Profile: Thrilla of a gorilla at First and Fifth in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — The pink gorilla dancing on the corner of First Avenue and Fifth Street? He's hard to miss. And, yes, he has a name: Thrilla da Gorilla.

Jacob Cowger, owner of Balloons Etc. and the Costume Emporium, said his local shop on Second Avenue faces its 'biggest battle' during the holiday season, when pop-up shops oversaturate the market. Attracting people to shop downtown can be challenging enough, so he needed some way to grab the attention of potential shoppers.

For years, a pink gorilla costume 'stared' at him from a shelf. A light bulb went off: it was time to put the gorilla into action. And Thrilla was born.

Cue Travis Murray, a 37-year-old self-proclaimed 'kid at heart.'

Cowger joked he hired Murray as the primary Thrilla because he already looked like a gorilla — with chest hair and a burly beard — but truthfully, it was his enthusiastic attitude and willingness to 'get crazy' on the corner.

Each October for the past four years, Murray has slipped into the bright pink suit at 5:30 each evening — after he gets off work at Morgan Meredith, a screen printing company in Cedar Rapids. (Neither Murray nor Cowger would say how much Murray is paid for the gorilla gig.)

Rain or shine, Murray's out grooving to the 'beat between his ears' until around 8 p.m. or whenever traffic thins out.

Murray does more than dance, though. He waves, yells, beats his chest, fist-bumps pedestrians, or his favorite: the 'Hulk Hogan' — flashing his muscles and putting his hand to his ear. All while strolling the sidewalk with sign in hand, directing people to the store.

'Sometimes he gets a little carried away,' Cowger said. 'But he has a lot of fun, and people tend to notice him out there. He's pretty bright and crazy.'

And with the ape in his arsenal, Cowger has seen success in bringing more traffic into the store.

'People stop in because I was putting so much effort into what I was doing that they felt they should,' Murray said.

Not only will people wave, honk, yell or screech like monkeys in response, sometimes they'll pull over and get out of the car to take a selfie.

When you put on the suit, Cowger said it's like 'taking on a different persona.'

'You're behind a barrier where no one else can see you. You can get away with more. You can be silly, crazy and have fun and you don't have to worry about 'can this person see me,'' he said. 'It just takes away all the inhibitions and fears ...

It's kind of a stress relief.'

Murray agreed.

'If I didn't have the suit on, there's no way I'd act like that out on First Avenue. Nobody knows who I am, so I can be as goofy as I want,' he said.

Although some people can be demeaning — shouting nasty remarks or making obscene gestures — Murray said he just ignores it and moves on.

'Does some of it hurt? Yeah, it does,' he said. 'But I can't let that get to me. I'm not going to let them ruin my day. I just have to move on to the next car.'

In the off-season, Thrilla stays tucked away in the backroom, only making occasional appearances at special events. But Murray hopes Thrilla will become a more well-known mascot in Cedar Rapids.

'I want people to drive by and say, 'Oh hey, look, there's Thrilla,'' he said.

Thrilla still is developing a personality — or as Cowger put it, in the 'transitional stage of finding himself.'

Murray said he's always trying to come up with new moves and different ways he can impress people or make them laugh.

'All my life I've aimed to make people laugh and smile and just have a good time. This is just another way of doing that ...

As long as I can get people to laugh, or smile, or notice me, I know I've done my job.'