Wearing a Heavy Bear Costume in Early Summer Weather for a Journey Over 600km... Why the Cheers Keep Coming

Jesse Larios embarking on a cross-country journey in the United States dressed as a teddy bear. Photo by 'Bearson' social media account (SNS)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] A man in the United States has become a hot topic for embarking on a journey of over 600km in early summer weather while wearing a large bear costume.

According to foreign media on the 24th, Jesse Larios (33), a resident of California, USA, started a journey on the 12th to walk from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The total travel distance is 640km, which is more than 200km farther than the distance from Seoul to Busan.

Larios's walking journey is notable for being undertaken while wearing a heavy bear costume. He personally designed the character, which features a doll head about the size of a human torso with a distinctive red spot on the face, and named it "Bearson." He does not take off the costume except when eating or washing.

Larios reportedly started this trip impulsively simply because he thought it would be fun. However, as his challenge began gaining fame through social networking services (SNS), he also revealed that he is raising charity funds to contribute positively. As more people expressed their desire to support him, he opened an online fundraising site called "GoFundMe" to start collecting donations.

Having completed about half of the cross-country journey, Larios shares all the memories of the people he meets on the road on SNS. His SNS account currently has 28,000 followers, and the amount raised has reached $7,100 (approximately 7.95 million KRW). Larios stated that after the journey ends, he plans to decide the donation destination through an online vote and donate the entire amount.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.