美国国家公共电台 NPR The Man Behind 'Left Shark' Explains His Viral Super Bowl Moment

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's only a matter of days until the Super Bowl, and if you're counting down to the halftime show, this story is for you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SUPER BOWL XLIX HALFTIME SHOW)

KATY PERRY: (Singing) You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream.

INSKEEP: That's from Katy Perry's performance three years ago. On stage with her were two blue dancing sharks. The one on the right seemed to be in sync, while the other one sort of flailed¹ around like he was being held in that costume against his will.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Right. So the Internet, as it does, latched² onto left shark. There were memes all over social media. Our co-host David Greene took it upon himself to find the man behind that costume.

DAVID GREENE, BYLINE³: Hi.

BRYAN GAW: Hi. Bryan.

GREENE: I'm David. Nice to meet you.

Left shark's real name is Bryan Gaw, and he's actually a lot smaller than the massive beast we saw lumbering⁴ around the stage that Super Bowl night. He had been a dancer with Katy Perry's touring ensemble⁵ for several years. And, we should say, no, he actually did not get fired after that Super Bowl performance. He left the road about a year ago, and today he is a stylist at a hair salon⁷ in West Hollywood. Bryan leads us out onto the sunny outdoor terrace at the salon, and he tells me about a costume change that almost prevented him from being left shark at all.

GAW: Logistically we were figuring out during rehearsals⁸, and there was a moment when they're like, you know what? They're just not going to be able to make this change. We're going to have to have somebody else do it. Well, when the boss says figure it out, figure it out.

GREENE: She knew the two of you. She wanted her dancers.

GAW: She knew the two of us, she had rehearsed with us. She was used to us being by her. And I think that provided her a sense of comfort.

GREENE: All right. So take me to halftime. You're out there. This is the question that America wants to know.

GAW: Is this the million-dollar question, what happened?

GREENE: What happened?

GAW: So there's a set choreography. There's also what's called freestyle choreography, or, like, you get to move around or play your character as a dancer, right? So...

GREENE: Seems like a critical piece of information. You had some flexibility⁹.

GAW: You have flexibility because you are your own character.

GREENE: OK.

GAW: I'm in a 7-foot blue shark costume. There's no cool. There's no cool in that. So what's the other option? Well, I'm going to play a different character.

GREENE: OK. Hang on.

GAW: That's all it was.

GREENE: This is a moment here.

GAW: (Laughter).

GREENE: 'Cause America, they thought you were totally flubbing this up.

GAW: Yeah, totally.

GREENE: What character were you going for?

GAW: This is the underdog. It's an everyday person. Now, how 'bout⁶ that?

GREENE: Showing you don't have to be perfect.

GAW: You don't have to be perfect. Nobody has to be perfect in life.

GREENE: And you wouldn't lie to me. Like, I'm looking you in the eyes right now. This - you planned this.

GAW: Hundred percent. (Laughter).

GREENE: You planned this character going in.

GAW: Did I rehearse these actual steps to, like, my freestyle moment? Not necessarily.

GREENE: So you rehearsed being a little goofy?

GAW: You rehearse being a little goofy. Totally.

GREENE: What we saw up there was maximum goofy.

GAW: Totally. I'm on a maximum stage. (Laughter).

GREENE: And so the magic of left shark was born. And it actually took Bryan Gaw a while to get used to this newfound fame. He didn't talk about all of this publicly at first, but these days, he's got a different outlook.

So we started this conversation with you kind of surprising me in saying that you use this on your resume.

GAW: Yeah.

GREENE: Does it actually say, like, left shark?

GAW: Totally.

GREENE: And have you ever gotten people who viewed that as a negative?

GAW: No. Actually, I don't get any negative feedback from it. If anything, people are like, whoa, that's so cool.

GREENE: So is there something you want to say to the millions of people who watched you out there and thought that you just completely messed up a dance routine in a shark outfit¹⁰?

GAW: Don't take life so seriously. You know what I mean? Like, I was on the biggest stage in the world acting¹¹ crazy, and I got a lot of press and a lot of attention for it in the most positive ways. It's great, you know? Be you. Do you.

(LAUGHTER)

GREENE: Well, thanks for setting the record straight and chatting with us.

GAW: Yeah. Of course.

GREENE: That was Bryan Gaw, aka left shark, from the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEENAGE DREAM")

PERRY: (Singing) Let you put your hands on me in my skintight jeans...

GREENE: What happened to the shark outfit?

GAW: She still has it.

GREENE: Katy does?

GAW: Yeah. It's on the road right now. Somebody else is hopping¹² around stage in the costume now, but they'll never be me.

GREENE: They'll never be you.

GAW: (Laughter) Yeah.

GREENE: No one will ever be left shark.

GAW: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEENAGE DREAM")

PERRY: (Singing) Yeah. You make me...

1 flailed   

v.鞭打( flail的过去式和过去分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克

参考例句：

• The boys flailed around on the floor. 男孩子们在地板上任意地动来动去。
• The prisoner's limbs flailed violently because of the pain. 那囚犯因为疼痛，四肢剧烈地抖动着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 latched   

v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上）

参考例句：

• The government have latched onto environmental issues to win votes. 政府已开始大谈环境问题以争取选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He latched onto us and we couldn't get rid of him. 他缠着我们，甩也甩不掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

5 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

6 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

7 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

8 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

10 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。