Everyday heroes include moms, dads, teachers, firefighters, nurses….and Thor. In Orlando, Florida, Ryan Frye as “EveryDay Thor” has been riding Internet stardom and the superhero trend to benefit terminally ill children. His charity activities are funded in part by sales of exclusive EveryDay Thor designs at his official t-shirt vendor, EtchGear.
The Viral Video that Propelled His Celebrity
Frye’s flowing blond locks make him a natural everyday version of the Norse god Thor. Early in June 2013, he posted a video of himself as EveryDay Thor parodying “Prancercise” – an Internet meme made popular in May 2013 when a woman posted on YouTube her cringe-worthy exercise method of side-to-side prancing down the streets. EveryDay Thor’s version of Prance-Thor-cise went viral, racking up over 300,000 views in a week.
Something in the video tickled the Internet’s fancy. Perhaps it was the early-‘80s video game soundtrack and the sheer ridiculousness of a prancing blond man in full superhero regalia interacting with dumbfounded day shoppers on the street. It may be due to the superhero trend in popular media, and particularly the cult Thor following. Whatever it is, Frye as Everyday Thor has been taking his character and riding its popularity at kids’ events, children’s hospices, and comic book conventions for charity.
EtchGear Partnership Fuels Charity Work
Most recently, Frye has collaborated with Orlando’s high-tech t-shirt design company, EtchGear, to create exclusive EveryDay Thor t-shirt designs for his upcoming Supercon appearance (4th of July weekend in Miami) and beyond. As kids and convention-goers line up to get their pictures with him, portions of every sale will go to victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes.
In support of Frye, EtchGear is currently designing a web store around EveryDay Thor (to be completed before the July event). The company hopes to provide a financial backbone so that he can continue his charitable work. This partnership is in perfect alignment with EtchGear’s mission to support independent artists and talent through the design, direct-to-garment printing, and sale of custom art t-shirts.
A Costumer with a Cause
Several years ago, Frye was drawn into the world of cosplay. The word is a portmanteau of “costume” and “play” and signifies a huge, international community of people who painstakingly craft elaborate costumes from their favorite anime, comics, and “geek” media characters. Still excited at the prospect of having Halloween last all year, Frye met a group of cosplayers who had taken it to another level. Costumers with a Cause was a troop of superheroes in elaborate costumes who used their visibility to do good in the real world:
“We are dedicated to creating top notch quality costumes, and using these costumes to promote charitable organizations, attend children's hospital visits, and help raise funding for worthy and needy charities.”
This was EveryDay Thor’s destiny. The weight of Thor’s hammer in Frye’s hands took on a new importance when it lit up a sick kid’s face. He bumped up his charity activity to include Base Camp Children’s Cancer Foundation and comic book conventions across the state. He reaches out to fans on his popular YouTube channel (EveryDayThor) and Facebook page (RyanFryeThor), where he continues to put smiles on faces of everyday people.
About EveryDay Thor
Ryan Frye as EveryDay Thor is available for children’s hospital visits, events, conventions, and other appearances. For booking info, message bookingRFT(at)gmail(dot)com.
Thor is a character of Marvel comics.
About EtchGear
EtchGear is EveryDay Thor’s official t-shirt vendor. Based in Winter Park, EtchGear uses AnaJet,
the most advanced direct-to-garment technology available, to help artists put their exclusive designs on high-quality t-shirts for sale on their own EtchGear online storefront.
