-It's awesome to be famous and successful,
but all I got to do is put my clothes on
and I'm Joe Schmo again, no problem at all.
I'm just thirsting for something to happen
that everybody's talking about me again.
-Tonight's top story, body-camera video
of the Naked Cowboy getting arrested at Bike Week.
-For me, he is the face of Manhattan.
-Hey, get over here.
-To me, he's my hero.
He's in his 50s. He doesn't age.
He might be a Trump fan, allegedly. I'm not.
-♪ Trump's gonna build a wall ♪
♪ That wall is gonna protect us all ♪
♪ Sounds like a good idea to be ♪
[ All chanting "[Bleep] the Naked Cowboy" ]
-If somebody says one negative thing about me,
I struggle with it.
I want everybody in the world to love me.
-Some people send me a message,
"How can you be with the Naked Cowboy?
He's a Trump supporter." So what? He's my husband.
-How could a Naked Cowboy get skin cancer?
Sunscreen's for [bleep] just so you know.
I don't care how famous you are, you don't feel famous.
I'm getting chills saying that, though.
I guess I feel a little famous.
♪♪
My name is Robert Burck.
I sing and play guitar in my underwear
and I go by the name Naked Cowboy.
Roughly 1998, I was trying to be a model,
an actor or a country singer at that point.
You know, basically I wanted to be rich and famous.
I took the Greyhound bus to New York City,
and I went to every single modeling agency in this town.
Every single one said, "These pictures are horrible, you suck.
You're never gonna make it as a model."
And I finally snapped and just went home.
-New York.
-But it was years of doing that
and sending out nude pictures to photographers.
All of a sudden, I got in "Playgirl,"
so I went to shoot for "Playgirl" magazine.
And while I was there, I went to Venice Beach
and sang and played guitar in my clothes,
and I was completely ignored.
A photographer said, "Why don't you play
in your underwear, do something different?"
He called me Naked Cowboy. He thought it was genius.
So, I mean, how are you gonna get famous?
I went out and got on TV every single day.
I mean, I literally went state to state, city to city,
went out on the street, called the police
and the news on myself, waited 10 minutes.
And then I would go to where this crazy guy
is out here with this huge crowds.
I'm just saying, it was an instant hit.
I just happened to go to New York,
and I just happened to go into Times Square.
And it was so busy and people were taking pictures,
you know, MTV was filming there.
I got on MTV the first day,
and I heard the "Howard Stern Show."
I went right over, and they just let me right in.
Did that with "Fox and Friends,"
you name it all, I did everything.
A brand is nothing more than a replication of an image.
Nobody is gonna beat me.
For 21 years, I've been out here almost every single day.
22 years went by
and just do the exact same thing every day.
This Naked Cowboy dialogue is my personal development goals.
The endless, hardest-working promoter
to the masses we call humanity.
The vehicle -- Naked Cowboy, the foundation -- me,
the spirit -- maintain absolute allegiance
to staying outside of the reality
that the rest of the world seems so foolishly inclined to accept.
I always say "Unlimited Power" was the first book I ever read.
He said, "You can be anything you want, do anything you want."
He just tells you, "You write out your physical goals,
your financial goals, your social goals."
I have a totally pimped-out Escalade by November 31st.
I have two national TV commercials
airing by November 31st.
I have two unlimited licensing deals
for $1 million-plus
with 5-year contract by November 31st.
An institution is length and shadow of one man,
pages and pages and pages, every single one mind-blowing.
Wherever I am, a revolution is under way.
The story I've told myself a million times.
You live in your story.
This is me talking to me every day of my life.
I make everything serve me. All things serve the master.
This is my year of total ascension, the very fucking top.
Billboards in Times Square, L.A., Chicago, London.
We need the deal. Get the deal.
I got the deals here.
High-rise apartments in New York City,
major motion pictures, national TV commercials.
I got to get serious now.
You got to believe it, man. The big shit.
What you write and what you do goes into your neurology.
That helps to tap your head.
When I read, "I'm the most celebrated entertainer
of all time," and I'm grumpy in the morning,
I put on a smile and I try to get into the mode.
♪ When I started out ♪
♪ New York City ♪
♪ playing a song or two ♪
My whole thing was to be
the most celebrated entertainer of all time,
just like Babe Ruth.
How many times you willing to go up to bat?
Hello. How are you?
It was just basically to entertain more people
than anybody else ever did.
What kind of dogs? -Pomsky.
-♪ Ain't nothing but Pomeranian Huskies ♪
I also have a world-renowned personality.
The more you interact with people,
the better you get at it.
Where you from?
-We're from India.
-Hey, cowboys and Indians.
-[ Laughs ] Hey, yeah.
-You get in. Don't make me come and get you.
-[ Screams ]
-Thank you.
-♪ I'm the Naked Cowboy keeping it real for you ♪
[ Horn honks ]
You get in, sweetie. Don't be bashful.
Oh. It's okay. It's happened before.
Hey! -Hey!
-Hey, what's up?
-We're on 45th and Broadway, Times Square, New York City.
-We're smoking wieners.
-I see him all the time, every day,
rain, shine, snow, sleet, hail.
I ask him how he stays warm, but he won't tell me his secret.
♪♪
-Easiest one of all,
just coming up and squeezing that butt.
[ Grunts ]
I always said, "I want to be famous,"
realizing I should have said, "Rich and famous."
That drive is always there, but you never get the reward.
You know, once you have it, it goes away the next day.
They're not gonna talk about you unless something else comes up.
Like, I'm just thirsting for something to happen
that everybody's talking about me again.
Come on, everybody, get your selfie.
You saw it.
No, Daytona, Daytona.
When I was in Daytona,
I went down there and was performing.
I go down every year, basically.
I was just walking through the streets.
And it's a very Naked Cowboy friendly crowd.
Everybody's taking pictures,
coming up, put money in the guitar.
So they have a new panhandling ordinance.
I saw the tape myself.
I guess they came over and said, "We got to move along."
I'm like, "I'm not panhandling."
Then we're kind of arguing back and forth.
And then they eventually put me in the car.
They say I made a homophobic slur,
and I also apologized, like, 30 seconds later.
Then I called her a bitch, and then I said I was sorry again.
I was just being pushed around and, you know, I was --
I was like, "I'm just under pressure."
I'm just saying that using foul language
and being, you know, over the top is what I do.
I'm just saying you can act any way you want in the world
if you're a public figure.
You know, there's plenty of public figures
who couldn't care less what anybody thinks about 'em.
Don't pan down.
Somebody says one negative thing about me,
I struggle with it.
I want everybody in the world to love me.
Just because I liked Trump, half the world hated my guts.
♪ Don't be a chump, support Trump ♪
♪ Get us out of this economic slump ♪
♪ Sounds like a good idea to me ♪
I personally find him just to be funny as can be.
And people think he's a horrible racist, all this stuff.
But I just don't see any of that.
[ All chanting "[Bleep] the Naked Cowboy" ]
I went to the Black Lives Matter rallies with my Trump guitar.
Some of them screaming and yelling,
but almost in every instance, they didn't care.
-[ Speaks indistinctly ]
...thirsty, hungry-ass, attention-seeking cracker.
-No pictures of him. [Bleep] this guy.
No pictures.
Naked Cowboy, put on a mask and get on clothes.
I liked also Trump because I want my own penthouse
on the top in New York City.
I want to get up every day and put on my big fur coat,
walk down my own escalator and come out
and be the king of New York City.
I got the hole I cut with a knife and just put --
There's a 20 and a 10.
I give them my card.
They see that the money hole's there.
So without asking or saying anything,
they have the option.
Check for boogers.
I'd say I get more dollars than anything.
You see, there's tons of 5s, 20s.
$150,000 a year I make in Times Square
just on tips alone.
$500, $600, $700 every day.
$200 and whatever that is -- about 50 bucks.
I made no money during Corona.
I'd get a tip from a photographer or something
once in a while.
Now the money is coming back.
If I make 100 bucks a day, I'd be fine.
You know, making a couple hundred bucks is just awesome.
You know, it's plenty.
All I do is work. I don't spend it on anything.
I have this every single year of my life,
every single penny I've spent.
Not one thing I buy that I don't have the receipt.
All money spent solely on my life's mission.
There's no waste. Nothing is not consistent.
I don't have a lot. I have my car, very few clothes.
My wife is 100% supportive.
We love each other, could care less.
♪♪
-Okay, good job. -I can play your song, too.
I haven't played it in years because we're already married.
Why should I go out of my way?
-The first time I saw him, he was in a book.
I was in college, and he was in a book.
And so I wanted to meet him.
So when I saw him for the first time, I was so excited
and we got a picture together and then we start talking.
That was back in 2008.
Some people send me a message,
"How can you be with the Naked Cowboy?
He's a Trump supporter." So what?
He likes Trump, I don't care. He's my husband.
-You like Trump, too.
-He's always talking about Trump, so I like him now.
He's a very good husband.
Always supported me
in everything I do and I want to do.
My best friend.
-I don't want to be here anymore.
I'm gonna be in the other room.
-He cries. -You bring out the weapon.
-Watching a movie, he cries.
-Not every night. That was "Rocky."
That was "Rocky." It was Adrian.
-He's always crying.
He's very emotional.
You didn't wait for me?
-When was your last surgery?
So strong, you weren't worried about nothing.
I just thought since it was a matter of life and death
and I was getting my chest cut off,
you might want to come,
but you didn't want to come and that's fine.
Well, I wouldn't say I had a health scare.
I just thought I had a bump, so they did a biopsy
and they said it was something-something carcinoma,
which is a cancer related to the sun damage.
I'm going today and I assume they're gonna somehow gauge
what or if there's anything below the surface,
slice it and take some out.
[ Horn honks ]
What's up, guys?
If I walked over there as Robert Burck,
nobody would be saying, "Hi, how are you doing?"
Nobody would be cheering me up the whole way here.
What's up, guys? Great.
♪ Well, I'm the Naked Cowboy ♪
[ Singing indistinctly ]
It's gonna make their day fun by me being the Naked Cowboy.
Its gonna make the entire day interesting.
So it's awesome, you know. Why wouldn't I?
If I come over as Robert Burck,
I might as well be sitting in jail like a schmuck.
Nobody knows. Nobody cares. I don't want that. You know?
How are you? -Alright.
-♪ Do what you got to do ♪
[ Speaks indistinctly ]
I'm going to Times Square.
My whole goal today was to get this done
and to still maintain my schedule.
My whole life is about maintaining my schedule.
♪♪
Walking over there was just encouraging
to have everybody be all kind, friendly, whatever.
I like the scar.
Actually, I think it looks cool where it is.
It really does. It looks pretty cool.
Back to the office.
♪♪
-How could a Naked Cowboy get skin cancer?
-That's fucked up. That's fucked up.
-Sunscreen's for [bleep] just so you know.
Don't forget the back. Get a little squeeze, honey.
Come on, take a little sauce.
I went out there running around.
They'd be like, "How old are you?"
I'm like, "50. I only got 50 years left."
I'm halfway there.
Let me formally induce -- Let me endorse the new mayor.
We will. Thank you. Congratulations.
Thank you. Trailblazer.
Today can't be better than that.
We don't stop, we keep moving.
So to anybody thinking this is the end of the Naked Cowboy,
it's just the beginning and that's fine.
If I end up with one leg and everything else
is eaten off by cancer, I'm like,
♪ I'm the Naked Cowboy ♪
Oops. Not supposed to move around like.
I'm the happiest, healthiest,
wealthiest, most beautiful man in the world,
most famous man in the world,
most celebrated entertainer of all time.
Wherever I am, a revolution is under way.
Your actions are the verse of your soul.
Your words are just a voice in your mouth.
You can talk shit no matter what your situation is, Naked Cowboy.
The world as his, it's gonna see through its pretension.
Every day I convert an army of people into an army of fans.
I define a fan as one who has witnessed the potential of man.