Nudist duo helps foil street assault in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood

Proving that not all heroes require much, if any, clothing, let alone capes, a duo of nudists helped rescue a tourist who was being menaced by a blowtorch-wielding man last week in San Francisco.

The two men, Pete Sferra of San Jose and Lloyd Fishback of San Francisco, were taking a naked walk through the city’s Castro neighborhood on July 2 when they encountered a man they described to the San Francisco Standard as a “crazy kind of pirate guy” threatening another man with a blowtorch.

A video taken by an eyewitness showed the attacker menacing a tourist on a crowded sidewalk before another bystander snatched the blowtorch out of his hand. The attacker then began punching the tourist repeatedly before being tackled to the ground by Fishback in a decidedly clothing-free scuffle.  

Fishback followed that up with a slap to the attacker’s face, who then began to walk away as passers by, both clothed and nude, looked on.

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Castro residents said suspect is well-known in area

Identified as 38-year-old Zero Triball, the attacker was arrested by San Francisco police and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, according to San Francisco County court records.

Castro neighborhood residents described Triball to the San Francisco Standard as a well known disruptive presence in the area, with Terry Asten Bennett, president of the Castro Merchants Association, telling the publication that Triball was “erratic and violent.”

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com