Reinventing the wheel: Mike McHaney juggles more than campus fame

The following article received a second place Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) award in the Profile category. The MCMA award reviews and compares all collegiate newspapers in the state of Missouri.

Mike McHaney is a man of many roles. He is a juggler. At the age of 10, he picked up three balls and taught himself the technique for throwing and catching them. For 50 years, he has never found a reason to stop. Not long ago, he became an artist. He started working in his own form of abstraction, where he manipulates and photographs ferrofluid (ferromagnetic particles suspended in oil). He is a handyman, a biker, and a longtime St. Louis local with a love for all the city’s parks and festivals. He is also a popular face at WashU. 

For several years, wearing his red St. Louis hat and iconic in-ear headphones, McHaney has zoomed through campus on his motorized unicycle while juggling. Since his presence is so fleeting, however, he is like an urban legend. To many students, he exists only through the testimony of those who swear they saw him passing by. He is talked about with a series of adjectives (“captivating,” “strange,” “fast”). It is possible that students have never before been able to use his name.

McHaney’s prevailing anonymity has been heightened by the fact that he is not affiliated with WashU. While his consistent appearance has earned him a reputation here, WashU’s campus is only one stretch of his ride. He lives 10 miles away and has racked up incredible mileage on his onewheel.

“In about four-and-a-half years, I’ve done 12-and-a-half thousand miles,” he said. “I get out as often as I can.”

McHaney and I talked on the South 40 stairs leading up to Bear Necessities. A little out of breath, I admitted that I had been trying to get to him for half a mile, starting at Olin Library. He didn’t recognize the name Olin Library, and I quickly realized why I had been able to catch up: While he was 30 miles per hour faster than me, as a senior at this school, I was well-trained in optimizing paths to get to class in a hurry. I had a stronger sense of the terrain. 

After he was caught, the interview became a public affair.

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