Last year, many FishHawk residents were surprised, shocked and entertained by the character, who goes by the name of Zippy MiniMoto, riding around the area on a tiny motorcycle. Zippy brought many much-needed smiles during the pandemic to the FishHawk community.
The last sighting of Zippy was in last December as The Grinch. The Grinch worked very hard and rode many hours bringing smiles and excitement to the community. The Grinch felt he needed an extended vacation poolside, so he reached out to The Clown.
“Zippy the Clown rode around the FishHawk community last year and he made people laugh, and frightened a few people too,” Zippy said. “The Grinch asked Zippy the Clown to make a return while he vacations poolside at an undisclosed location.”
For those of you who don’t know Zippy, he is a retired naval aviator, husband and dad. He started riding motorcycles while he was in college and has always been fond of them.
“The recent pandemic found all of us with a lot of time on our hands,” Zippy said. “I used to ride motorcycles when I was in college, and then I got married and things changed, but since I needed something to do to keep me occupied during the pandemic, I bought a motorcycle and restored it.”
The mini motorcycle Zippy rode last year was named ‘Rosie’ by his daughter.
“This year, I have a new bike,” Zippy said. “I had it made because I need a more powerful bike that was still small.” Zippy worked with Vintage Honda Minis Restorations in Winter Springs. “Josh Eule is a great guy who helped me out a lot in building the new bike, which is a Honda Monkey.”
Zippy got a lot of feedback on his Facebook page from FishHawk residents.
“They said The Grinch needed to look more Floridian, so a wonderful seamstress from the FishHawk community offered to make The Grinch some more Florida-friendly clothes for his extended vacation,” Zippy said. “The FishHawk community has been wonderful to The Clown and The Grinch.”
Zippy the Clown will begin to make his appearance beginning in October.
“The Clown will be posting on Zippy’s Facebook page the dates and times he will be riding through the FishHawk neighborhoods,” Zippy said. “Just like The Grinch last year, The Clown asks that residents please not chase him or attempt to approach him because his safety and the residents’ safety is his priority.”
If you would like to know when Zippy the Clown will be making an appearance, you can check out his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057112241134.
