Two nudists rescue tourist from blowtorch attack in San Francisco’s Castro district

A video has emerged of vigilante justice taking place on the streets of San Francisco’s world-famous gayborhood, the Castro. The superheroes in question? Two nudists out for a stroll.

Pete Sferra of San Jose and Lloyd Fishback of San Francisco were out taking a walk sans clothes on July 2 when they encountered a “crazy kind of pirate guy” threatening a tourist with a blowtorch.

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That’s when the two men intervened. A video shared to Facebook by Chris Watts, who runs a store in the Castro, shows another concerned passerby grabbing the blowtorch from the assailant’s hand and rushing to hide in the store while Sferra is on the phone with the police. The assailant punches the tourist twice in the head while the tourist protected their head and cautiously backed away.

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That’s when Fishback swings at him, tackling the assailant in the process.

“My buddy Lloyd is a quiet, respectful guy,” Sferra told The San Francisco Standard, “But he didn’t waste any time and nailed the guy with a right hook.”

As the two men tumble from the sidewalk onto the curbside, Fishback regains his footing and swings at the assailant again. After that underhand hit, the attacker walked away.

Fishback wasn’t interviewed because, though he may not want to don a shirt or a pair of pants, he still values his privacy.

The attacker was identified as Zero Triball and is already known to the community. Triball has a history of “committing medium violent crime,” says police supervisor Rafael Mandelma.

Triball previously had a restraining order against him by the Castro Country Club, a sober community center.  Terry Asten Bennett, president of the Castro Merchants Association, said that Triball shouted at employees at her store and threw items at them.

Sferra said of Triball’s violent behavior, “I hate seeing tourists experience that kind of stuff.”

Sferra hopes the outcome of the incident causes people to view nudists in a more positive way and helps normalize nudity in the Castro, something he has been working towards that has often been met with pushback.

“We just want to be seen as good contributing members of the community,” Sferra said.

“Over the years we’ve been doing this, we’ve tried to show the neighborhood that we’re regular people — we just have a relaxed idea of what we’re supposed to wear.”

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