We've all been there. You see your favorite singer/actress/Bravolebrity at the bar/supermarket/methadone clinic and wrestle with whether or not to approach them. Will they be kind? Will they indulge an ardent fan? Will they bite my head off?
Joe Fitrzyk doesn't agonize -- he just does it, and snaps photo evidence of the encounter to post on his Tumblr Famewreck. The Detroit native, who moved to LA in 2009, has been chronicling his random celebrity meetups since 2012. He was recently recognized in Celebuzz as "the man who actually made K-Stew smile."
Fitrzyk, who has his own marketing business, has plenty of opportunity to run into celebrities. But if you're visiting Los Angeles and want some tips on where to people watch, he's had a lot of luck at the Roosevelt Hotel and restaurants Villa Blanca, Pizzeria Mozza, Figaro Cafe and Il Pastaio. Still, Fitrzyk clarified, the best celeb sightings happen when he least expects it.
"For me it happens everywhere, that's the irony," he wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "At an airport in France. Barney's in New York. Walking the beach in Miami. Vegas, Detroit, London -- there's no rhyme or reason. I just have a photographic memory and I see them coming." But be careful how you approach stars, he cautioned, because the experience can be dangerous.
"Never pretend to be texting and snap a photo of a celeb," Fitrzyk warned. "They will see you and shame you, like Hilary Swank did to me outside a crowded restaurant. She followed me inside, told me I made her feel like she was in a zoo and that I should simply ask next time. She redeemed herself, and me, by offering to take a photo with me."
Sounds brutal.
"It's a good rule a thumb to avoid a celeb who's eating, with their kids, in the restroom or going to the restroom outside Chateau Marmont," he added. Here are a few more tips from LA's most prolific celeb-spotter.
1. "Be yourself. You're adorable. 99.9 percent of celebs are funny, fabulous, handsome, lovely."
2. "Be polite, respect their space and give them a non-obvious yet sincere compliment."
3. "If you want a photo just to impress your friends, or simply because they're famous, you're missing the point. It's about expressing gratitude for all the joy an artist brings to you. And if you're not sincere, it shows."
Check out some of Fitrzyk's photos and captions in the slideshow below and check out Famewreck to see more.
All photos and captions by Joe Fitrzyk of Famewreck.
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