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For a man who surprises prostitutes and their customers with a video camera to announce, "You're busted, buddy," Brian Bates is remarkably unscathed.
No visible scars, no missing limbs.
After 15 years of exposing, documenting and railing against street prostitution in Oklahoma City, Bates is known as the "video vigilante." It's a moniker the local TV stations hung on him years ago after they noticed recurring police reports about a man making prostitution complaints with videotaped evidence.
He initially hated the nickname, but he now uses it in the videos he uploads to YouTube, where they find an audience of millions.
He prefers to call himself a "commercial activist."
Commercial, because he makes money selling the licensing rights of his videos to TV production companies. Activist, because he's a loud and relentless voice in the ear of police, elected officials and society at-large about what he sees as the mostly ignored ugliness of street-level prostitution.
www.reuters.com
No visible scars, no missing limbs.
After 15 years of exposing, documenting and railing against street prostitution in Oklahoma City, Bates is known as the "video vigilante." It's a moniker the local TV stations hung on him years ago after they noticed recurring police reports about a man making prostitution complaints with videotaped evidence.
He initially hated the nickname, but he now uses it in the videos he uploads to YouTube, where they find an audience of millions.
He prefers to call himself a "commercial activist."
Commercial, because he makes money selling the licensing rights of his videos to TV production companies. Activist, because he's a loud and relentless voice in the ear of police, elected officials and society at-large about what he sees as the mostly ignored ugliness of street-level prostitution.
"Video vigilante" fights Oklahoma prostitution with camera
For a man who surprises prostitutes and their customers with a video camera to announce, "You're busted, buddy," Brian Bates is remarkably unscathed.
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