January 5, 2019 by Jeff Moriarty Leave a Comment

Save The Date: Phoenix No Pants Light Rail Ride 2019

phoenix no pants riders at the light rail — Phoenix No Pants riders at the Light Rail
*(courtesy Ellia Ivy McLeod)*

Once again Phoenix will be part of Improv Everywhere’s Global No Pants Subway Ride. This is a global event where thousands of people in dozens of cities all over the world will be riding their public transportation sans pants on the same day.

PHOENIX NO PANTS RIDE DETAILS

Here are the basics for the Phoenix ride:

When: Sunday, January 13th at 1:00 pm (over around 4:00 pm).
Bring: A backpack/bag for your pants and a Light Rail pass.
Wear: Normal clothes – appropriate for the weather.
Facebook Event: Right here. Please RSVP.
Mid-ride Meetup: The Churchill (New Location!)

Rain or shine, warm or cold, we’re doing this and we hope you’ll join us!

Starting Locations

We have four starting points this year – two on the east side, one at the airport, and one on the west side. The groups will board the first train that arrives after 1 pm.

Make sure you arrive in time to get a Light Rail pass from one of the machines at the stations! Each starting location will have at least one member of the Improv AZ core team to provide last-minute instructions if needed.

West Phoenix – riders will board the first eastbound train from the 19th Ave./Dunlap stop at/after 1 pm.
Sky Harbor Airport – riders will start in Terminal 4 (while wearing pants). Before 1 pm, remove your pants (publicly or in a bathroom) and meet your fellow pantsless riders next to the Arizona Highways (Arizona Thighways?) Store at 1 pm. We’ll walk to the Sky Train and take it to catch the light rail at the 44th St./Washington stop.
ASU Tempe Campus – riders will board the first westbound train from the Veterans Way/College stop at/after 1 pm.
Mesa – riders will board the first westbound train from the Sycamore/Main stop at/after 1 pm.

If you want to start somewhere else, go for it! You can join us anywhere you want, just board the first train leaving your station after 1 pm.

Where to Stop

Everyone will exit the train at the Central Ave./Roosevelt light rail stop. Our mid-ride meetup will be at The Churchill, about a block southeast of the light rail station.

The Churchill is an amazing local marketplace set up in repurposed shipping containers. They have lots of food, drink, and games, and will have an area set aside for us. This is an all-ages place, so minors are welcome. We’ll stay here for about an hour or so, but you are free to leave early if you need to, or stay later if you’re having fun.

WHAT TO WEAR

You can wear almost any type of underwear you want – except thongs or g-strings. Whatever you wear, make sure you keep your naughty bits covered so you don’t end up getting in trouble.

Take your pants off on the light rail platform or before you get there. If you’re worried you will be cold on the platform, you can take off your pants after you board the train, but it’s trickier with the crowd. If you wear pants to the event, bring a bag or purse to carry them once you drop your drawers.

Need inspiration? Check out the photos from our previous No Pants Light Rail Rides.

HOW TO ACT

Do NOT tell people you are doing a prank! While you’re riding, act as if nothing strange is going on – no matter what. Do what you’d normally do on the light rail – you have no idea why others are not wearing pants. If anyone asks, have a simple excuse prepared for why you’re not wearing pants – you were hot, you forgot them, etc.

We will have photographers on hand to take pictures documenting the event. We need everyone else to just be casual. If you bring a camera, be discreet and only take a few pictures. It’s supposed to look like a normal train ride.

Do not disrupt the Light Rail! While the Phoenix Police Department said that wearing your underwear in public isn’t illegal, don’t do anything dumb. You are responsible for all your actions during this event.

UPDATES AND PICTURES

The best ways to stay in the loop is to subscribe to our mailing list and please RSVP on the Facebook event – that’s where we will post any last-minute updates and where you can ask questions. It’s a great place to chat with your fellow pantsless riders about what socks and skivvies you’re going to wear on this year’s ride.

You can follow us on Twitter (@ImprovAZ).

The hashtags to use on Twitter (or Instagram, Flickr, or anywhere else is) #NoPantsPhx and #NPSR.

January 21, 2018 by Jeff Moriarty Leave a Comment

No Pants Light Rail Ride 2018 was fantastic!

The temperature went up and the pants came down for the 10th annual No Pants Light Rail Ride! It was unseasonably warm on Sunday, January 7, 2018 when 100s of people rode the light rail sans pants, while people in over a dozen other cities did their No Pants rides in actual wintery weather.

Even before the event, we had our first encounter with light rail security. It’s tradition for the organizers to draw arrows and signs on the ground from the light rail stop to the meet-up venue a few hours before the ride begins. This year, a pair of light rail security were on the platform as we began to chalk the ground with a large “No Pants” and an arrow. They asked what we were doing, and we nonchalantly responded, “We have an event today.” We were surprised they didn’t know what “No Pants” referred to.

At 1pm, we kicked off the ride by kicking off our pants. Pantsless groups boarded the light rail, starting at various points from the east and the west to converge at DeSoto Central Market. Most of the reactions from onlookers were positive. A group on one train said they were protesting global climate change – it shouldn’t be warm enough ride the rails in January in undies and t-shirts. Others said they were just on their way to meet up with friends and they had no idea who these other pantsless riders were.

More than one train got a visit from light rail security who rode with the group. When invited to de-pants, they declined and pointed to the train’s security camera. They had a good laugh over where we were keeping our tickets with a lack of pockets.

This was the first year we used DeSoto Central Market as the meetup location, definitely the biggest venue we’ve used to date. The main group from the west side arrived before the east side group, and they said the panted patrons were bewildered and delighted at the arrival of the second pantsless group, as if they thought the first group was an anomaly. Several panted patrons dropped trou and joined in our fun.

(BTW – To the panted couple at DeSoto who were having their first date when our pantsless group arrived: She thanked us for giving them something that broke the ice and something to talk about. She said the odds of a second date were high.)

One of the highlights of the meetup was the live music courtesy of The Painted Soul. Their sound was so funky and festive and it made our group feel welcome in the space. It was so much fun seeing dozens of people dancing in their underwear.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s ride! You can see our photographer’s images from the event here, and we were covered in both The Phoenix New Times and AZ Central.

We’ve created a Facebook event for next year’s ride if you want to join us again. We won’t know the official date until Improv Everywhere announces it in December, but it’s usually a Sunday in early January. Please add yourself to stay in the loop and please subscribe to our list so you’ll know about all of our upcoming shenanigans.

January 10, 2017 by Ruth Carter Leave a Comment

No Pants 2017 Recap: Who Needs Pants?

Hundreds of people suited up to drop their pants at the 9th Annual No Pants Light Rail Ride! On Sunday, January 8, 2017, we boarded the train, starting at platforms all over the valley, and headed to central Phoenix sans pants.

We had two main groups gather near the east and west ends of the rail line. As the pantsless crowd gathered, drivers started slowing down to stare, gawk, and honk their horns. Some waiting in the left turn lane got out their phones to take pictures. At the airport starting point, one person offered to get their friend to bring the group pants while an airport employee dropped trou for a quick photo with the pantsless group before scuttling back to work.

As we boarded the trains, we got the standard reactions: shocked looks, giggles, and the occasional scowl. One person asked a pantsless rider what was going on, and she responded with, “I was hot and I convinced all these people to take their pants off too.” The panted man looked down at his own shorts, as to consider joining in himself, before deciding otherwise. Some people seemed completely unphased by our band of pantslessness. Perhaps we’ve been doing this so long that it’s become “normal.”

We disembarked at the Roosevelt station and took our parade of legs to Angel Trumpet Ale House, which is always happy to have our pantsless patronage. We shared stories and took pictures over drinks and snacks before taking our group photo and heading back from whence we came. It was a fun time had by all . . . well most of us at least. The scowlers never like us.

Thank you to everyone who came out for the No Pants Light Rail, and especially to Angels Trumpet for hosting us. Be sure to check out the photos from this year’s ride of Flickr.

We heard some people missed the announcement for this year’s ride. (You missed a fun time.) To make sure that doesn’t happen again, we’ve already created a Facebook event for the 2018 No Pants Ride. We won’t know the official date until next fall, but if you add yourself, you’ll definitely be kept in the loop.

Make sure you’re on our mailing list to stay in the loop on our next flash mob and all our shenanigans.

The No Pants Light Rail Ride is part of global No Pants Subway Ride, founded by Improv Everywhere.

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