FutureMayor
Active Member
Too bad, I liked having him around downtown Toronto.
Louroz
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Zanta says he's quitting Toronto
Samantha Israel files this story, to appear in tomorrow's National Post:
Zanta, the loud, bare-chested busker recently jailed for going on the TTC and elsewhere in defiance of court-ordered bans, has taken off his Santa hat and says he’s moving to Brampton.
“I can’t be me, I can’t be free, and the city of Toronto is to blame,†said David Zancai, 39, who calls himself Zanta. “I’m totally a prisoner in my own city. I have to get out of here.â€
Mr. Zancai is notorious on the streets of Toronto for doing push-ups in nothing but a Santa Claus hat and shorts; he has online fan clubs but his antics have brought criticism and criminal charges.
He has been charged with “committing a nuisance†on city streets several times since 2005, and was banned from King Street between Church and Spadina in April, 2006, TTC subways last August and Yonge-Dundas Square in November.
This May, Mr. Zancai served 20 days of a 30-day sentence in the Don Jail for failing to comply with a probation order banning him from the TTC. Last month, he was placed in solitary confinement at Toronto’s West Detention Centre for “mischief causing a disturbance†and “interference with traffic.â€
This summer, Mr. Zancai plans to Brampton, where two of his three sons currently reside. “I’ll just keep it low key and chill out with my boys,†he said.
He’s already replaced his signature Santa hat with a white baseball cap so that he’ll be less recognizable, but he doesn’t know how long the move will actually last. “I’ll be miserable there until I can come back to the city and live as Zanta again,†he says.
He dismisses the charges against him as inventions of the police force. “I always have to look behind my back,†he says. “Every time a cop sees me, they harass me. ‘Where are you going? Where have you been?’ I can’t take it anymore. I’m scared to go outside.â€
So, to “teach the cops a lesson,†Mr. Zancai has decided to leave Toronto altogether. “I want to give my fans the opportunity to stand up for me. They’ll say, ‘Toronto isn’t Toronto without Zanta.’ The city’s gonna call back for me. There will be a big outcry. I’m loved by millions.â€
The administrator of www.anti-zanta.ca/forum, an Ottawa-based Website devoted to a 26-member community of Zanta haters, couldn’t disagree more.
“We all know that Zancai moving won’t teach the police a lesson,†he said anonymously via e-mail. “If anything, it will prove to them that they’re doing their jobs, they’re winning their fight and Zanta is giving way. And I seriously doubt that he has more than five or 10 fans who would rally for him.â€
Known online simply as “Anti-Zanta,†the former remote agent for market research firm Advanis started the forum to create public awareness. “Zanta actually believes he has the right to get in your face and scream his sounds and flex his muscles and that you must watch him,†h says. “If he’s just bringing the problem from one town to the next town, what’s the difference?â€
Photo of Zanta at Queen and John by Kaydi Pyette for National Post
Louroz
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zanta says he's quitting Toronto
Samantha Israel files this story, to appear in tomorrow's National Post:
Zanta, the loud, bare-chested busker recently jailed for going on the TTC and elsewhere in defiance of court-ordered bans, has taken off his Santa hat and says he’s moving to Brampton.
“I can’t be me, I can’t be free, and the city of Toronto is to blame,†said David Zancai, 39, who calls himself Zanta. “I’m totally a prisoner in my own city. I have to get out of here.â€
Mr. Zancai is notorious on the streets of Toronto for doing push-ups in nothing but a Santa Claus hat and shorts; he has online fan clubs but his antics have brought criticism and criminal charges.
He has been charged with “committing a nuisance†on city streets several times since 2005, and was banned from King Street between Church and Spadina in April, 2006, TTC subways last August and Yonge-Dundas Square in November.
This May, Mr. Zancai served 20 days of a 30-day sentence in the Don Jail for failing to comply with a probation order banning him from the TTC. Last month, he was placed in solitary confinement at Toronto’s West Detention Centre for “mischief causing a disturbance†and “interference with traffic.â€
This summer, Mr. Zancai plans to Brampton, where two of his three sons currently reside. “I’ll just keep it low key and chill out with my boys,†he said.
He’s already replaced his signature Santa hat with a white baseball cap so that he’ll be less recognizable, but he doesn’t know how long the move will actually last. “I’ll be miserable there until I can come back to the city and live as Zanta again,†he says.
He dismisses the charges against him as inventions of the police force. “I always have to look behind my back,†he says. “Every time a cop sees me, they harass me. ‘Where are you going? Where have you been?’ I can’t take it anymore. I’m scared to go outside.â€
So, to “teach the cops a lesson,†Mr. Zancai has decided to leave Toronto altogether. “I want to give my fans the opportunity to stand up for me. They’ll say, ‘Toronto isn’t Toronto without Zanta.’ The city’s gonna call back for me. There will be a big outcry. I’m loved by millions.â€
The administrator of www.anti-zanta.ca/forum, an Ottawa-based Website devoted to a 26-member community of Zanta haters, couldn’t disagree more.
“We all know that Zancai moving won’t teach the police a lesson,†he said anonymously via e-mail. “If anything, it will prove to them that they’re doing their jobs, they’re winning their fight and Zanta is giving way. And I seriously doubt that he has more than five or 10 fans who would rally for him.â€
Known online simply as “Anti-Zanta,†the former remote agent for market research firm Advanis started the forum to create public awareness. “Zanta actually believes he has the right to get in your face and scream his sounds and flex his muscles and that you must watch him,†h says. “If he’s just bringing the problem from one town to the next town, what’s the difference?â€
Photo of Zanta at Queen and John by Kaydi Pyette for National Post
(by the way, is he sorta crazy though? sometimes I though he's kinda yooohooo)
