Unlimited Naked Power

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Robert Burck, better known to the thousands of people who see him every day as The Naked Cowboy, might spend a lot of time in his briefs. But Burck's story is anything but brief.

Since he left Cincinnati, Ohio, to pursue his dream, Burck has definitely gotten plenty of media attention - from MTV to the Today Show to Howard Stern. But he wants more. Lots more.

"I want to be the most celebrated entertainer of all time," Burck, 31, says confidently. "At first I didn't know how I was going to do that. But I'm doing it."

A handsome all-American blond with sculptured abs, Burck has tried everything from stripping (that's how he paid his way through college) to waiting tables.

For a while, he played the guitar on Venice Beach, Calif. And he still plays the guitar. Except now, he plays it wearing nothing but white underwear, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, in the middle of Times Square.

"I'm there four to six hours a day and people take thousands of pictures," Burck says. "Then they take those pictures to every corner of the world, they fill people in, so everybody knows about me."

And that's exactly what he wants.

A typical naked day

Every minute of his day is invested towards achieving his super-ambitious goal.

On a typical day, Burck gets up early, has breakfast, shaves, and drives to work. So far, so normal. Once he parks his car at a garage near Times Square, Burck takes off his clothes, grabs his guitar, and makes people smile (or at least shake their heads in disbelief).

Burck works about six hours a day, rain or shine.

"I want to take that frown off people's faces," he says. "People are way too serious in New York. At least they pass by and see me, and they laugh for a while."

Every hour or so Burck goes back down to the garage, takes a break and empties his boots, which is another way of saying he collects his tips.

One recent winter Tuesday was a slow day, according to Burck. He made only $400, compared to the $700 he made the previous Saturday. Although warmer days usually mean more admirers, Burck says rain or shine, he goes to work.

The money comes in handy, but that's not why he chose to be The Naked Cowboy.

"What drives me is not the money," he says. "It's my desire to always be the center of attention."

Burck's job doesn't stop when he puts on his clothes. After he gets home, Burck spends about two hours at the gym. Keeping his body in perfect shape is one of this cowboy's top priorities.

"I do four-and-a-half hours of driving each day," says Burck, who lives in New Jersey while he is on the East Coast. "I eat nothing but chicken and veggies, then I get home and eat oatmeal and egg whites. I drink four coffees a day; it keeps me wired for my job. Sometimes I think 'Why am I alive?' but then I remember, I'm the only one who can do this."

Does he get tired? "I don't believe in tired," Burck says.

But he does get lonely: "I hug a million people a day and I'm the loneliest guy in the planet."

Yet for Burck, feeling lonely doesn't really bother him, because he is completely fulfilled by his work. "The only thing I want to be doing is playing guitar there," says Burck, who left his family back home in Ohio.

Even though he has a girlfriend who visits him a lot, Burck feels that it's part of his nature to push people away.

When Burck went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with his girlfriend, he says that by the end of the two weeks he was ready to be on his own again.

Burck likes to be alone. He wants to do what he does and have nobody interfere with it. For him, loneliness is a choice. He could make it stop if he wanted to, he says.

"I love my family but I also love everyone on the street," says Burck. But in terms of having a family of his own some day, Burck is certain of one thing: he never wants to get married.

In fact, he can't even commit to buying furniture. "I live out of an open suitcase," he says. "All I have in my apartment is a shaver, a fork, a spoon and a knife."

Oh, and mirrors. His apartment is covered with them. "I like to see myself from every angle," Burck says.

The Unlimited Power Strategy

Burck's desire to be the most celebrated entertainer of all time came after he read a book by Anthony Robbins called "Unlimited Power".

"That book got in my head I could do anything in my life," says Burck.

And not only that. Burck says that because he is so motivated, he can do anything in "1/20 of the time" it takes for anyone else to do it. It's all about the way you communicate with yourself, according to Burck.

He is so confident he will succeed in his mission to become world famous, Burck has already registered the name The Naked Cowboy, "so nobody else can call himself or herself that," he says.

"In the future, nobody will know me as Robert," Burck says. "I will become this image. Everybody will know me as The Naked Cowboy. Your kids will play with The Naked Cowboy action figures."

Burck, who believes that Disney will want to "buy" him someday for millions of dollars, also plans to write the best self-help book ever, based on his own life experiences.

As for his longevity, Burck says: "The Statue of Liberty can throw her torch in the water and swim back to France before my image fades in New York."

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Unlimited Naked Power

"I'm The Naked Cowboy, and I'm coming to a town near you..."

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