A man famous online for dressing his friend in tin foil while he interacts with the public has brought his viral act to Nottingham.
James Norman, 19, from Kings Lynn, came up with the idea of dressing his friend Theo Hassd, 19, up while drinking beer and playing video games.
“We were a bit tipsy one night whilst playing Fifa when it hit me,” he said.
“‘Why don’t I dress you (Theo) up in tin foil and make a social media video about it’.”
The most recent video of the tin foil man in Nottingham was published on Sunday (January 18) and briefly shows him on an escalator in the Victoria Centre grabbing the handrails while shaking and screaming.
The pair have also taken the tin foil man on a trip to Leicester.
Speaking about the public reactions to his stunts, James said: “We had one bloke, clearly intoxicated who threw a punch at the tin foil man.
“It didn’t connect, but it was definitely an eye opener.”
The Norfolk-born content creator says he doesn’t have a history of posting on social media, but recalled that his first TikTok post, a two picture slideshow video on the popular app, has more than one million views as of January 2026.
“It was a shock to be honest mate, I didn’t expect it to take off like that”, he said.
James said he chose aluminium foil for the costume due to it “sticking out” and being “ridiculous”.
The video has amassed more than 300,000 views, but audience reaction has been mixed.
One person posted a comment saying: “Anything for attention these days,”
Another said: “Robin Hood’s disguises are getting worse.”
James, who has now surpassed 1,000 TikTok followers since his viral stunts, said he finds public attention “weird”.
“It’s a strange feeling, people recording you, heckling you.
“I’ve gotten used to it a bit now but, it’s definitely still an odd experience”, he explained.
James was asked if he could imagine his friend Theo behaving like the tin foil man without the costume on.
“Unfortunately yes”, he said.
He explained that there’s no deeper meaning to the ‘tin foil man’, and insists the act is void of social commentary.
He added: “It’s surface level fun, we just want to entertain people, not make anyone think deeply or feel uncomfortable.”
Philosopher Immanuel Kant once argued laughter comes from broken expectations — something the tin foil man appears to deliver in abundance.
