16 Nov 6th-Nov 12th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | relevant. But yeah, I focused on just filming and working on these two movies that I made. I finished my second one last January. And ever since then, especially after me and my ex-wife split, that’s when I’ve been going out at least a couple nights a week and doing big (Penis Man tags) and on rooftops and shit. That’s been my thing, climbing up on the rooftops. I’ve been trying to come back with a vengeance, as dorky as that sounds. How do you decide where to tag? I’ve been trying to pick places that are high-traffic, high-volume, so people will definitely see it, which requires obviously more risk and more planning. Another thing I do is I’ll take old shoes and write “Penis Man” on the soles and I’ll throw them up on telephone wires. There’s a pair in Tempe that’s been up probably about two years now next to the train tracks. And they always have signs by the tracks that say “look” really big. And right next to look or under it or something I wrote the word up. So when you’re standing there, you look up where the shoes are. And then someone I know fucking stole the sign and they’re like, “Oh, I got this as a memento for you.” And I’m like, “Dude, you just ruined part of the fucking art piece.” What about Penis Man being embraced as a folk hero kind of thing? So when I started doing it, I knew it was either going to make people laugh or piss people off. And I was right about both of those. At least in Tempe, it seems to be mostly favorable, but when it gets posted somewhere outside of this area, it seems to be kind of like 50/50. People think it’s fucking stupid and then people think it’s awesome. And with it going viral on Twitter and Reddit and stuff, that defi- nitely helps with people outside of this area when they see it. That’s why I try to travel as much as I can and do it in other states and countries. There was one person on the internet who told me that, “I actually love seeing the tags and me and my kids will drive around and take turns pointing ‘em out. It’s like a game for us now. My kids laugh and giggle every time I see a new one. It brings us together as a family.” I was like, “Holy shit.” It’s insane how something seemingly so childish and immature and vulgar can do things like that. Why did you agree to be interviewed? I was not sure what to expect going into this interview. For some reason I thought I was about to make a bunch of stuff up to be funny, but I either choked or felt bad about doing that. I don’t want people to think I’m a kook, but as long as I’m being honest and not trying to act like I’m cooler than I really am, then I won’t be a kook. And that’s what I have always known. But sometimes I just get paranoid because I’ve been to fucking jail and it fucking sucks, and I don’t want to fucking spend any more time there. And now that I’m being a little more honest, I actually did get fucking arrested a couple months ago for doing graffiti. And the cop asked me, he’s like, “So you’re the real Penis Man, huh?” And I just immediately said, “No, I’m a copycat.” And the other (cop) goes, “Oh, yeah, they arrested the real one, huh?” I was like, “Yeah, they arrested the real one, Dustin Shomer. Yeah, that was the real guy.” So I actually got to use that defense in real life. It helped me because I only got charged for the one (tag) they caught me doing and I got a fucking diversion, so I barely got a fucking slap on the wrist. Any other fibs you want to de-fib? Being afraid of death. It was part of that, but a very minor part. And that’s the reason why I write books too, at least I’ve written two books and I’ve published and self- published writing is because if I were to get hit by a fucking bus tomorrow, my writing, my words, my voice, I’d still live on through that. I’m not saying I’m ready to die or anything, but I’m not afraid of living. I don’t feel like my life would’ve been mean- ingless if I were to die tomorrow and look back on it in afterlife or whatever you want to call it. Read an expanded version of the inter- view on phoenixnewtimes.com. A Penis Man tag on a now-defunct Circle K in July. (Lindsey Cure) Talking Head from p 15
