Entertainment

The true story about man spotted shaving on train in viral video

Anthony Torres asks people not to judge him.
Anthony Torres asks people not to judge him. Anthony Torres asks people not to judge him.

A man who was mocked online after he was filmed shaving on a train has shared his full story, asking people not to mock him.

Footage posted on Twitter showed an unidentified man, now known to be Anthony Torres, shaving with a razor and foam on a train from New York City to New Jersey.

One clip amassed more than 2.4 million views, but has since been deleted, as has the Twitter account which shared it.

The video showed Anthony sitting in a seat, steadily swiping away at his lathered face and tossing the shaving cream from the razor on to the floor.

Anthony Torres
Anthony Torres Anthony Torres did not know he was being filmed (Matt Rourke/AP)

He did not know he was being filmed and when he found out the video was circulating on the internet, he was amazed and a little upset.

“I never thought it would go viral, people making fun of me,” he said.

In a candid interview, supported by his brother Thomas, Anthony explained the video captured him at a vulnerable moment.

He had been homeless and staying in a shelter in New York City when he had reached out to his family for help.

One brother gave him money for a train ticket, which he was using to get to Thomas in southern New Jersey.

He left the shelter before having a chance to shower and clean up and wanted to look “presentable”.

“I don’t want to say that I’m homeless, let everybody know,” he said. “That’s why I was shaving.

“My life is all screwed up. That’s the reason I was shaving on the train.”

Anthony Torres
Anthony Torres Anthony Torres is speaking out about the video (Matt Rourke/AP)

Online, while some humorously praised his steady hand with a razor, the videos attracted a raft of negative comments with insults like “slob,” “animal” and “nasty”.

A few cautioned against passing judgment and suggested people did not know the whole story.

Which is why Anthony is now speaking out.

After getting off the train and taking a bus, Anthony ended up at the home of his brother Thomas, 57, in Atco, New Jersey.

“Maybe people will have more feeling, knowing what this kid’s been through,” said Thomas.

They grew up poor, with four other brothers, on a farm in Hammonton, New Jersey, about 35 miles outside Philadelphia.

Anthony worked a variety of jobs including in construction and as a casino security guard. He moved where the work was, even travelling to Florida, where his adult son lives, and would live in motels or sleep in bus stations.

Thomas says his brother’s fault is to make short-sighted decisions and not to think of the impact of his actions, like shaving in public in a train compartment.

“When he did what he did, that to him was normal,” said Thomas. “He’s not that kind of person that does it because of spite or because he wants the attention.”

When the two brothers met up, Anthony said he was prepared to sleep under a bridge and asked only for a sleeping bag.

“For so many years, he’s lived this way and I feel sorry for him. It’s hard to see the life that he’s lived.”