Laughter erupted when Brian Owens displayed his newly shaved head in a video playback on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Owens and his friend, Travis Settineri, had been involved in a prank battle some months before. They uploaded their escapades on Settineri’s YouTube channel.
It went viral.
So viral, that Leno wanted the Plant City residents as guests for his segment, “Prank You Very Much.” Producers emailed Settineri, and the next thing they knew, the two were on a plane bound for Los Angeles.
“He’s the coolest celebrity I’ve met,” Settineri said. “He talked to you like you grew up with him. He genuinely cared about what you had to say.”
The madness started when Owens cracked two eggs on Settineri’s head. Settineri was talking outside on his phone, when Owens snuck up behind him with a video camera and a handful of eggs.
To retaliate, Settineri cooked up his own plan. Settineri had been cutting Owens’ hair for seven years. While pursuing his business degree at Saint Leo University, Settineri turned a profit on bhis hair-cutting talent. He became the “Hallway Barber” as a freshman, after cutting his friends hair as part of initiation on a sports team.
Although picky, Owens trusts Settineri with his do. That trust backfired, when Settineri put a homemade gel on Owens’s head after the haircut.
“I’m gonna hook my boy up,” Settineri said in the video while concocting the gel.
But, the so-called gel was actually bubble gum Settineri himself chewed and then melted down.
“It’s just one of those things that just popped into my head,” Settineri said. “Especially (because) he’s so picky about his hair.”
Settineri squirted the bright pink syrup all over Owens’s head after his haircut.
“Is this the same stuff you always use?” Owens asked Settineri while being drenched with the concoction.
“Yeah it’s really good,” Settineri said, reassuring his victim.
But soon, Owens detected that something wasn’t right. As he rubbed it in, he realized it wasn’t gel. And nothing was getting the gum out of Owens’ hair. Settineri kept the camera running as Owens freaked out in front of a mirror.
Settineri uploaded the video to his channel, TheHomelessHeroes. Instantly, bloggers and prank sites were sharing the video on their sites.
This isn’t Settineri’s first experience with fame. As part of The Homeless Heroes, he’s gotten commercial gigs from Checkers and Jolly Rancher, among others. He’s also been on Fantasy Factory and was the subject of an MTV documentary, which hasn’t aired yet.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
SEE THE VIDEO
To see the prank, visit Settineri’s YouTube channel, TheHomelessHeroes, or go directly to the video.