your property can be successfully recovered.
Amidst the craze of the past few weeks, Thompson points out one thing in specific that he has found to be the most astounding. The attention that this situation has brought him.
“It could literally happen to anyone. I didn’t know that it would be me. And obviously I’m not saying I’m some celebrity and I’m going to make a career out of this in any way. I know this will die out in a couple weeks, but I’ve had my five minutes of fame, and I wasn’t expecting it to ever happen,” said Thompson.
Putting a creative twist to this awareness campaign has left me thinking of the deeper message behind what at first seemed like a silly stunt.
In the final words by Thompson: “The USF bikeman is a villain, not a monster.”
At the end of the day, this whole situation says a lot about our student body. We shouldn’t need an Instagram account putting our rides in trees just to remember to lock our own belongings up.
So students, remember to lock your bikes, scooters, skates, and everything in between. By doing so, you’ll avoid theft and even the possibility of getting your mode of transport put up in a tree.