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PICTURES: Meet the grooviest swinger in Whitby
A BUSY day in Whitby comes to a standstill as people stop to get a look at a very unusual sight.
Austin Powers, complete in blue striped suit and purple shirt is walking past them eating an ice-cream and growling "I won't bite.... hard" to women whose gazes linger a little longer than they should.
The perfect likeness of Mike Myers' comic creation is Robin Hood's Bay's very own Brian Allanson.
For the past five years, Brian has transformed himself from a jobbing actor and mini-cab driver to Europe's number one Austin Powers impersonator.
He has spent thousands of pounds perfecting the look and has travelled the world with his new-found fame.
It all started when the first Austin Powers film came out in 1997.
"I saw it at the cinema and I thought 'wow that is me when I was younger', the look I mean not the attitude.
"I had similar hair and wore the same type of glasses, it was just uncanny," said Brian, who was a mini-cab driver in London at the time.
"I used to have a laugh with people in the cab who said I looked like Austin Powers by doing the voice and that helped me to perfect it."
Brian moved back to 'Bay with his family and set about looking into how to take advantage of his appearance faster than he could say "groovy baby."
"I had a look on the internet and found that the standard of Austin Powers lookalikes was just rubbish and that's when I decided to make a go of it myself.
"I ordered his classic velvet suit from a supplier and when it came I took one look at it and sent it back, it looked cheap and fake."
What Brian did was to find a company in Yorkshire who tailored one to fit him perfectly and it is this attention to detail that sets him aside from other lookalikes.
Next on his list was the striking blue striped suit that Austin wears in the opening dance sequence of the first film.
"The original suit was bought by a Powers impersonator in America, who is the only man I tip my hat to and he got it direct from the film studio.
"I managed to find a company who would weave me some new material that could be tailored into the suit.
"When I got it I was blown away, It looks fantastic and really adds to the whole experience for people.
"No-one else in Europe has this suit."
That's over 1,000 of outfit when Brian struts his mojo and it certainly gets the ladies purring.
Brian's acting background means he can fully get in character, hosting events and corporate award ceremonies rather than turning up just looking like Austin.
"I can get away with so much as Austin," he said, "cheeky comments and sexual inuendo are my speciality.
"I love it."
In the past five years, the work he has been getting has steadily increased to the point where he is now doing between 30 and 40 appearances a year, busting his mojo and swinging in style across the land.
Being Austin has seen Brian dance with a Kylie Minogue lookalike, attend parties in Turkey, film premiers and a whole host of other ceremonies.
* To find out more about Brian visit www.austinpowerslookalike.com
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Saturday 19 May 2012
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