That dude has some serious ninja signage swinging skills. Holy smokes!

Anyone who's seen 311's video "hey you" has seen this.

That was pretty sweet!

http://www.hoponbaby.com

My colleague told me these guys can earn up to 60k a year if doing this near full time.

You are a little behind the times. This has been going on for sometime. Infact there are sign advertising companies that specialise in this kind of sign display advertising. For example the below URL:

http://www.aarrowads.com/

I think you will find he is being paid to perform like that, rather than just enjoying a normal sign holding role.

We've got a load of these spinning sign guys here in Arizona. I saw one of em first about a year and a half ago. Some of them are pretty good but I saw a guy a few months ago who kept dropping it and lookin lame. T'was funny

I've seen something like this before. Check out this music video for the band Elbow. Is it the same person?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hooPU2mdsH4

Yep, he's definitely from AArow. I work for MGM, one of AArow's leading competitors, doing the same thing he does here--although, admittedly, I'm nowhere near as good at it as he is. I've been doing it since July and it has proven to be the most fun job I've worked in my life! Some of the guys I work with have also been doing this for years, and each of them spins really well. If you want to see more of AArow (who are mostly located in the West), MGM Spin, Inc. (Who basically have the southeast covered), and any other companies that might be out there, you can check 'em out at Youtube (just look up "MGM," "sign spinners," or something to that effect).

Again, he did really well, even if he is from our leading competitor! :P

What a great lesson in subliminal advertising. How many of you tried to read what was on the back of the sign??

Completely and utterly CG

Great video...Matt (sign samurai) has a video from a few years back up on YouTube that's arguably even better.

A few key notes:
*Yes, the entire point is to do tricks, and get you to react positively, whether in amazement or just simply with a smile. (mission accomplished)
*AArrow has been doing this for nearly 8 years now and operates in over 18 US cities and 3 countries (see above...it works)
*AArrow isn't based in Martinez, its domestic headquarters are in San Diego and international HQ is in Washington, DC
*AArrow Sign Spinners Matt Doolan, Teddy Hale and Robert Sizemore were in the 311 "Hey You" video and David Lemke was in Elbow's video
*CG? What a joke. Why? Does it really look THAT impossible?
*'sign spinning David' - AArrow is far from absent in the Southeast. Also of note, we came up with this idea that you guys are now making a living off of, too. I've managed our Raleigh, NC market for 3 years and we have often rivaled LA in overall volume (hundreds of hours of sign spinning every week). You guys are doing a decent job of expanding aggressively, so let's see if your skills are up to it. I'd like to challenge you to a friendly web video battle. You can check mine here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bustyouinthemouf Post your best in reply and let's get something going. Competition is good for business, right? :)

HAHA. That guy use to be my roommate, back in California. He's awesome and hella cool. Best roommate ever!!!!

The ones I've seen that are best are generally found around major cities like San Diego, LA, or SF. Those dudes start spinnin signs and suddenly it becomes an art rather than drudgery.