Bubble man hopes to spread joy

Michael Dinkgreve gets a hug Cafe Hot Gossip''s Dana. 212173 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

By Romy Stephens

The Belgrave bubble man hopes his actions helped bring laughter and happiness to locals during Covid-19.

Michael Dinkgreve was spotted walking along the main street in Belgrave on the morning of 25 July in a giant inflatable bubble.

Onlookers filmed and photographed the event, which later went viral on social media.

The bubble man was also seen walking around Belgrave again on 30 July.Mr Dinkgreve said he simply wanted to bring some joy to people’s lives during these tough times.

“I’ve been wanting to buy it (an inflatable bubble) for three years or more and when Covid came, when they wanted to lock us up in masks, I thought the safest thing would be to be in a bubble,” he said.

“The whole purpose of being in the bubble was to create a bit of laughter and a bit of happiness in the world. It was my debut street art comedy performance.

“To be able to give people a laugh in times like now I think is super special.”

Mr Dinkgreve said he wasn’t against the wearing of face masks and that he respected what all levels of government were doing to combat Covid-19.

He said he was grateful towards the people who found humour within his actions.

“I really appreciated the people that enjoyed my humour and politely said to those people who tried to be mean ‘hey he was giving us a laugh and we enjoyed it’.”

Mr Dinkgreve said his actions were live street art and he hoped to dedicate any money raised towards one day building a wellness centre.