Meet Sean Festle.
First — the boring typical stuff:
- Major: Accounting; minor in Economics
- Year: Senior
- From: Park Ridge, IL — but if you ask, I’ll say Chicago
If you’ve spent any time on campus at all, I’m sure you’ve spotted our very own local celebrity, our Harry Potter lookalike. Now, before you go *fangirling* all over him, there’s so much more to Sean Festle’s story.
Festle’s fame began when he needed new glasses and enlisted his older sister to help him find something suitable. They trekked out to Warby Parker and kept trying stuff on, but according to Festle, nothing was “jiving with us.” So they went off script and picked up a pair of glasses simply because they thought, “Who in the hell would wear these?”
And so, in typical super-hero fashion, Festle was transformed by a simple pair of glasses. No one could recognize him! No, I’m kidding, everyone knew who he was, but remarks about his similarities to the well-loved Harry Potter came flooding in. Festle stated that even when he was abroad in Brussels, Belgians would ask him if he was Harry Potter. Although this can all be overwhelming, not to worry. Festle said that it was all in good fun and that it didn’t bother him; however, he does think that it is only the glasses that causes any real resemblance between him and the fictional character.
When asked about his possible secret super power, Festle appeared stumped. What could it be that this wizard look-alike could do? What type of magic was he truly capable of? And, not surprisingly, it all came back to the glasses. “A lot of time when I go out, I’ll give people my glasses as an avenue – their claim to fame for a couple seconds.” Essentially, this muggle is allowing some of us to feel special and famous, even if it is just for a moment. It goes like this: he hands them his glasses and his phone, they put on the glasses and take a selfie, the selfie is featured on his snapchat story. Festle was clear that he won’t be in these stories at all, but instead it is an opportunity for others to channel their “inner Harry Potter or hipster phase.” To bystanders, snapchat-viewers, and those posing with his glasses, it is all fun and games, but it is important to remember those are not props- “While it’s cool for them and nice to see them having fun, it gives me a couple seconds where I don’t really know where I am. My biggest fear is someone will walk away and I’ll be pulling a Velma.”
To be honest, I personally don’t see the resemblance. Where I think Festle truly shines is in his comparison to Milo form the 2001 classic, Atlantis. Festle remarked, “What, is it the chiseled jaw that gave it away?” Festle hasn’t actually seen Atlantis and, other than the jaw-line, feels no real connection to Milo. Instead, his favorite comparison is to the music artist, Logic, who he believes he looks the most like.
While all this glasses and doppelganger business is fun, there is so much more to Festle. For example, he is incredibly passionate about red wine. You can even “catch [him] scavenging the 8 dollar and under shelves,” usually a Cabernet. So all you wine-lovers out there, know you can always head to Festle for some advice.
Festle is both a dreamer and a man of logic. Although his dream job, if there were no strings attached, would be a skydiving instructor because they “just seemed like the most laid back group of people” when he went for his 18th birthday, Festle has a job already lined up for post-graduation. He will be working at EY in San Jose doing accounting. “I’ll talk sh*t about accounting and finance, but I actually think it’s pretty interesting… Accountants have a bad rap of being dull and by-the-book, but I’m relatively creative in terms of communication,” stated Festle.
“Relatively creative” is putting it lightly. Festle used to be a part of a podcast aired on KSCU and an off-campus spot that was called “Jack and Sean’s No Good Very Bad Day,” which lasted about two quarters. Each episode they would invite a friend or two to join to “give the podcast some more life.” Festle would “read Jack & our guest three lengthy news stories. One was true, two I made up, and they had to guess the true news story. I always stumped someone! We also did current news trivia at the end of every episode. TMZ and Buzzfeed were my lifelines for finding those questions. Never again.”
Unfortunately, they had to call it quits with the podcast before it went viral (as they were slightly convinced it would) due to busy schedules and too much classwork. But, it seemed to be somewhat of a success… “As for it going viral, we had a steady & spirited fanbase of about 10 people, which is pretty f*cking famous.”
It seems that Festle lives a life full of partial fame and whole-hearted entertainment. So, if you do happen to see him around campus, my advice would be to steal his glasses and start asking him about Buzzfeed and red wine to see just how much he knows!