Although the world features billions of individuals with an array of different faces between them, it’s also true that there are only so many different combinations of facial features that can exist between people.
In other words, nature is going to repeat itself a little bit from time to time. Although families can definitely look similar, it’s not impossible that there’s somebody out there who has no relation to you whatsoever, yet looks almost exactly like you.
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For the most part, these similar features don’t really make much difference and are just kind of spooky. But one man is seeing his resemblance to somebody as an unexpected opportunity.
Glen Pannell is a 51-year-old actor and graphic designer who lives in New York City.
And until the 2016 presidential election, that’s the only person you could expect him to spend his days as.
However, those who meet him on the street while he’s in his signature outfit would likely know him by a different name.
If you happen to meet him while he’s dressed like this, he’ll likely introduce himself as “Mike Hot-Pence.”
According to HuffPost , this persona started as a simple Halloween costume after his friends told him he looked a lot like Vice President Mike Pence.
However, this fabulous alter-ego became a vehicle for his mission after his doppelgänger was elected.
As he told People , “I was really dejected after the election and spent a month as a prisoner of my Facebook feed. But then I decided to do something to make a difference and put my likeness to Pence to good use.”
That good use turned out to involve raising money for different charities by taking his “Hot-Pence” outfit to Times Square.
As he often shares on Twitter, these experiences leave him with not only a few hours of exercise, but also between $100-$200 per trip to organizations that range from VoteRunLead shown above to Planned Parenthood to the Natural Resources Defense Council to the Trevor Project.
In particular, the Trevor Project holds a special place in Pannell’s heart.
As he said to HuffPost, “I was a questioning teen 35 years ago growing up on Long Island before I finally came out as a gay man in my early 20s. LGBTQ young people will need our full support over the next few years given Mike Pence’s record in office. So much of what he’s done in the last 16 years has divided and excluded ― not united.”
Although his clever approach has earned him some supporters, but he’s also received his share of negative comments as well.
As he told People , “A woman called me a disgusting pig. Some people walked by and said ‘put some pants on,’ but if that’s the best you can come up with, that’s fine with me.”
Yet, that hasn’t had much of an effect on Pannell’s commitment to raising money, awareness and, in his words, hope.
As he said to HuffPost , “Isn’t it nice to imagine a bizarre through-the-looking-glass alternate reality where there’s a Mike Pence who champions women’s health and LGBTQ rights and the environment? Well that’s me!”
And if he ever had a chance to meet the vice president, he knows exactly what he’d say.
As he told People , “If you could walk a mile in my short shorts, you would meet so many people who are afraid and unsure about the next four years because they see rising hate speech in the last four weeks. You say you love this country, you say you have great faith in the American people. If that’s true, I’d say put your policy where your mouth is.”
He said this about a month after the election, so he would likely give it a slight update, but the heart of this message would be the same.
