Profile: Marty Burrell, walking advertisement, Southeast Gold Buyers

Cheshire Bridge Road is known for strip clubs, gay bars, tattoo parlors, sex shops and the happiest man to ever put on a body-length $100 bill costume.

How did you get the job?

I was a painter and got laid off. A friend of mine told me about this, and I said, “Yeah, I’ll hold a sign.” I figured it would be something different.

Did you know you would have to wear the $100 bill costume?

Not at first. But then the manager came in and said, “You don’t have your suit on.” He said I might not like the suit. I said, “A $100 bill suit? That’s all right, it’s money!” As long as I’m wearing money, I might come into more money. I tell my boss we need to change it to a $500 bill and get even more attention — put a few more zeros on here.

So what’s the job been like so far?

I was skeptical, but now that I got into it, it seems all right. I meet different people every day. They drive by and blow their horn. I meet people walking their dogs. I got new dog friends and everything.

Cheshire Bridge has an interesting reputation. Have you run into any problems?

No, it’s positive. There are quite a few characters around here, but everybody’s cool. I grew up in a rough neighborhood in Detroit. You couldn’t stand out here on the sidewalk like this in my neighborhood. You might get robbed. You might get run over.

What do people talk to you about?

They talk about their lives and their problems. They ask how my legs stand up on this concrete all day, and I tell them that you gotta keep moving. I stretch a little here and there, and then I walk and stretch a little more. If you stand in one spot for eight hours, that really makes your back hurt. So with this right here, I got a little freedom up and down the sidewalk.

So it’s worth it in the end?

There are lines just to get a job at McDonald’s. You gotta do what you gotta do. The bills got to be paid. I might wake up feeling down some days and then [the ladies] will come on through and perk me right on back up. That’s when people really blow the horns — when I start dancing. They try to keep me going.