http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=1013635 'Thong Man' leaves his inhibitions behind By Mary Moreno San Antonio Express-News Web Posted : 06/18/2003 12:00 AM It seems that the black thong was too restrictive for Joseph Gottschalk. On Tuesday evening, the 52-year-old man, who recently gained notoriety for riding his bicycle around his South Side neighborhood in only a black thong, was arrested for stripping down to a sack. While the thong covered the body parts required by law, the genitals and anus, the tan bag around his genitals left his anus exposed, according to a police report. "He sat off of the bike seat and exposed his anus to the vehicles behind him," the arresting officer stated in his report. Gottschalk not only shed his minimalist riding suit, he expanded his route to Broadway, nearly nine miles from his Pennystone Avenue home. Police arrested him at Broadway and Appler after receiving "numerous complaints by people who flagged me down stating that they saw a male ride a bike naked." Gottschalk was still in custody late Tuesday. His bond was set at $100. Gottschalk received international media attention after the San Antonio Express-News wrote of his habit of riding around Southside Lions Park. Last month "Thong Man" was named grand marshal of a parade of thong-wearers vying for free Spurs playoff tickets. In an interview the day of the parade, Gottschalk wore a flesh-colored thong and said he was pushing beyond his neighborhood. "I am riding all over the place," he said. "I am getting bolder." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- mmoreno@express-news.net 06/18/2003
local radio station Mix 96.1 set up a booth at The Alamodome to collect funds for his bail money yesterday. and, yes, the *spurs celebration was at the The Alamodome last night!
<I>Melissa, [wheeling out Jerry's bicycle]: "OK, Jerry. I fixed that bike." Jerry: "Oh. That wasn't really necessary. I don't ride it. It's just for show." Melissa, [crouching down next to the bike]: "I should really clean those bearings. Hold this. Look at all that gunk." Jerry: "Please don't crouch." Melissa: "Ouch! Caught my skin." Jerry: "Oh, that's bad. Especially that area." Melissa: "You got anything to snack on?" Jerry: "Uhh..." Melissa, [grabbing the pickle jar and straining to open it]: "Oh, pickles! Unnhhhh! It's a tough one." Jerry: "Look, please stop! Let me help you with that!" Melissa, [finally opening the jar]: "Unnnnh! Oooh. That's gonna leave a welt. Look at that." Jerry, [leaving the room]: "I can't. I can't look anymore. I-I-I've seen too much." </I>
It is just a coincidence that when they show a picture of this guy, there is an asterisk over his over his privates?
RM95, codell beat you on that one. I, unfortunately, was driving in to work and miss the opportunity.
This is very sad. I think after David Robinson and Tim Duncan, Thong Man was San Antonio's best known citizen. I wonder if he is going to be buried in his thong, it only seems like the right thing to do.
RIP, Thong Man. one of my co-workers just saw Thong Man a few days ago. dude was riding around on his bike wearing nothing but a flesh colored sock. a wee, little sock, but a sock nonetheless.... san antonio is that much more boring now... i think i'm going to fly my sock half staff in his memory.
Joseph Gottschalk takes a breather while bicycling in Southside Lions Park. He was there last month wearing only a thong. On Saturday, his body was found at the foot of a cliff in Big Bend National Park. 'Thong Man' found dead at bottom of Big Bend cliff By Maro Robbins, Elaine Aradillas and Jesse Bogan San Antonio Express-News Web Posted : 06/24/2003 12:00 AM Joseph Gottschalk, a self-described exhibitionist who invited attention by bicycling San Antonio's streets in nothing but a thong, was found dead this weekend at the bottom of a remote West Texas cliff. Big Bend National Park officials said hikers spotted some clothing near a bluff's edge, some 30 feet from the South Rim trail, Saturday afternoon. Peering down a steep drop, the hikers saw Gottschalk's naked body on a wide ledge about 100 feet below, park spokesman David Elkowitz said. A search-and-rescue team used pulleys to retrieve Gottschalk's corpse. Afterward, a mule carried it to the Chisos Mountains basin, where a Brewster County justice of the peace examined it Sunday. The fall is what appears to have killed Gottschalk, officials said, but the cause of death remains under investigation. Rangers said Monday that they found no sign of foul play or any note near the cliff. "It could have easily been an accident," said Shirley Williams, a justice of the peace in Brewster County. "Big Bend National Park is known for rough terrain." The 52-year-old's mysterious death added dark tones to what had been a colorful San Antonio tale, albeit one that offended as well as bewildered and amused residents. Gottschalk made himself the talk of the town and earned the nickname "Thong Man" by parading his pale buttocks during leisurely rides, first near his Southeast Side home, then into more central neighborhoods. The ponytailed nonconformist described himself as an unemployed truck driver. He said he wanted to challenge himself while startling others into examining their shame and their identities. His vehicle was near-nudity. "I want to look as naked as I can," he said in an interview last month. "Let's face it." Rangers at Big Bend found boots and clothes about eight feet from the drop-off. With them was a half-gallon or so of water — enough for a day's hike. Gottschalk had no camping permit, and no tent or sleeping bag was recovered. His motorcycle remained in a parking lot some seven miles away from the precipice. Rangers recalled that Gottschalk stopped by a visitors office Friday afternoon to ask about the South Rim, a popular trail along the edge of the Chisos Mountains, which peak at nearly 7,400 feet above sea level and offer some of the park's best vistas along with its sheerest drops. As the rangers recalled it, Gottschalk was clothed then. Nothing about the exchange seemed unusual. "They said he was fine," said Mark Spier, chief ranger with the National Park Service at Big Bend. "He just asked a lot of questions about that area." By Monday, Gottschalk's next of kin — he has four sons and a brother in the San Antonio area — had been notified, and his body was taken to El Paso for an autopsy. The family knew he had gone to the park, a place he enjoyed and had visited before, Williams said. Gottschalk's ex-wife declined to discuss his death, and his other relatives could not be contacted. "We are having a hard time dealing with this, too, so please understand why we don't want to comment." she said. Gottschalk's well-kept home appeared quiet Monday. His green Ford Ranger pickup was in the driveway under a pecan tree that shaded the house. A neighbor said Gottschalk had few visitors since moving there about two years ago. Lois O'Bryant said she rarely talked with him, but she recalled how he mowed his lawn days earlier: in his trademark thong. Gottschalk announced he was growing "bolder" in May after a local radio station named him grand marshal of a thong parade. Just more than a week ago, he pedaled into the downtown celebration when the Spurs won the championship. And days later, he rode along Broadway wearing only a pouch over his genitals. Because the pouch failed to meet legal standards for public attire, he was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct. But nothing in his recent public comments hinted at trouble, danger or anything that might lead to a sudden death. Indeed, Gottschalk described riding with a thong as if it was a way to live with zest. "I am sane," he said last month. "Heck, I am better than sane. I basically love life. ... You gotta find some humor in life." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- mrobbins@express-news.net
