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Spring Hill’s Spider-Man ready for new year in a new ride





Spring Hill Spider-Man Isaiah Brooks poses on top of his new car, purchased through donations from the Spring Hill and surrounding communities.PHOTO BY GAVIN WILLIAMS / SUBMITTED

Spring Hill Spider-Man Isaiah Brooks poses on top of his new car, purchased through donations from the Spring Hill and surrounding communities.PHOTO BY GAVIN WILLIAMS / SUBMITTED

For more than a year now, Isaiah Brooks has been bringing a smile to the people of Spring Hill’s faces as the Spring Hill Spider-Man. What started as a way to bring joy to people as the COVID-19 pandemic raged has turned into a way to continue bringing joy to the entire community.

Stephen Strickhausen, a Spring Hill citizen, saw the joy and all the smiles he brought to the community, and wanted to bring a smile to Brooks’ face. He reached out to Brooks’ mother to see what he needed to keep doing his job, and she told him he was having issues with his vehicle.

On Dec. 16, Strickhausen posted in a popular Facebook community group to see if others in the area would be willing to donate to the idea of either getting Brooks a car or at least a big enough down payment that he could afford the new car’s payments.

From there, the Spring Hill community did what it always does, and stepped up in a huge way. It raised $20,000 toward a new vehicle for Brooks, and with the help of Darrell Waltrip Honda, Brooks left with a brand new car and without paying a dime – not even in taxes, title or fees.

 

 

That’s when Strickhausen got his wish.

“Isaiah was blown away. We were there for two hours with the test drive and signing the paperwork, and I don’t think there was a moment where he was not smiling,” he wrote on Facebook. “There really wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t smiling.

“So many of you went above and beyond. I am grateful for all the personal messages and help on your end. You guys rock.”

When Brooks began playing Spider-Man, he wasn’t planning to do this for a job, he just wanted people to have a break from the monotony of driving in Spring Hill.

“I thought it would be cool to buy a Spider-Man suit and stand on the corner to get people’s reaction,” he said. “After I started doing that, people were posting it on Facebook, and one day a guy drove up and asked me if I wanted to make $50, and I did.”

He spent an evening welcoming cars at a local car wash and made $50 for the event. From there, he began taking on birthday parties, festivals and other events around the area. With the added events, though, Brooks then took his character to another level.

“I figured since I was going to be Spider-Man, I’d better learn to do things like Spider-Man, so I started taking gymnastic classes to learn backflips and handstands,” he said.

A former wrestler at Spring Hill High School, Brooks was conditioned well and used what he’d learned from his sport to apply that to becoming Spider-Man. His running routine and stretching routine from his time as a wrestler helped elevate the character, and Brooks said he was thankful for that knowledge.

“Wrestling kept me in shape. As Spider-Man, I run from corner to corner and do cartwheels. I do that all day long,” he said. “And when you do a backflip, you have to keep your head in one position, and neck stretches from wrestling helped make me strong in that area.”

His parents are very supportive, but Brooks credits his girlfriend, Mckenna Speece, for doing all of his event booking and more.

“My girlfriend is the one who manages everything,” he said. “She makes my calendar and schedule and will make sure I have time to stop and eat lunch during the day. Sometimes I have parties from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on a Saturday, and they could be anywhere from Franklin to Columbia, so she makes sure I am able to get to each party but also take care of myself.”

Getting to and from those events may not have been as easy before, but thanks to the Spring Hill and surrounding communities, Brooks has a new car to make sure he’s at every event without issue.

“I never in a million years thought anyone would care enough to buy a new car. I never realized how many people I’ve impacted or how many parties I’ve been to,” he said. “It’s so amazing, and I cannot tell those people how appreciative I am.”

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