Anka Radakovich on CamSoda's $100K Offer to NYC's 'Naked Cowboy'

Webcam site CamSoda has offered the “Naked Cowboy” $100,000 to appear on their site. Who is the Naked Cowboy? The Cowboy is a street performer in New York City who stands in the middle of Times Square in his underpants, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, and poses for tips. He has been doing it since 1998 and continues to entertain the tourists in Times Square by shaking his money maker in tighty-whities that spell “NAKED” on his toned buttcheeks. He dances, strums his quitar, and sings, (barely). And the ladies love it. The idea of the “singing cowboy” is a historical achetype of Americana. It’s a great character. And any kind of cowboy is sexy. It’s not his singing that the ladies like, but it’s the part where they make their husband or boyfriend take a picture while the cowboy lifts her up into his arms. It’s totally worth a dollar. The Cowboy, or “Naked” as he likes to be called, told me back in 1999 that he made $150-$1,000 a day, and when he comes home he spreads the dollar bills all over his living room. It’s American capitalism at its best. And every single male stripper troupe on the planet has a cowboy in it. When I interviewed him for a TV show 20 years ago, Robert Burke was the new boy on the block in Times Square. Aside from a few hip-hop dancers and an occasional violinist, Burke had little competition. For years he has been a fixture of Times Square, come rain or shine. I once saw him out in the rain posing with a busload of giggling grandmothers, and out in the snow posing with a group of German gay guys. And another time I saw him from inside a taxi in 17-degree weather with no coat on. At least he has a work ethic. I interviewed him in a parking garage whose owner let him change his clothes there, and a place where he could lift weights. A former Playgirl model, male stripper, and “straight dancer at a gay bar," a star was born in the middle of a photoshoot when the photographer laughed and told him he looked like a “naked cowboy." He’s not technically naked, since he’s wearing his underpants, but I have to admit the name is great.  In 2009 Burke announced he was running for New York City Mayor, in 2010 he announced he was running for President. Since he trademarked the Naked Cowboy character, he sued the Mars Candy Company trademark infringement, who appropriated his shirtless cowboy character on a flashing Times Square billboard. He won. He also sued a 70-something stripper who started calling herself the “naked cowgirl." He lost that case, but it gave him the idea of a “Naked Cowgirl franchise” where cowgirls have to pay him a franchise fee of $500 a month to use the character. In 2014 he struck a deal with Fruit of the Loom Underwear, which inspired local newspaper headlines such as “Naked Cowboy Finally Changes His Underwear.”  CamSoda sent Naked a letter which said, “It’s important that you continue to sing and strum your guitar dressed in nothing but your underwear and cowboy boots. We’d pay you up to $100,000 and you’d keep all the tips you earn from your shows. You’d be required to perform three times per week through the duration of the New York City quarantine.” The company has also launched CamSodaLive for actors, comics, and musicians who can appear live and get tips during their shows. “You’d fit right in with your attire… or lack thereof," wrote CamSoda’s Vice President Daryn Parker. So far, the Naked Cowboy has not responded to the offer.  Photos via Wikimedia Commons