He had been living around Bushwick and Ridgewood for a little over a decade when he decided to finally learn how to bike back this past May. The self-described motivational speaker behind the Instagram account @goodmorningpumps declined to give his name, though he was polling his followers on whether an admin reveal would “take the fun out of it.”
Whoever he was, a month after starting to bike, he began posting videos he took biking in the morning past local East Williamsburg strip club Pumps (1089 Grand St.) while yelling variations on “Good morning Pumps, have a beautiful day ladies.”
Since then, he’s posted at least 33 videos of him doing this, sometimes with a Moneybag Yo song or “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” playing in the background. Sometimes he modulates the voice. It’s a simple concept, but evocative. Perhaps some people find it serene. So far it’s gained him some 3,600 followers, and led at least one North Brooklyn resident to ask if he is sexy.
I didn’t ask him if he was sexy, and he only agreed to talk by phone, where he gave his thoughts on Pumps, and then some more of his thoughts on Pumps too.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Andrew Karpan: What’s the origin story?
@goodmorningpumps: So, cycling is new to me, and it’s also kind of hilarious from my point of view, because I just got a bicycle and, you know, I’ve had cars, I’ve had a motorcycle, and riding a bike always seemed maybe even more dangerous, at least in the city. So, I kind of avoided it. But eventually, I faced my fears and I got this bicycle, and I kept passing Pumps on my way to work. That’s the origin story, I guess.
I have this kind of dumb sense of humor where I thought it’d be funny to take a video of me just saying, “Hey, Pumps, good morning, have a beautiful day,” or whatever. And it was my little stupid thing. I didn’t immediately start blasting it. I certainly didn’t share it.
I thought it was kind of lame, to be honest. And I just kept posting that anytime I went by them that way. And then, one day — I don’t even remember when exactly — there’s one video I think that really set it off, with maybe like a hundred thousand views.
And everybody that was commenting was just like, “This rocks.” And the performers [at Pumps] thought it was funny, and it seemed like they liked it and appreciated it to some extent. So I just kept doing it and trying to come up with creative ways to do it. On my ride there, I just pick the first idea that comes to mind and do it.
AK: Why stay anonymous?
GMP: You know, it’s not that I feel like I need to be anonymous, but I generally just try to keep my name off it. I actually do talk to, and have met, a lot of performers and some of the other people who like the page and even told some of my friends. But I generally just try to keep my name off it. It’s not what I want to brand myself. It’s not really my real career or anything.
I try to make it about the performers and the space, or, you know, the absurdity of riding the bicycle and doing this.
AK: How big has this been for you?
GMP: it’s been kind of a phenomenon for me. I mean, I’ve made content before that has popped off a little bit, like on TikTok. I like to try to crack the code and see what pops off. And usually it is random stuff. it’s never my music or it’s never, you know, anything that I would really want it to be.
But this has definitely been the biggest account that I’ve had so far, for sure.
AK: Why do you think these have popped off?
GMP: It was the fact that people would look at the account and go, “Wow, this guy’s been doing this for a while.” I think it didn’t pop off until there were enough on the grid where people would look at the account and go, “Holy shit, this guy just does this all the time.”
And that became the real absurdity about it. The bigger joke was, like, that I just kept doing it.
The feedback I’m getting is that there’s—how did my friend put it?—he said there’s something just genuine and, and something kind and, you know, maybe, it’s unassuming or, you know, it’s kind of like, it’s something you wouldn’t expect.
AK: Was it supposed to be, like, a riff on that Robin Williams movie, “Good Morning Vietnam?”
GMP: You know, I work in television and film, but my friends back home would always roast me because I don’t watch a lot of movies. I mean, I like movies and I watch them, but I’m not as well read or well watched as a lot of people. I don’t even know that movie. So, it’s not that deep.
AK: How big do you want this to get?
GMP: I want more followers. I want more views. I want to organize bike rides. I want to, I don’t know, maybe somehow work some charitable thing into it if possible, if appropriate.
I want to see what we can do with this. And, most importantly, I want to keep driving business to Pumps.
AK: Would you say you’re a Pumps regular?
GMP: I’ve made friends there. But I certainly don’t know everybody there. I just have a lot of love and respect for Kat and really the whole team.
And if I felt like any of this was bothering them, or if it ever gets to a point where it does, I would shut it down. Like, that’s just the last thing I want to do. But people have been loving it and my friends think it’s amazing. They love to be in on it.
It was never an inside joke, but now it is for people in my immediate life, you know?
AK: How long have you been going to Pumps?
GMP: I mean only, maybe, the last five years. But it was the first, you know, gentleman’s club I’ve ever been to. And I really haven’t been to many more since, to be honest.
I went for the first time for my 30th birthday. And, actually, it was amazing. They were really, really, sweet to me on my birthday. And, um, I can’t say too much, but I got a really great lap dance in the backroom.
And, you know, since then, I’ve met certain performers and become patrons of them directly. So, a lot of times I’ll go there to support them on their shift.
AK: Has doing this changed how you interact with Pumps?
GMP: I’m going there more. Somebody sent me money to go there once, which was really cool. He was a super nice guy, who has been going there a while and is a really great patron. So, there’s a community there.
And so far everything has seemed to be encouraging and just positive and people appreciate a little smile.
AK: How often do you go to Pumps?
GMP: I really would like to just be able to describe myself as a “Pumps regular.” But the reality is, for the past few years, I haven’t been making a lot of money and have been having a difficult time supporting myself.
I work in film and television. And it’s been pretty, pretty rough for a few years, really since the writer’s strike. It’s been tough.
I’m kind of working on kind of building myself back up right now in life, so I’m trying to make more of a habit of going there maybe, like, once or twice a month if I can. I go as often as I can.
AK: Does your relationship with Pumps get in the way of other relationships in your life?
GMP: That’s a good question. I keep it, you know, um, pretty, pretty, um… [trails off] Pumps is really just a fun thing that’s happening in my life. And I think people around me recognize my relationship to it and with it.
And certainly any romantic interest of mine hasn’t been bothered by it. Whether they knew it before or after, I mean, the vibes are good. We’re having fun here and we’re all adults.
AK: When did the people at Pumps notice the account?
GMP: I think people sent it to the performers pretty early on. But I probably had a good, I don’t know, maybe like close to ten videos by that point. It was pretty obscure in the beginning.
There’s a few people who are super proud that they knew within the first couple of videos. They commented things like, “Yeah, we’re here, we’re here first. We know this is going to pop off.”
And they’re pretty happy with themselves for that.
AK: Do the people at Pumps know you’re the one running the account?
GMP: Someone clocked my tattoos. One night, I told a couple of people there that I’d be coming tonight or something. I didn’t tell them when exactly, but I was like, “Yeah, I’ll be there tonight.”
And, so I think that night they were kind of looking for my wrist tattoo. Honestly, I gave it away, with my slutty wrist tattoo.
I think it was Scotty. Scotty was real sharp. She figured it out real, real fast. And, so it was fun. I tried to play coy about it. But she knew. I was being obvious, but also pretending, like, asking her “What are you talking about?”
AK: How close are you with your followers?
GMP: I have certain people that are following me where we send each other different reels and memes. And we talk about stuff and bikes or random shit, playing Magic the Gathering or whatever.
I’ve made little friends in a way. It’s become just a nice account. Mostly positive. I mean, you get some assholes that will talk shit. And I’ll try to, I don’t know, try to roast them in a kind of funny way or say something a little lighthearted. Or I’ll just delete their comments.
But I try to keep it pretty positive. I want to hype everybody up. Get out there. Ride your bike. Get together with your friends. Go to Pumps. Spend your rent money.
AK: How much money should someone bring to Pumps?
GMP: This is a really good question, too. It really is the type of thing that I want to talk about, so thank you for asking.
I think, and this is from my own experience, I can’t be there for more than a couple hours and not spend $250, $300. $300 is usually the low end of what I spend there on a night. I can easily spend $500 or $600, and it’s well spent money.
I think if you are gonna go there, it should be an occasion. I do think you should be prepared to spend money, and it’s a lot more fun to be able to get some dances and decorate some performers with some folded up dollar bills. You can yap with them and pay them to kind of just chill out with you.
They’re more likely to kind of, like, I don’t know… I think being cheap and going there is just not the move. If you’re not there to spend a few hundred, at least two or three hundred, it’s kind of silly to go there at all.
You’ll run out of money really fast if you’re anything like me. And, if you don’t, you’re just sitting there specifically trying not to spend money, and I think that’s whack.
AK: What do you think your followers are following you for?
GMP: Honestly, it’s probably just for Pumps. I don’t think I’m the factor at all for why this popped off. It’s Pumps. People love Pumps. Pumps has been around. All of its performers work very hard and have a reputation, and people love Pumps. I was just doing something that spoke to people who love Pumps.
AK: Any dancers you want to shout out?
GMP: Yeah, definitely. Definitely Mariah. Definitely Scotty. Vivian is great. And Pixie, she’s the best. And there’s a lot of newer performers that I’ve recently met, like Mahogany. We recently had a back-and-forth about cats.
These are all just beautiful people. And very talented too, incredibly talented.
Images sourced from @goodmorningpumps.
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