SEATTLE — Like a superhero without a suit, Pat Baer looks like a mild-mannered Seattleite. But all that changes the minute he goes green.
"Initially, people would call me Kermit or Frogman or the green thing," said Ballard resident Pat Baer.
For the past couple of years, Baer has been hitting the streets of Seattle as, Fluffy - his dragon-costume-clad alter ego who spreads joy wherever his motorcycle takes him.
"There's a lot of sad people in this world, and there's a lot of people who just want, you know, a little cheering up. And I think when people see me, I know, when people see me on the streets [it] brings a smile to their face," said Baer.
"I pretty much hit all the neighborhoods. I think I've pretty much been everywhere in Seattle. I think when I engage with people, it's pretty authentic and real. I make pretty good connections with people. Once I start performing, that's when I just become happy. I mean, it's hard not to be happy when you're riding around as Fluffy."
Happy is not a word Baer would use to describe his previous job.
"I come home from work every day. And I'm like, why am I doing this? You know, I hated doing it," said Baer. "I got up in the morning, go to the job I never liked, came home. And so this is something where I can actually do something that I enjoy, and it makes people happy."
That happiness has spread to the Internet where over 130,000 people follow @gowithfluffy on his Instagram page.
"It wasn't my intention to have become an influencer, social media person," said Baer. "If you find your passion or do what you want to do, you're going to be successful. I've basically been trying to put a square peg in a round hole my entire life, and I've not been happy. And once I found something I like, now I'm happy. And even on my sad days, it's like, I wake up in the morning if I'm sad or down for some reason, I keep saying, 'I'm going to be Fluffy - I'm going to get happy again.'"
Happiness and good vibes - Baer hopes to keep Fluffy's positive rides going for as long as he can.
"I'm not going to be on this earth for a long time," Baer said. "So I might as well you know, do something that I enjoy."
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