Facebook / Elizabeth Peralez Garza
Just take away the skateboard and cranberry juice and replace it with a motorized La-Z-Boy-style recliner and a beverage from SA taco chain Mama Margie's.
On Friday, Elizabeth Peralez Garza streamed live from the South Side on Facebook as she spoke to a man driving down Flores Street. Sounds boring, until you check out his vehicle of choice: a brown recliner mounted on a go-kart frame. The finishing touch on the homespun ride is four menacing clown masks facing backwards — possibly to remind other motorists to keep their distance.
The video opens with the driver — Juan Gamez, the owner of Tito's Auto Body Shop at 6630 S. Flores — whipping into the parking lot of Elizabeth Hair & Co. and stopping to speak to the two women filming. In true San Antonio fashion, he drinks from a Mama Margie's cup while chatting with them about his unique vehicle.
Gamez explains that he built the motorized chair himself. "This right here, what this is on? It's from my other go-kart," he says. "It's a rail, so I made the frame."
He also describes another invention of his: an ice chest made from a toilet bowl. "You put nitrous in there and you sit on it."
After a brief conversation, he gets up to give the pull-start a yank before zipping away.
"Only on the South Side," Garza says as he drives off.
We can't help but agree.
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