Ever considered a long term career spinning signs? Neither did Clinton Hartman, 27, when he first started spinning signs 12 years ago. “I thought it was going to be temporary, maybe a few weeks,” said Hartman.
But then he made a career out of it. In fact, hundreds of sign spinners have through the World Sign Spinning Championship. It’s more intense than you think.
The championship happens in the heat of Las Vegas. Hundreds gather while upbeat music plays and in separate heats the sign spinners do what they have been paid to do at intersections with a little extra punch, some can even twirl the sign while in a hand stand. For a $5,000 grand prize, we’d all try spinning on our heads. “It’s interesting. It’s a job that a lot of people probably don’t pay too much attention to, but the fact that they take it so seriously and have made something out of it is pretty cool,” said spectator Sherry Steele, a Chicago resident.
This year was the 10th that the competition has been around. It’s only open to employees of a Los Angeles based company, AArrow Inc. They have employees in 32 US cities and nine countries, typically between the ages of 16 and 30. This company aims to produce only the most entertaining sign spinners. In fact, just to be able to work on the streets, the sign spinners have to show that they have mastered at least 10 moves.
AArrow Inc is no joke in the sign spinning world and pay their sign twirlers well to prove it. A sign spinner with AArrow Inc makes between $10 and $20 an hour depending on skill, personality, and location.
Photo from AArrow Inc Competition
Hartman is one of the lucky spinners hired through AArrow Inc. He works about five to nine hours a day twirling a 5 pound sign at some of the largest intersections.He is so good at the craft of sign spinning that he actually trains someone on the moves about once a week according to Hartman.
David Horn from Houston spins signs long-term, like Hartman. Horn talked about how he was skeptical at first, like most people would be, but five years later he is still spinning, makes decent money and loves his job. “It’s also a great workout; every day is a full body workout. I stay in great, shape.” Sign spinning might just be the most underrated job.
“Whenever I spin, it’s not just a routine, it is an expression of how I feel,” said Horn.
