MUFFLER MAN
"BIG RED"

The Muffler Man is a generic name for a class of giant fiberglass roadside figures that proliferated across the United States from the 1960s onward. The original figures were created by International Fiberglass of Venice, California and were initially manufactured as Paul Bunyan figures holding a giant axe. Businesses across the country customized these figures to suit their needs — placing mufflers, tires, hot dogs, or other products in the figure's raised hands — creating a wide variety of "Muffler Men" that became beloved roadside attractions in their own right.

Roadside attraction culture in America peaked in the era of automobile travel from the 1950s through the 1970s, when families driving America's expanding highway system needed reasons to stop and businesses needed to attract attention in an era before digital advertising. Giant fiberglass figures, mystery spots, roadside zoos, and other attention-grabbing attractions flourished. Many of the original Muffler Men figures have been lost — deteriorated, demolished, or abandoned — making surviving examples increasingly rare and valued by preservationists and roadside attraction enthusiasts.

West Virginia's Muffler Man participates in the American roadside tradition while adding local character. These figures, originally mass-produced, have often been personalized and adapted by their communities over decades of custodianship. Fans of roadside Americana — a genuine subculture with dedicated websites, road trip guides, and preservation advocacy organizations like the Roadside America project — make pilgrimages to surviving Muffler Men around the country. A West Virginia Muffler Man represents both the specific quirky history of roadside commerce and the broader American tradition of making the journey itself entertaining.