Lad who dressed up as Just Stop Oil had to assure his dad he wasn't actual protester

A lad who dressed up as a Just Stop Oil protestor this Halloween has revealed that he had to assure his dad that he wasn't an actual protestor.

Gus Lee-Dolphin, 28, from Surbiton, and his friends found viral fame thanks to their Halloween costumes, which were inspired by the recent high profile Just Stop Oil protests around the UK.

He shared a video of himself and his friends' innovative costumes on TikTok yesterday (30 October), and it's already been viewed almost 900K times.

Now, he tells LADbible that his costume, which was worn on a night out in London, was so good that his friend Jack Burchill had to assure his dad that he wasn't actually a protestor.

Gus explained that Jack was filmed DJing in the outfit and 'had a number of videos taken of him that found their way to his dad.'

"His dad called up rather concerned that he had joined Just Stop Oil when [he'd] told [him that he] was pursuing his music career in London."

Gus said that he got the idea for the outfits when he thought about what would 'haunt me more than a ghost or monster.'

"I saw all the protests going on for Just Stop Oil, and I thought being stuck in a car due to their protests or them spraying soup/orange liquid over your business would haunt me more than a ghost or monster," he revealed.

"Then I remembered when the guy at Everton tied himself to the goal post.

"In every group chat I was being sent 'is that you?' as a joke, as he looked a bit like me mainly due to the hair, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to dress up as him with the t-shirt and glasses."

TikTok / @gusdolphin

Gus said it was 'one of the easiest Halloween costumes' he's ever had to do and 'just required a high vis and a black marker pen.'

But it wasn't just Jack's dad who thought the lads were actually protestors - so too did other revellers on their Halloween night out.

"Some people thought we were being serious," Gus revealed. "Some people got started on a few times. Resulting in some rather funny interactions [when I had to] explain it's fancy dress."

Others saw the funny side to the costumes, and Gus said they were told they had 'won' Halloween.

Gus said of Just Stop Oil: "I think taking the Just Eat branding was smart. But I don't think people like their style of protesting, even if they might agree with [the] cause."

However, he's of the opinion that no one can lose from the lads' Halloween costumes, as they've given Just Stop Oil more publicity and 'everyone else has a laugh'.