Naked Cowboy

Robert John Burck (born December 23, 1970), better known as the Naked Cowboy, is an American street performer who regularly sings in New York City's Times Square. He is also a regular in the streets of the French Quarter during the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. He wears only cowboy boots, a hat, and white briefs, with a guitar strategically placed to give the illusion of nudity.

In October 2010, Burck formally announced that he was running for president of the United States in the 2012 U.S. election as a candidate representing the U.S. Tea Party movement.

Burck was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended Our Lady of the Rosary elementary school in nearby Greenhills, Ohio. He later earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences in 1995. He began busking in December 1997, and first appeared on Venice Beach, Los Angeles.

He is best known as a fixture of Times Square in New York City, where he has appeared almost daily since September 1999. He made an appearance in Donnybrook, Dublin, Ireland, on January 25, 2009, where he performed his theme song "I'm the Naked Cowboy" at a Leinster Rugby game before 18,000 spectators. In May 2014, Burck temporarily switched from his usual briefs to boxer briefs, after being sponsored by Fruit of the Loom.

On November 11, 2020, while Burck was performing in New York in front of a few tourists, a person pulled down and ripped his briefs.

Burck has made appearances in three music videos, including Cake's "Short Skirt/Long Jacket", Tyler Hilton's "When It Comes", and Nickelback's "Rockstar". In 2007, Burck released an album of his own, signing to 4Sight Music Productions and recording the pop-rock album Year of the Cowboy produced by Lee Evans and Dante Lattanzi at JAMBOX Recording Studios in New York City. The album was featured on MTV News.

On July 20, 2009, it was announced that Burck would challenge Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the 2009 New York City mayoral election. In response, Jonny Porkpie, the self-proclaimed "burlesque Mayor of NYC", announced that he would run against him.

On September 29, 2010, Burck announced his intentions to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. At his announcement, he stated that he has a "very conservative policy" and that he had an "unapologetic commitment to our borders, our language and our culture", borrowing a well-known catchphrase of radio host Michael Savage. He changed his appearance by wearing a dress suit and had his hair cut. On October 6, 2010, Burck officially declared his presidential candidacy at a press conference in Times Square. He stated that he was neither a Democrat nor a Republican, but rather "an American" and that he intended to lead the U.S. Tea Party movement into the Oval Office.