Everyone loves a classic hero story. You know, where the ordinary Joe suddenly transforms into a figure of bravery and salvation for the good and well-being of his fellow citizens. 

One of these heroes was born Monday night during the rally on Beaver Avenue. Sailing through the throngs of hyped football fans on his white polyester chariot, this Go-Pro clad crusader became one of the most recognizable characters of the event. 

His name? Mattress Man. 

And for Mattress Man, better known as Steve Chepke, fame only spread after his incredible journey came to an end. His face graced the front page of The Daily Collegian and Onward State’s Facebook album documenting the rally, and made the rounds on WTAJ, BroBible, and Yik Yak.

Chepke’s rise to fandom has fairly simple origins.

“I was a little off the first balcony of Penn Tower,” said Chepke. “I saw the mattress floating around the crown, and decided that I had to ride it.”

From there, the story is fairly straightforward. The daring Chepke grabbed the mattress, and flopped down on the crowd in front of the apartment building. He managed to ride the beast for about three minutes, making it past the intersection of Locust and Beaver.

While making his way through the crowd, Chepke only faltered once. “I stood up, and decided to keep standing for awhile,” he said. “But then I fell, and got shoved down.”

But this guy is the heroic Mattress Man for a reason. Following his error, Chepke performed a perfect back flip to remount the mattress and continue his journey. “Everyone started cheering again once I got back up,” said Chepke.

Though mattress surfing through a rally seems relatively meaningless, the experience meant more to our Mattress Man. The sophomore drew his inspiration from house artist Steve Aoki’s raft crowd surfing antics. 

Although Mattress Man’s voyage was definitely one of the more unique happenings of the rally, Chepke is humbled by the experience as a whole. “It was just a crazy and unbelievable way to show our love for our school,” said Chepke. “It was just incredible.”