When one Florida resident decided to fake homelessness for quick cash, he thought he was pulling off the perfect low-stakes hustle. Armed with a killer beard, a thrift store wardrobe, and serious guitar skills, the teen posed as a down-and-out busker on street corners, raking in donations from kind-hearted strangers. But what started as a creative side hustle spiraled into a terrifying close call with a group of real-life squatters who weren’t buying the act and made sure he knew it.
The journey began in Gainesville, Florida, when the man was just 16. “I was really good at it,” he said of playing guitar, adding that passersby often assumed he was homeless. With his early facial hair and a carefully cultivated disheveled look, people handed him money and food, offered him jobs, and even invited him to church. He’d graciously accept the gifts and chat until they walked away, never revealing his real circumstances, per his Reddit post.
Two years later, now 18 and living in Alabama, he had upgraded the gig. On weekends, he’d travel to nearby college towns like Andalusia, playing music in front of stores like Dollar Tree while still pretending to be homeless. The town embraced him even some of the homeless locals considered him a friend. Then things started to unravel.
Florida Teen Shares Terrifying Story Revolving Around A Fake Homeless Hustle
To avoid the summer heat, he began sleeping in an abandoned house near town. It was dusty but not disgusting, and he’d bring a rolled-up yoga mat to crash for the weekend. Everything seemed smooth… until one day, during a routine music session, a man with snake bite piercings and tattoos down his arms approached.
This younger white man gave off immediate red flags. After watching the Redditor play Sublime, he suddenly snapped, shouting, “You’re out here taking our money! That’s fed up! You’re not homeless, motherf—er!”
The confrontation turned into a full-blown scene. Despite efforts to de-escalate, including offering to split the cash, Snake Stud wasn’t having it. He took off on his bike, leaving a heavy tension behind. However, the worst came later that night.
After playing all day, the Redditor returned to the abandoned house, exhausted and unaware of the danger awaiting him. He was jolted awake by a whisper: “He’s just a kid.” Snake Stud was standing over him, lit by the eerie glow of a phone flashlight. To his left was the Black Homeless Man he’d once befriended. To his right, a third stranger. The Redditor’s heart dropped. “Tell me who you really are,” Snake Stud demanded.
He Learned His Lesson
Terrified, he confessed that he was a recent high school graduate just trying to earn some money. That’s when the light turned to a wall, revealing a cryptic spray-painted circle with an “X” inside was a chilling sign that this crew had claimed the building long before he stumbled into it.
“This is our house,” Snake Stud warned. “Go back to your truck and get out of our town… or something bad’s gonna happen to you.”
With the phone light switching off, he was suddenly in complete darkness, surrounded, vulnerable, and in danger. He grabbed his things, tears running down his face, and left into the night, cicadas screaming around him.
He survived that night, but it’s haunted him since. “What would’ve happened if I wasn’t a young man?” he reflected. “Let this be cautionary to all young and aspiring musicians… if you’re ever on the street pretending to be homeless, you better watch your back — or the hobos will watch it for you.”
Lesson learned for the former Florida teen. The hustle may pay off in the short term, but in the wrong territory, it can turn terrifying real fast.
Nina Franklin 
Kendra Quinn 
