Superheros on Bikes Lend a Helping Hand

A group of do-gooders based out of Missouri are on a mission to help people in need. They’re also superheros.

CompashMan, Believe-Oh, Love Ninja, Queen Bee, Atomic Calm, and Super OK With Himself Guy are all members of “The Haul of Justice”. Its an event where people dress up as superheroes and take off for a month-long bicycle journey, providing service to the public with no agenda, and no pre-established course or plans. So far, they have traveled through 23 states and 5 different countries.

Planetsave interviews Ethan Hughes, the founder of the movement:

Brian Liloia: How would you summarize the overall mission of the Superheroes bike ride?

Ethan Hughes: There are a couple of guiding principles. The first mission is to be totally open, with no agenda, to just show up in downtown Seattle [for example], and see who needs help. Someone who’s homeless, all the way to a community garden. The second mission is to do that service as mindfully as we can, without preaching. I think the third part is to make service enjoyable, with things like the costumes. Can we go out on the road, with no plan, try to be mindful of the earth and communities, and have fun? And on a good day, we do all of those.

BL: Where did the inspiration for doing this come from? When was the idea formulated?

EH: It grew over time. I read comic books when I was little. I think the myth of the hero is in all cultures. As I aged, I saw that I have heroes like Martin Luther King, and Gandhi. Without blowing people up with eye beams, these people were heroes. So the idea started with a few people dressing up as superheroes for different campaigns. At some point, being an avid comic book reader, I said, well, you know, Daredevil swings around randomly looking for people to help. That’s the element missing. We were picking our campaign. But, hey, let’s get on our bikes in Seattle and bike to Boston, dressed as superheroes, looking for any service to provide to people. So that’s how it evolved.

Planetsave: “Superheroes Bike Across Missouri and Provide Public Service”

[via Tim Boucher]