"People were just taking pictures and walking by," he says. "When they have a sign to read, they can see it's more specific: I would like you to take a picture, but I'd also like you to give me something in return. My costume in particular is unique because I built it and I want them to know that it's handmade. It's not something I can just go online and buy."
Building comic book and fantasy costumes is a passion for the 30-year-old from Fort Myers, Florida. This summer, he's Iron Man, from the Marvel comics and movies. He even wears a goatee just like Iron Man's alter ego, the billionaire playboy Tony Stark, so when he flips the mask open, he can stay in character.
His red and gold costume is a sporting goods hodgepodge: lacrosse gloves, motocross armor on his chest, a baseball catcher's leg guards, football thigh pads. His helmet is a modified paint gun mask. The metal plate at the heart of the costume he fashioned from the walls of an old computer. The getup took this erstwhile Avenger about three months to assemble.
"One of the things that is really good on the Boardwalk is to be recognizable by kids and by families, so they know who you are. They'd rather take a picture with Iron Man, or a Minion, or an Elsa, something they know," he says, referencing the hugely popular cartoon films "Despicable Me" and "Frozen."
If that weren't enough, his costume usually includes drywall stilts, letting him stand out from the other panhandling characters and tower over the crowd at nearly 7 feet tall.
This is his only job here for the summer. Most days he'll walk with about $100, money he's saving for his family.
"I have a 2-year-old daughter at home," he says. "They were up here, but they had to go back (to Florida) for a family emergency. So now I'm here by myself, just trying to make enough money so I can go back there, get a place for us and, you know, keep living. I'll get a regular job when I get back."
Out on the boards, a boy of about 5 years old sees the costumed hero, and his face erupts into a gleeful smile. "Hi, Iron Man!" he yells with a wave. "Hi buddy! How's it going?" Iron Man replies. The boy is still enchanted, looking over his shoulder, as he continues along the Boardwalk with his family.
Getting into his stilts, Sepulveda stops to gather himself.
"It's tiresome. Long days, hot sun. But I think all of us really enjoy it."
From the DelmarvaNow.com series "Characters of the Ocean City Boardwalk."
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