- 5 hours ago
Category
๐ฅ
Short filmTranscript
00:01For the past two years, an electrical box in my neighborhood had been overrun with bottles of piss.
00:06And not your normal run-of-the-mill truck driver bottle of piss,
00:09but an assortment of different sized bottles, different colors,
00:12and sometimes complemented with a hand-drawn note.
00:15The bottles would usually appear in the morning and then disappear in the late afternoon or evening,
00:19with this transaction occurring a few times a week.
00:21The word of this piss-infested electrical box spread throughout the neighborhood,
00:24even to the point where a third-party vigilante left an aggressive letter threatening the culprit.
00:29The notoriety of the situation grew, and so did the strength of the urine,
00:32making its mark atop the electrical box and cementing itself as its own neighborhood landmark.
00:37Who was placing these bottles? Who was the vigilante?
00:40Is a different person picking them up?
00:42Finally, my curiosity got the best of me,
00:44so I purchased a DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail camera with the hopes of answering these questions.
00:49But my main hold-up was setting up the camera.
00:51The electrical box is located on a busy street, and if anyone saw me next to it,
00:55then they would immediately assume that I was the pisser,
00:58and my reputation would be forever ruined.
01:00So I hit up my friend Grant, who's always filming his own videos and skits,
01:03and is usually in costume, figuring that he would be a good source for a decoy look.
01:06Ayo! Yeah, I have a construction vest and a helmet you can borrow.
01:10I also have brown lunch bags if you need to have a sack lunch with you.
01:13Also, let me know if you need any help putting it up.
01:16The next day, Grant and I arrived at the location in our decoy looks,
01:19me as a standard construction worker,
01:21and Grant as a recently divorced disheveled project manager.
01:24The two of us were able to fool the public as we successfully set up the DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail camera.
01:30The following morning, I went to go check the electrical box and couldn't believe my eyes.
01:34Piss!
01:35I honestly thought this would take a week or so,
01:37but we were able to capture the drop off on the first night,
01:40but inherently knew that the pickup was the most intriguing part of the story.
01:44So after consulting with Grant, we agreed to wait it out one more night.
01:47Unfortunately, the piss bottles were still there the following morning.
01:50No pickup.
01:51It had been too long and there was a high chance that the batteries to my DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail camera were dead.
01:56Also, since Grant and I had been posting about this in real time,
01:59there was a great deal of pressure building from people online.
02:02I couldn't take it anymore.
02:03Making sure the coast was clear,
02:05I quickly collected the DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail camera and went home to review the clips.
02:10Finally, the mystery was about to be solved.
02:22The footage was baffling.
02:23I hadn't even thought about the drop off coming from beyond the wall,
02:26which also happened to be the site of a highway.
02:28I had so many questions and so did everyone following the saga.
02:31Grant and I both felt that this was just the tip of the iceberg
02:34and that we were onto something much bigger.
02:44After capturing the mysterious video footage of the initial piss drop off,
02:47Grant and I decided to take the weekend to process what we had just witnessed.
02:50It was baffling to think that someone was out there at night in the bushes with latex gloves,
02:54strategically placing piss bottles on an electrical box.
02:57First thing Monday morning, I drove to the site to check if the bottles were gone.
03:00They weren't.
03:01In fact, they had doubled.
03:02Things were escalating quickly,
03:04so Grant decided to order a second DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail camera
03:08and we devised a plan to capture what was occurring beyond the wall.
03:11For this intricate of a setup, we'd need a bigger crew of decoy construction workers.
03:15Fortunately, Grant had a construction worker friend who agreed to help out and lend us gear
03:19while also giving us a few pointers on how we could better sell the look.
03:22I didn't have any construction worker friends, but I had a motorcycle friend named Robin
03:27who basically looks like a construction worker, and I was certain that he would help out.
03:30But Robin was busy that day, so I hit up my friend Katz, who's usually down for anything.
03:34Hey Katz, I'm working on a project and need some extra bodies.
03:37Mainly need you to come and be a construction worker.
03:39Okay. I've never done construction before, but fuck it, I'll try anything once.
03:43Hey wait, is this for the piss thing?
03:45With both Katz and Grant's real construction friend on board, it was time to head to the location and suit up.
03:50We were a squad of construction workers ready to take on whatever construction worker things that were in our path.
03:55And in this case, setting up two DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail cameras around an electrical box stacked with piss bottles.
04:02We played our parts perfectly. I did all the work while everyone else told me how to do it.
04:06Grant, the recently divorced disheveled project manager, loomed over, micromanaging us to a T.
04:11With cameras set up, our operation was an all-in-all success. Now, it was time to wait.
04:16The next morning, I returned to the box only to see that there was a new batch of piss bottles.
04:20I knew because this was fewer than before, and one bottle had a particular darker tint.
04:24I immediately hit up Grant with the good intel, but was only met with some disastrous news on his end.
04:29And out of nowhere, Grant hit me with the classic, I'm going to Norway today excuse.
04:33I'm going to Norway today.
04:34I had to retrieve these DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail cameras, but also knew it would be too risky to collect on my own.
04:40I needed a project manager, and I knew just the guy.
04:43Hey, Katz, can you be my project manager?
04:46Easy.
04:47Also, try to match Grant's decoy outfit, disheveled.
04:49You got it. Plus, I'm actually divorced.
04:53Katz and I met at the location, again in our decoy looks.
04:56Me, as a normal construction worker, and Katz as an actually divorced, recently divorced disheveled project manager.
05:02And we were able to retrieve both DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail cameras without any problems.
05:07We had two issues with the DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail cameras.
05:10The first one I set up failed to record anything.
05:12Not really sure why, but it's something I'll be voicing my frustrations with the DigiGarden customer service at a future date.
05:18The other issue being that the second camera shifted positions upon setup and framed out the electrical box.
05:23But beyond the wall, we did get a major hit.
05:26Footage of the culprit in the act.
05:28Revealing a man in his mid-30s to 40s wearing latex gloves and a flashlight.
05:32Pouring liquids from one bottle to another.
05:35Then methodically placing the piss on the electrical box.
05:38Also, the timestamp is almost identical to the previous footage.
05:42This clearly seemed premeditated and very intentional.
05:46I thought getting a visual of the culprit would give me some closure.
05:48But in reality, it only doubled my curiosity.
05:51Is this some abstract performance artist?
05:53Or some family man's late night fetish?
05:55For every question I answer, I seemingly raise two more.
05:58What are his motives?
06:00Who is doing the pickups?
06:01And is that actually urine?
06:07The electrical box was stacked with piss.
06:09A couple days had passed since we captured the footage of the culprit in the act.
06:13And I was reluctant to set up my DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail cameras.
06:17Mainly because my two project managers were missing.
06:19Grant was abroad, enjoying himself on a meaningless trip to Norway.
06:22While Katz was tied up with many of life's distractions.
06:25So I took this time to monitor and track the culprit's movements.
06:28Day in and day out.
06:29The comings and goings of the piss bottles.
06:31But as the days passed, the bottles remained on the electrical box.
06:34More bottles would appear overnight.
06:36Some with more labels than usual.
06:38And he even went to the extent of placing decals on the box.
06:41Was he taunting me?
06:42Was this piss cat and mouse?
06:44But one thing I did notice?
06:45No one was picking them up.
06:46I returned to the footage from the DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail camera that had shifted
06:50in the tree, framing out the electrical box.
06:52Hoping that I would discover some clue regarding the pickup that day.
06:55Although this was quite the task because it recorded every single person, cyclist, and car that passed by.
07:00The only thing I was able to capture was a man in a construction worker type vest, observing and taking photos of the bottles.
07:06He then moves out of frame, but looks to be collecting them.
07:09Was this a city cleanup crew guy?
07:11Or a sketchy piss recipient who was wearing a city cleanup crew guy decoy outfit?
07:15Meanwhile, online, my piss saga intro video was racking up views, even to the point where people from the neighborhood would reach out and send their own piss bottle stories and photos.
07:23One person sent me an origin story about how the piss bottle started off on a different electrical box at a nearby park, and then gradually moved east, eventually claiming the current box.
07:32Another unsettling anecdote was about a time when the culprit tied a bottle to a string and hung it from a tree branch.
07:38People were consumed with piss and had started developing their own theories as to what was occurring beyond the wall.
07:43A drug drop disguised as human urine?
07:46Clean urine for people who needed to pass a drug test?
07:49Or just a person that wanted to showcase their massive collection of piss?
07:53Then someone sent me a message that caught my interest.
07:56A user claimed that they owned a crime scene bio and hazardous waste company and had been doing cleanups at the piss box for the past two years.
08:03Within their company, employees referred to the culprit as the P-Bandit and had inside knowledge that checked out with my footage of the city's cleanup crew guy.
08:10They even let me know when they were going to pick up next, which checked out.
08:13This negated a lot of theories regarding the pickup, but I still had one question that had been eating at me this entire time.
08:19And there was really only one way I could answer it.
08:21We are going to have to collect a sample.
08:24We knew the Piss Bandit was extremely calculated and that he would be alerted if one of his bottles was missing.
08:30We were playing chess and needed to offer a gambit to gain positional advantage.
08:34By this I of course mean we implement a decoy piss bottle.
08:37Grant returned that Saturday and I had him meet me directly from the airport.
08:41We then got straight to work.
08:42Using a mixture of unsweetened pure leaf green tea and unsweetened pure leaf regular tea,
08:46we were able to concoct the perfect human urine decoy.
08:49Next, we had to replicate the Piss Bandit's hand-drawn calling card and that was usually left on the bottle's inner label.
08:55Fortunately, Grant was known to have terrible handwriting and was able to perfectly match the signage.
08:59Then, we headed to the location in our decoy outfits.
09:02Me as a normal construction worker and Grant as a recently divorced disheveled project manager who just returned from a meaningless trip to Norway.
09:10It was our most daring mission yet.
09:12We had a plan that we would follow precisely.
09:15I would use a specimen grabber thing to pick up the real bottle of piss while Grant quickly replaced it with a decoy.
09:20Then, he would take our sample and secure it in our own custom-made specimen box.
09:25We had our sample.
09:27Now it was time to undergo the test.
09:30Grant and I had successfully collected one of the piss bottles from the electrical box.
09:42Now it was time for the tests.
09:44Fortunately for me, Grant volunteered to do all the heavy lifting, mainly because he suffered from a condition called anosmia,
09:49a disorder that causes its victim, Grant in this case, to lose all sense of smell,
09:54which was perfect because he wouldn't be affected by whatever fumes were emitted during the urinalysis.
09:58We had two primary objectives we needed to achieve.
10:01Our first was to see if the fluid in the bottle was actually piss and not some mysterious liquid decoyed as piss.
10:06So I ordered an Amazon.com instant result 10-panel home urinalysis test kit that gives you an accurate rating in just 60 seconds.
10:13Our second objective was to see if there were any drugs present in the liquid,
10:16especially since the majority of the pissheads online thought this entire scenario was a drug drop-off operation.
10:21So I ordered an Amazon.com easy at home 5-panel drug testing kit that gives you results in just 5 minutes.
10:27We got straight to work. Grant was in the zone.
10:30In his natural state, he flawlessly completed the urinalysis without any problems.
10:34We got our results in 60 seconds, although I couldn't interpret them because I wasn't a medical professional.
10:39So I sent a photo of our test strip and its legend to my friend Niall, who is a professional ICU nurse.
10:44While we waited for Niall to decipher the urinalysis, we went ahead and executed the drug test.
10:48Again, Grant performed the task masterfully.
10:51We had our results in exactly 5 minutes.
10:53And we were able to conclude that whatever liquid was in that bottle did not contain any drugs.
10:58It was drug-free.
11:00Looks to be in good health.
11:03It's definitely urine.
11:05Definitely.
11:06Clean.
11:07Healthy.
11:08Piss.
11:09We were baffled.
11:10A majority of our theories had been shot down.
11:13Nothing made sense.
11:14We were dealing with a guy who just leaves healthy piss on an electrical box in Pasadena.
11:19Something wasn't adding up.
11:20We needed more footage of the culprit.
11:22But there was no way I could do this with the highly unreliable DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail cameras.
11:27So I spent a few days doing extensive research, scouring numerous trail camera and hunting forums.
11:32And finally, I was able to conclude that the Tacticam Reveal X Pro Cellular Trail Camera was our golden ticket.
11:37It had a built-in LCD screen, integrated GPS tracking, and most importantly, cellular capabilities that could send images and videos straight to your phone.
11:45Grant and I positioned the Tacticam Reveal X Pro Cellular Trail Camera beyond the wall, on a tripod, tucked away in the bushes.
11:52This was our eye in the sky.
11:54And just like that, we had footage of the culprit as he lurked in the brush at 4 in the morning, waiting for cars to pass so he could place his piss bottles.
12:02I was focused.
12:03Tracking him.
12:04Studying him.
12:05Learning his ways.
12:07He was coordinated and consistent.
12:09My inside person would usually alert me when the bottles were being collected by the hazardous waste team.
12:14And then, that same evening, he would strike, leaving an abundance of bottles for the morning commuters to see.
12:19One thing that did stand out to me was his clothes.
12:22An extremely tight shirt.
12:24Ironic hiking shoes.
12:26And baggy cargo pants with the unnecessary utility knife in pocket.
12:30These three characteristics combined had to mean only one thing.
12:33He was an artist.
12:35I had a relatively elevated understanding of artists since I had spent a good amount of time working in the art department for photo and video shoots.
12:42And I knew that there was only one way to deal with a self-proclaimed artist.
12:46We were going to have to give him an interview.
12:48I met up with Grant at his warehouse first thing in the morning.
12:51Grant had a good amount of junk that we were able to scrounge up and use.
12:54Our plan was to create a large interview questionnaire pad that we could leave beyond the wall for the culprit to fill out and not risk revealing his artist persona.
13:01Feeling confident after flawlessly completing the year analysis test, Grant wanted to head up the design of the interview pad.
13:07He was starting to lean into his project manager role.
13:09But unfortunately, his left handedness got the best of him.
13:12And I had to take over.
13:14We knew that the questionnaire would be jarring at first glance.
13:16So we wanted to butter up the culprit with a nice introductory message.
13:19Conveying that we were fans of his work as well as telling him something every artist wants to hear.
13:24We had to compare him to the goats of his industry.
13:26We then asked five questions regarding his process.
13:29While attaching a sharpie to a shoelace so he could answer.
13:32We also gifted him a headlamp so he could continue on with his art in the darkness.
13:35The next day, we arrived at the location.
13:38Me as a normal construction worker and Grant as a recently divorced disheveled project manager who just absolutely crushed a year analysis test.
13:45At this point, being construction workers and project managers was second nature to us.
13:49We were quick and covert as I scaled the wall and placed the interview pad for only our piss artists to see.
13:55Everything was set.
13:56Now, all we had to do was wait.
13:58With our interview pad in place and the Taticam VLX Pro Cellular Trail Camera hidden in the brush, Grant and I were ready for our grand conclusion.
14:10And to finally discover why this artist was stockpiling piss bottles on the electrical box.
14:15That night felt like a piss induced Christmas Eve.
14:18It was impossible to sleep knowing that I would likely wake up in the morning with an answer to a question that had been haunting me and my neighborhood for the past several years.
14:25But instead of presents, I woke up to zero notifications from my Taticam VLX Pro Cellular Trail Camera.
14:31This was very unusual, especially since its field of view was centered on a high traffic zone with constant cars passing by.
14:37So I drove to the location and suited up for a quick check in.
14:40And I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bottles were back.
14:43The artist had struck.
14:44But when I scaled the wall for a closer look, I was met with extreme disappointment.
14:48The interview pad had been untouched.
14:50Nothing.
14:51And even worse, the piss culprit stole my Taticam VLX Pro Cellular Trail Camera.
14:56I had been blindsided.
14:58Our interview pad must have been too jarring, leading him to check his surroundings and discover our prying eye.
15:03This was a huge pain, not just because he was now aware of us, but because I had spent countless hours researching, setting up, and troubleshooting trail cameras.
15:12And now mine was gone.
15:13Fortunately, the Taticam VLX Pro Cellular Trail Camera had built-in GPS.
15:18And if you were ever to turn it on, it would automatically ping my phone with a check-in photo as well as precise latitude and longitude coordinates.
15:25Though when I took a closer look at the fresh batch, I did notice something unusual.
15:29A message written on one of the bottles.
15:31This was very concerning, but didn't necessarily provide any motive as to why he was doing this.
15:36As the days passed, there were no updates and no additional bottles.
15:40The usual piss-infested electrical box had now transformed into a normal infested electrical box.
15:45A once iconic staple in the neighborhood was just now another gray eyesore on the side of the road.
15:50He had lost his pizazz.
15:52Was my intrigue responsible for scaring off a budding street artist?
15:56I was starting to understand the sentiment of how you never really appreciate true art until it's gone.
16:01Meanwhile online, the piss-heads were frothing for more content, demanding updates to our investigation.
16:06Pressure was building, and I wanted to deliver, but it would be impossible to do if the piss-bandit was gone.
16:12Then one evening, my phone was alerted.
16:15My stolen Tacticam VLX Pro Cellular Trail Camera sent a check-in photo of an image of a couple vehicles parked alongside a road with what appeared to be the ocean in the background.
16:24This was puzzling because the ocean is extremely far from where the electrical box is located, 20 miles to be exact, which is a two and a half hour commute.
16:31Sadly, the culprit didn't have the device turned on long enough for it to send me GPS coordinates.
16:36A couple days later, I was alerted again, this time with a beautiful scenic photo of a grandiose cliff overlooking the ocean.
16:42Thankfully, I was sent the exact GPS coordinates which I immediately plugged into Google Maps.
16:47Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, California.
16:50A popular affluent coastal community known for its hiking trails, surf spots, and sunset views.
16:56This was far, 126 miles to be exact, which is also a two and a half hour commute.
17:01The culprit had either taken a vacation down south, sparking up a newfound love for scenic photography, or he was toying with us.
17:08My gut instinct was that he had moved on, replacing his abstract art with something a bit more traditional.
17:13But that following Tuesday morning, I was proven wrong.
17:16He had struck, breaking his nearly two week long dormancy.
17:19But again, our interview pad remained answerless.
17:22He was a devoted artist who worked late nights and went to great lengths to conceal his identity.
17:27Of course he didn't want to answer a bunch of questions about his process.
17:30We had to keep it simple.
17:32So we replaced the interview pad with an interview dry erase board.
17:35This time, with only one question.
17:37Which he again ignored, while hitting the electrical box with a record setting mother load drop.
17:42One gallon of piss.
17:44The artist was back, and more prolific than ever.
17:47And our unsuccessful attempts at an interview left Grant and I feeling cornered and out of moves.
17:51We feared that the worst was coming to fruition.
17:54An inevitable checkmate.
17:58The culprit had hit the electrical box with a one gallon jug of piss.
18:06He was on the offensive, toying with us.
18:09Even leaving a demonic smiley face as a taunt.
18:12But there was one play that lingered in the back of our heads.
18:15A Hail Mary of sorts.
18:17Something many of the piss heads online had been suggesting throughout this entire saga.
18:21A stakeout.
18:22This was a very risky ploy.
18:24And something that couldn't be taken lightly.
18:26We were dealing with an individual who places one gallon jugs of urine on an electrical box at 4 in the morning.
18:31Who knows what else he was capable of.
18:33So Grant and I started to brainstorm some ways to move forward with a full on live stakeout.
18:37Unfortunately, I was ruled out of every scenario.
18:40Mainly because being a black man in Pasadena idling in the car after sundown would have the cops called in a matter of minutes.
18:46So it all fell on Grant's shoulders now.
18:48Which he was very confident about moving forward with the task.
18:51But I had my doubts.
18:52Grant was one of those guys who just, you know, he's just one of those guys.
18:57But he was trying to prove himself.
18:58He was persistent.
18:59And I could tell that he really wanted to be the one to catch the piss culprit and interview him.
19:03Even though he was adamant about doing the stakeout.
19:05I didn't feel comfortable putting Grant in a situation where his life could be at risk.
19:08I needed to see for myself that he had the ability to tackle this alone.
19:11So I set up a staged piss electrical box scenario.
19:14We were able to achieve an almost exact replica of the location using a bunch of junk from Grant's warehouse.
19:20As well as various faux piss bottles made from our green tea mixture.
19:23I then had my friend Ian, who was a trained actor, meet up and play the role of the piss culprit.
19:28In order to embody the character and his motivations, I had Ian study the plethora of footage that we captured with the VLX pro cellular trail camera.
19:35Then we did a couple of run throughs as him as a piss culprit.
19:38Strategically placing the piss bottles on our prop electrical box.
19:41Ian was a pro and immediately had me sold on him playing the part for our dry run operations.
19:46Now it was Grant's turn to show me that he had what it took to confront the culprit.
19:50Our first scenario was if Grant wore a ghillie suit to blend into the adjacent bushes beyond the wall.
19:56Then he'd reveal himself.
19:59But this was quickly shot down because it would be too startling for the culprit.
20:03Our second scenario focused on creating a large enough space between Grant and the culprit.
20:08So we had him approach from the street side.
20:11But even with that distance, Grant was still met with reactive hostility.
20:15Grant wasn't necessarily having a good time.
20:17But fortunately, Ian was able to break character and talk some sense into him.
20:21In regards to how important these simulations were to our investigation.
20:24After a quick breather, Grant was back on board.
20:27We approached our third scenario differently.
20:29And had Grant implement an aggressive tactic hoping to scare the culprit into submission.
20:34But unfortunately, this backfired.
20:39And Grant was met with extreme physical and mental punishment.
20:43After witnessing this train wreck, I had zero faith in Grant and knew there would be no way that he could successfully pull off a stakeout.
20:50We were back to the drawing board.
20:52I figured the only way we could confront the culprit in real time was with an actual security camera that we could speak through.
20:58So I did a bit of research online and settled with the Reolink GoPT Plus.
21:03A state-of-the-art piece of machinery with two-way audio and a 360-degree pan-tilt axis.
21:09The only thing we needed to be worried about was the culprit stealing the camera again.
21:12We needed a vantage point from above.
21:14So I reached out to my motorcycle friend Robin, who also moonlights as a subpar carpenter.
21:18Hoping he would have some tools.
21:20Or at least a ladder.
21:21Which he did.
21:22The next day, Robin and I headed to the work site as a couple construction workers who owned a ladder.
21:27From there, Robin was able to ascend above the wall and secure the Reolink GoPT Plus to a bundle of tree branches using a sturdy zip-tie securing system.
21:35Our new eye in the sky was set.
21:38Now all we needed was the piss culprit to strike.
21:41A week had passed with no action.
21:43I knew he'd strike again, but it was just a matter of when and if Grant and I would be awake to interview him.
21:48Especially since his previous hits had been at 4am.
21:51Then one evening, while visiting my folks place and listening to my dad's long-winded explanation for his love for CBS, my phone was alerted.
21:58It was the Reolink GoPT Plus.
22:00Finally, we had him in our crosshairs.
22:03The piss culprit.
22:04In the act of placing a fresh batch of bottles.
22:07He looked different this time.
22:09Now sporting a balaclava and a shirt that read volunteer on the back.
22:12It was apparent that he knew we were onto him.
22:15And now went to great measures to conceal his identity while still showcasing his knack for community service.
22:20This was the first time witnessing his actions live.
22:23And now I had the capabilities of communicating with him.
22:26I zeroed in and took my shot.
22:29Fine there!
22:30Fine!
22:31Fine, Fine!
22:32I had the secret toรคm.
22:33You can!
22:34Fine!
22:35Fine!
22:36You can, you know!
22:39Can I hear you!
22:42Fine!
22:45Fine!
22:49Fine!
22:50Fine!
22:51Fine!
22:52Fine!
22:53Fine!
22:54Fine!
22:55Fine!
22:56Fine!
22:57Fine!
22:58Fine!
22:59Oh
23:29The artist had zero interest in being interviewed
23:36Grant and I were down two cameras
23:38And our funds were depleted
23:39All we had left were the highly unreliable
23:42DigiGarden 4K waterproof trail cameras
23:43And there was no way I was going to set myself up
23:45For another letdown
23:46But one thing did catch my attention
23:48Online there was a large group of pissed deniers
23:50Who thought this entire saga was staged
23:52That I was a covert agent working for GTCM
23:54Or Global Trail Camera Market
23:57Who had designed an intricate ploy
23:58In order to sell more trail cameras
24:00This was a wild theory
24:01And not sure how or why it came to be
24:03But it got me thinking
24:04Hi Janine
24:05I'm working on a documentary about mysterious piss artists
24:07And have been using your cameras
24:09In an attempt to communicate with him
24:10Although he keeps stealing them
24:12And we ran out of money
24:12Would love to collaborate with you and your company
24:15Hi Derek
24:17Thanks for reaching out
24:19And glad to e-meet you
24:20I think we would create something amazing together
24:23I will arrange the shipment
24:25And keep you updated
24:26I was now officially sponsored by Reolink
24:29And was shipped a trio of premium top tier 4G security cameras
24:32The Reolink Go PT Ultra
24:34The Reolink Go Ranger PT
24:36And the Atlas PT Ultra
24:37All powerhouses in the field of surveillance
24:40This wasn't my first foray into sponsorship
24:42About 18 years ago
24:44I was a sponsored skateboarder
24:45By a board company called Foundation
24:47Though my time with them was cut short
24:49Because the team manager didn't think
24:50I was doing enough to promote their brand
24:51So I was relieved of my duties
24:53And I never saw another foundation package ever again
24:55With great sponsorship comes great responsibilities
24:58I had to learn from my past mistakes
25:00And there was no way I was going to let this happen again
25:02Grant and I's camera arsenal had been replenished
25:05We were on an all-time high
25:06As newly sponsored Reolink team members
25:08But that all came to a halt
25:09When I received some concerning news
25:11Someone had installed a metal pyramid
25:13Atop the electrical box
25:14As a piss bottle deterrent
25:16It was extremely well crafted
25:17And looked to be bolted in
25:18Was this the city
25:19Or a neighborhood vigilante
25:21With a metalsmith background
25:22A third party had just inserted themselves
25:24Into our game of piss chess
25:25And I had no idea
25:27What the artist's next move would be
25:28Meanwhile concern was growing online
25:30And there seemed to be a division
25:31Between people's views of the piss pyramid
25:33Some were in favor of it
25:34Applauding its simple yet effective design
25:36Believing that this was the end of the saga
25:38While others thought it was blasphemous
25:40And took the side of the artist
25:41Rooting him on with the confidence that he'd prevail
25:43Amongst this discourse
25:45It caught a level of attention
25:46None of us previously fathomed
25:48Noah Goldberg
25:49A reporter for the LA Times
25:51Wanted to do an article on the piss artist
25:53And our operation of trying to get to the meaning behind it all
25:55He insisted on joining us on our next excursion
25:58Down to the electrical box
25:59Which I thought was a great idea
26:00Especially because it gave me an opportunity
26:02To use my new Reolink security cameras
26:04And publicly promote the brand
26:06Fulfilling my sponsorship duties to Janine
26:08And the team at Reolink
26:09Then about a day before our walkthrough
26:11The artist struck
26:12He managed to disassemble the metal pyramid
26:14And lay a new batch of bottles
26:16Now labeled piss
26:17Instead of his usual human urine
26:19This was a first
26:20And a declaration
26:21That he had seen my piss saga videos online
26:23The artist had triumphed over the piss pyramid
26:26Like an unstoppable force
26:27I was in awe of this move
26:29And knew this meant escalation
26:31Not between us
26:32But between him
26:33And whoever installed the contraption
26:34We were caught in the middle of a pissing contest
26:36And decided that this was bigger than us
26:38And that we needed to take a step back
26:40And just surveil
26:41The next day
26:42Grant and I met the LA Times
26:44At the location
26:44They conducted a quick interview
26:46Where we laid out everything
26:47That had occurred up until this point
26:48Now it was time to head to the piss box
26:50But first
26:51I made sure that they were equipped
26:53With decoy construction worker outfits
26:54As a safeguard for their reputation
26:56I also felt that this was the perfect time
26:58To promote my new trio
26:59Of Reolink security cameras
27:00Which Grant and I had created
27:02Complex camouflage systems for each unit
27:04As a way for them to blend perfectly
27:06Into the environment
27:06And not alert the artist
27:08I promoted the cameras perfectly
27:10And made sure to address each
27:12By its full model name
27:13As well as going into great detail
27:15About their specs and capabilities
27:16My sponsorship duties were fulfilled
27:18Janine would be proud
27:20Proud of you Derek
27:21We then made our way to the piss box
27:23Where the new batch remained glistening
27:25Remnants of the metal pyramid lay on the ground
27:28Like a defeated pawn
27:29Noah and his staff photographer
27:31Were fascinated by the glowing yellow bottles
27:33Making sure to document everything they could
27:35We scaled the wall
27:36Proceeding to go beyond
27:37And give them a visual layout
27:38Of the artist's studio
27:39And the vantage point of his canvas
27:41All while setting up
27:42Our new Reolink trash cameras
27:44Our goal was to monitor the moves
27:46Of both the artist
27:47And the new third party challenger
27:49But then
27:50The challenger executed their next move
27:52By implementing the installment
27:53Of the heavy duty piss pyramid 2.0
27:55The metalsmiths looked professional
27:57And I believe it was now safe to say
27:59That this was the work of the city
28:00They were swift and acting promptly
28:02A characteristic the government usually lacks
28:04Which meant this was serious
28:06The city had successfully nobbed the spot
28:08And I was curious as to how the artist would respond
28:10For days
28:11Grant and I waited
28:12We had courtside seats
28:14To this historical contest
28:15Between two rivaling giants
28:16Our fingers were crossed
28:18Hoping we'd get to witness
28:19The next move in real time
28:20But instead of piss
28:21We got piss heads
28:22People who had been following the saga online
28:24Visited the box
28:25From documenting the pyramid
28:27To searching for cameras
28:28It was beginning to be evidently clear
28:30That the spot was blown
28:31Also blown was Grant and I's cover
28:34Strange one here
28:35A mystery man is making his mark
28:37On the streets of Pasadena
28:38And it's not exactly something
28:40That you'd want to see
28:41Or smell for that matter
28:42Okay here we go
28:43Two local filmmakers
28:45Are getting plenty of attention
28:46These days
28:47Tracking down the so called
28:48Pee bandit
28:50Grant and Sura
28:51And his buddy
28:51Derek Milton
28:52Are about two years
28:53Into documenting
28:54The mysterious bottles
28:56The bottles keep turning up
28:57On a specific
28:58Pasadena water and power
28:59Electrical box
29:00Tested it and found out
29:04In fact that it was
29:05Clean healthy
29:05You know human urine
29:07We had no idea
29:08That the LA Times story
29:09About the piss electrical box
29:10Would take off
29:11In the way that it did
29:12Some of the people
29:12That see it now
29:13Are like well
29:14It's a
29:15It's his artistic expression
29:17That's the piss artist
29:18Who's clearly doing
29:19Some kind of installation
29:20It's kind of
29:21It's Banksy with urine
29:22You know you're like
29:23Banksy
29:23You know
29:24So they're trying to
29:24Reverse psychology
29:26They tried but he didn't
29:27He wouldn't answer
29:28No of course not
29:29Because he can see
29:29Right through that
29:30He's playing
29:30Fucking 5D chess
29:32Concerns spread worldwide
29:33And much like
29:34Our own investigation
29:35Everyone wanted to know
29:37The meaning behind it all
29:38People sent us a plethora
29:44Of piss related content
29:46From memes
29:47To videos
29:48To handcrafted artwork
29:49Even to the point
29:50Of getting recognized
29:51In public
29:51Everywhere and
29:52See there
29:53People honk at you
29:55They say
29:56You're the P guys
29:57And it's not really
29:58What we wanted to be
29:59Our entire mission
29:59Of dressing up
30:00As decoy construction workers
30:01Was in order
30:02To not be associated
30:03With piss
30:03But had backfired
30:04We were now
30:05Synonymous with piss
30:06And it was then
30:08That it dawned on me
30:09We had been so consumed
30:10With our own intrigue
30:11And wanting to know why
30:12To the point of developing
30:13An unhealthy obsession
30:14With trail and security cameras
30:16That we had lost our focus
30:17The artist was aware
30:18Of our intention
30:19To communicate
30:19Yet still chose not to
30:21And our own infatuation
30:22As to why
30:23May have led to the
30:24Obstruction of him
30:25Creating more
30:25Fortunately
30:27Everywhere you look
30:28A canvas exists
30:29Whether it controls
30:30Traffic signals
30:31Sources electricity
30:32To nearby homes
30:33Or houses a heavily
30:35Damaged piss bottle deterrent
30:36The city is full of them
30:38And if you ever find yourself
30:39In Pasadena
30:40And happen to stumble upon
30:42The original artist's
30:43Electrical box
30:44Remember to look above
30:45And beyond the wall
30:55My bad
31:07My bad
31:07My bad
31:07My bad
31:11My bad
31:16My bad
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