Hot on the heels of our review of the National Post's new Posted Toronto blog, they've reported that Toronto icon and terrifier-of-tourists Zanta, né David Zancai, is leaving.
Zancai is well-known to downtown residents for doing pushups in his Santa hat, and his bizarre "Yes! Yes! Yes!" growl that causes alarm to unfamiliar pedestrians. Zanta has been banned from interacting with the sensitive suits on King Street from Church to Spadina, is prohibited from being in Dundas Square and is not allowed on the TTC. He also is the subject of two documentaries, a Fauxreel culturejamming project, and has Flickr groups and online fan clubs dedicated to him.
The exodus from the streets of Toronto will send Zanta to Brampton, which will bring him closer to his three sons. Zancai has said in interviews that the Zanta character arose out of a custody battle over his daughter. During a court hearing, Zancai says that he wore a Santa hat to amuse the girl (to the chagrin of the judge, who questioned his sanity), and vowed not to retire the Zanta character until he gains custody of his daughter.
Zanta's infamous pushups, which are always done in shorts and sans shirt, even in the bitter cold, arose out of a 2000 workplace accident where the former contractor fell from a height of eight metres, landing on his back. After days on life support and three weeks in a coma, pushups were part of his prescribed rehabilitation routine and eventually became a Zanta trademark. Zancai continues to suffer some nerve damage from the accident and receives a monthly payment from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
The move seems to be out of frustration, as the courts and police have seriously impeded Zanta's presence downtown. Zancai, who claims that he doesn't suffer from mental illness, says that the police are continually harassing him, and he has spent time in jail for defying court orders. For some, Zanta is an irritant and his retirement is long overdue; for others, he's a legend and part of what makes Toronto interesting. Zanta may be leaving, but do we think he'll be back? Yes! Yes! Yessss!
Photo by Carrie Musgrave.
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Good riddance.
Oh Zanta, thee shall be missed. I would say the restriction of his movement is unconstitutional (section 2 of the Charter) but his "assembly" and "association" are not always peaceable.
Oh well, hope he gets to see his daughter sometime. Otherwise, have fun in B-town.
damn, i love this guy and his schtick. friggin hilarious.
you will be sorely missed, Zanta! adieu and good luck!
This sucks. Zanta is a Toronto icon.
I lived on Yonge Street and used to watch Zanta all the time from my window. I eventually came to not notice him much, but it was interesting to see the reactions of everyone. Most people were scared or at least really wary of him, because, after all, he does act like a nutjob. If you go up and speak to him, he turns it off and talks like a normal person.
I don't blame people for wanting him gone, though. I wonder if he realizes how intimidating it is to have some bare-chested muscular man in a Santa hat stand in your way and growl at the top of his lungs, flexing in an aggressive stance.
I remember the first time I saw him, I stepped between him and a couple of obviously mortified women on the subway. Once I realized he was harmless, I felt silly, but just in case any of you thought chivalry was dead heh heh
(PS: I'm SO glad he's harmless, because he would destroy me ha)
Aw, Zanta, we love you. Visit often!
Who the hell is this numbskull, Toronto's answer to the Naked Cowboy?
yes. and we love him.
I bumped into Zanta when I was photographing Runnymede station this time last year. I had a normal-ish conversation with him: he gave me workout tips and told me that he used to be "just like me" (I will call that "slender") until he started doing like, ten billion pushups a day. Then he made me feel his arm muscles. And hit on my friend.
It was surreal.
I once saw him on a bus rocking back and forth muttering, "It's all just an act," to himself several times before starting up again.
Walks like a tweaker, talks like a tweaker, acts like a tweaker. It's sad that that tweaker has become "an icon of Toronto." Hell, let's put him in the City TV truck and let him smash into the Sam's signs.
Toronto icon?
errr no a sweaty aggressive dude doing push ups in the middle of the road and then prowling around shouting and flexing at passerbys.
Not endearing-- not even a *little* bit.
As a woman who has been barked many times by Zanta when crossing the street, even after I asked him not to, I am so happy to see him gone. His behaviour is not cool and I didn't feel as though it was harmless.
Never met or bumped into him. The character is kinda funny...but the dude is ripped and I can see where some people would be intimidating. People who know him say he's harmless, and it's an act, and he probably hasn't or wouldn't hurt anyone, although, a stranger would never know that...but I'm with brokenengine...I'd hate to have him think I looked at him funny...the guy would break me in half like a toothpick.
I have to go do some push-ups now: - )
In fact, maybe that would be a fitting tribute and send-off, get a bunch of people downtown and everyone wear a Santa hat and do push-ups, yelling, "Yes, Yes, Yessss!", all at once. Just make sure you post pics: - )
Women can wear Santa tops of course: - )
He's (sort of) Toronto's answer to Hard Gay, not Naked Cowboy, yeeesh. Zanta is great, he can be a real kick in the pants for the people who need that that most.
I hereby award Zanta 1 (one) kudo point for being cool.
And I second WannaBinToranna's suggestion of a Critical Zanta, I just wish I could be there for it.
why not do a flashmob of zanta-wannabes all acting like him, to give him a proper sendoff? show him how much we'll miss him.
Whether you like him or not, the way the city has treated this man is beyond what is constitutional.
Banned from the downtown core and the TTC. Banned from any parades (with the exception of the pride parade, thankfully, since their message is one of tolerance), the taste of the danforth and the CNE grounds. The common theme is the Toronto Police (and other city officials) enforcing minor laws with a punishment FAR greater than what the law requires.
The TTC couldn't ban him for doing pushups, so what did they ban him for? Standing too close to the edge.
The city banned him from the entire downtown core because CHUM complained that he kept sneaking into their shots.
You can't just force someone out because you don't like them. Turning a blind eye to the city's ridiculous behavior just because you don't like the man and you deserve to have the same thing happen to you.
Speaking of news crews getting upset when something they don't like is in the shot... (begins at about the 1:00 mark).
He told me one day that his ban was from College to King and Spadina to Church. I often saw him on Yonge near Wellesley and sometimes on the bus to work--often enough to know where he lives with the help of one of the documentaries. Of course, that will all change now I guess
Yeah, the whole, "Get Outta Dodge" thing is a bit disturbing. He doesn't appear to be actually hurting anyone.
If they can do it to him, who else could they do this to?
This is how it starts.
I like the Zanta flash mob idea!
Eugh good riddance!
My friends used to live in the same building as them. He threatened them with a restraining order for being noisy while taking out the recycling, among other things. They ended up moving because of his insane demands and requests and lawsuit threats. So fitting he has to move because of his own insane legal problems.
And time to get off the disability, IMO. What’s the difference between his constant fitness showoffs while receiving benefits and someone still using a disability parking permit after they’ve healed from a broken limb??
I live near Yonge & Wellesley and my husband & I would often see him along Yonge St. I've seen him do his act in bitter cold. We always thought he was hillarious and harmless, part of what made Toronto interesting. Good luck on your new endeavours Zanta!!
I wasn't aware he had so many restrictions on him... that seems excessive!
He'll be back. His routine won't fly in Brampton at all.
Or, he'll become internationally famous in Brampton, and all of the people who kicked him out here will say he was originally from Toronto.
But yeah, good idea, let's deport anyone who has legal or possible mental health issues...they will interfere less with our shopping.
This is police harassement, you can't even go after REAL criminals that you have to harass him?