'Muppet' motorcyclist makes custom helmet, helps sick kids in B.C.
While you probably know the song that starts with “get your motor runnin’,” you likely wouldn’t expect to see a Muppet “head out on the highway.”
“It makes the ride a little bit more fun than just a commute,” Scott Ferron says with a smile.
Scott says his custom-made helmet-cover — which looks like a life-sized ‘Animal’ character — makes the people he passes a lot more happy.
“I see people smiling and pointing. I’m smiling under my helmet,” Scott says, before laughing. “I just need a stronger neck. That’s a lot of wool in the air.”
There’s more than three kilograms of red, orange, and yellow wool flying behind his helmet, which Scott spent more than a 100 hours assembling. The naval marine engineer says crafting the ‘Animal’ helmet is not dissimilar to working on vessels ranging from submarines to minesweepers.
“The tools are different,” Scott explains. “The materials are different, but in the end, it’s all about the relationship between the two pieces that you’re bonding.”
A few years ago, Scott started bonding like-minded bikers together in Halifax by creating Helmet Head Canada. He shows CTV News pictures of dozens of motorcyclists wearing multi-coloured characters on their heads.
Now, the group’s expanded to Victoria and its members are looking for Muppet merriment adventure in whatever comes their way.
“It’s fun,” Scott says. “If that’s enough to make them feel a little better, go for it.”
But it wasn’t enough for Scott. Unlike the Steppenwolf song, he was not “Born to be wild.”
“I was a very sick infant.”
Scott says he spent significant time in hospital as a child and found comfort watching Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of gang.
“I loved ‘The Muppet Show,’” Scott says. “It was one of my favourite things.”
And now that he’s a dad, Scott can also imagine how it must feel for the parent of a child in hospital. He felt compelled to help and staged a series of Helmet Head toy drives for kids in pediatric wards and provincial care.
“It’s kind of a soft spot in my heart to give back,” Scott says. “And make sure the kids have something fun.”
It’s something hopeful and happy to inspire their spirits to “explode into space.”
“If you can brighten somebody’s day, give ‘er,” Scott says.
“Make it happen,” the song says. And, “take the world in a love embrace.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.