In the world of social media and advertising, it’s hard to cut through the noise and make yourself stand out.
Newbie real estate agent Topher Ingalls succeeded in standing out, but instead of catching the attention of potential clients, he caught the attention of the California Highway Patrol.
Ingalls, 26, of Templeton, California, created a two-minute video about his transition into real estate from the world of motocross.
In the video, he hops on his motorcycle and does a series of stunts that include jumping over a freeway on-ramp and doing wheelies on the highway. The Templeton highway patrol caught wind of Ingalls’ video, and pointed out that many of the stunts he featured in the video are illegal to perform on city streets.
Ingalls admitted that he didn’t get a permit to film the video, and he understands why the authorities would be concerned.
But, he says the video was shot early in the morning, when few others are on the road. Furthermore, he says the stunts aren’t as dangerous as they seem.
“To the average person, it probably looks like a death-defying stunt,” Ingalls said in an interview with The San Luis Obispo Tribune. “But I did it every day for so long.”
An officer of the Templeton California Highway Patrol says he will interview Ingalls about the logistics of the ad before deciding to press charges.
Ingalls apologized for the ad, and he has the backing of his brokerage, Buschur Realty.
“It was a good marketing piece,” Buschur said. “Some things just kind of backfired on him.”