Times Publications | The Readers are Here

Serving
Scottsdale
Northeast Phoenix
Northwest Valley
Chandler
Gilbert
East Mesa

FLIPPING OUT

By Shanna Hogan
Photos by Ross Mason

Standing on the side of the road, Austin Bohannon gracefully spins a six-foot cardboard sign above his head and then tosses it in the air.

While waving at passing motorists, he effortlessly catches the sign with one hand and bounces it off his shoe before flashing the logo toward the street.

At just 16, and with a mouth full of braces, Bohannon is a live billboard – more specifically, a sign spinner for the Valley-based AArrow Advertising.

“Most of the time when people ask me what do you do, I say I’m in advertising. I just like saying that because it sounds professional,” Bohannon says. “But I explain to them later on that I’m a sign spinner and my job is to get people’s attention and point them in the right direction for what they are looking for.”

This new spin on street-corner advertising originated last year in southern California and has quickly spread to other markets as businesses, beleaguered by the recession, pull out all stops to drive customers through their doors.

Standing on a street corner in 110-degree heat is, by any standard, no easy job, but Bohannon sees it as a fun challenge.

“Most of the time when you’re out there you don’t think about the tricks you’re going to do, you just go with the flow,” he says. “Each spinner has their own personal style…sometimes we throw in dance moves to make it look like we’re having fun – because we are having a lot of fun out there.”

TRAINING: Sign spinners train for hours with veteran instructors to perfect their craft. “I practiced for about a month before I got on the corner.”

DANGERS: “Hitting a pedestrian is a very bad thing – very bad. I’ve never hit anyone. I was told by my spin instructor not to do tricks on the corner unless you’re comfortable with them. He emphasized that greatly.”

ADVERTISING: Sign spinners advertise for restaurants, stores, concerts, events and new-home communities. “Most of the time we spin at the apartment complexes or condos.”

MOST DIFFICULT PART: “The heat gets really bad. Water is a big necessity out there. It gets to the point where you’re out there and your water gets almost too hot to drink. But you do it and you push through it and you give 100 percent at all times.”

BEST PART: “It’s a cool job. My favorite thing is to see people’s reactions. There’s a lot of flair to the tricks.”

SALARY: Pay starts at $9 to $15 an hour.