If you live in Burbank, chances are good that you have happened upon a man in a Mandalorian costume riding an electric skateboard down the street. Cue Tim Brehmer: an actor, stand-up comedian, and what he likes to call, a professional manchild.
In 2019, Disney released the eight-episode Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, on their streaming service, Disney+. Brehmer, who is a long time Star Wars fan, immediately called dibs on creating a Mandalorian costume while watching the show with his cosplayer friends. He now goes by the name “Mando the Manchild.”
“Star Wars has always been a part of my life. I can remember waking up at 4:30 in the morning wearing my Care Bear onesie, getting a big bowl of cereal, and watching The Empire Strikes back on VHS,” said Brehmer who admits to now being 38 years old and still eating cereal in his onesie and watching the film. “The universe of Star Wars will always have a special place in my heart.”
Brehmer is frequently seen riding his Backfire G3 PLUS electric skateboard through the streets of Burbank and the Chandler bike path. While the board can go extremely fast, Brehmer keeps it at a middle speed of 25 mph. “Timmy is a professional idiot. Do not attempt this at home,” Brehmer joked.
Since the board goes pretty fast, Brehmer designed his Mandalorian cosplay outfit to look authentic but be protective as well. He used a motorcycle armor jacket as the base to attach his EVA foam chest and shoulder pieces to, as well as his cape. “I wear motorcycle knee pads, because safety first kids!” he added. Grogu “the child” is attached with a Baby Bjorn carrier along with a jet pack made from plastic bottles.
Tim Brehmer doesn’t just dress as the Mandalorian for fun, he does it to bring smiles and laughter to the community. A local mother reached out to Brehmer about hiring him for her son, Niko’s, birthday, but he refused payment and was excited to share his love of Star Wars with him.
It wasn’t until later that Brehmer learned that Niko had just finished chemotherapy and was finally cancer free. To honor him, Brehmer made Niko his own Mandaloran helmet. “That was one of the best times of my life,” said Brehmer. Since then he has created 10 helmets for kids in the community and has put together his own gang of foundlings.
In Star Wars terminology, a foundling is child adopted by the warriors of the Mandalore. Brehmer gets together with his foundlings and their parents to film fun TikTok videos, where he has almost 200,000 followers. “One of the kids ended up making the rest of the armor on his own time,” said Brehmer. “Makes a Mandalorian dad proud.”
Brehmer uses comedy as a way to cope with depression and finds joy in bringing smiles and laughter to kids with his Mandalorian costume. He also enjoys interacting with people that he is stopped next to in traffic. First there is shock on their face followed by the eruption of laughter. “See, people forgot we are all human. We are all meant to help each other. Just some of us forgot that along the way,” he added.
Brehmer has been invited to attend the L.A. Comic Con as an influencer, which he exclaimed is a dream come true. If you don’t want to wait until Comic Con, you can see Tim on September 4th at the Black Rose LA where he will be performing and hosting a stand up comedy night. For more events and sightings, follow Tim Brehmer on TikTok at @mandothemanchild.
